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GD &Top Vol.1

   I received the package a lot sooner than the date yesasia gave me so I was pretty happy about that. After removing all the bubble wrap I was glad to see the album was not dented  in any way. As a visual artist  I really appreciate the creativity of the packaging for the cds I get from kpop artists. It gets pretty boring getting a plain cd case no matter how nice the photos in the booklet are.  The case is book like with a faux leather cover with GD & T.O.P’s logo in the middle. I didn’t get gold or sliver (like I deserved lol) but blue. I liked the aspect that the logos came in different colors as it gave me a surprise to look forward to.The photo book is glued onto the front cover , the photos in the book have a retro feel from old school hip hop to funk (in one photo GD  seems to have a morris day influenced style ). With all the details in the case I thought the cd design would be quite plain but I was incorrect the not only does it have a psychedelic floral design the cd finish has a metallic sheen.

     Despite the retro-techno look and feel of the packaging the album contains a diverse collection of music (though mostly in the electronic genre).

The opening track appropriately titled Intro invokes the feel of an old school hip hop song (by old school I mean 80’s and early 90s). I really like GD’s lines of self demeaning but then talking him self up. “My voice may be thin but my zipper won’t stay up” this line is so awesome lol another example “I may be short but my girlfriend is tall”.  The best thing about this song is that it isn’t too long it gets right to the point and ends no useless filler dragging the song on. Following Intro is the huge youtube hit High High.  The song sounds perfect for a commercial hit (which it was) and I tend to not like commercial hits and did not particularly enjoy this track. The most interesting part of the song was the G-H-E-T-T-O

E-L-E-C-T-R-O sing song part.

Next Oh yeah continues with the recent trendy “Electro” sound.  However it is done very well and its simple synthesized melody is catchy. The addition of Bom’s voice in the chorus helps set the song apart from the others on the album especially since its not auto tuned.

Taking a totally different turn is Don’t Go Home Tonight. It’s a very refreshing track to hear right after Oh yeah. It carries on the “old school” theme slightly present in the packaging with its 80’s esque  electro drum beats and bright melody. Its lyrics are slightly sweet (and naughty ) which blends perfectly with the feel of the music. This a song I would choose to promote first. Most definitely on of the better tracks on the album.       
 Keeping the old school feel going is Baby Goodnight. This time instead of channeling the 80’s this song has more of a 90’s R&B groove. As Don’t Go Home is bright and sweet, Baby good night is dark and mellow. T.O.P. particularly shines on this with his deep voice. Deep voices tend to work well on slow groove songs.  This track I would have also promoted first along with Baby don’t go home (the perfect contrasting songs).

            Breaking the old school feel is Knock Out.  Once again I’m not really a fan of the commercial hits (which this was as well) while the rapping flow was good I did not feel that the minimalist beat was a good fit. The music video however was a very good fit!!

     Introducing "rock" music on the album is T.O.P’s solo song Oh Mom.  It’s a huge disconnect when the guitar enters the track but a welcome break from the electronic filled cd. However only the chorus really features the guitar, T.O.P’s singing parts mostly have a slight electro backing melody, with a few quips of synthesizer and a few guitar strums.  T.O.P’s strength is when he sings less auto tuned in the chorus  his deep slightly gravelly voice goes well with  the rock sound.  A very good track off the album but I don’t think it do well as commercial hit (sadly).

            Following behind is G- Dragon’s solo song Obsession. From the beginning the song takes on a creepy tone with its slightly off tune electronic melody (and the guy mumbling in the background) it’s a pretty straight to the point song and a slightly scary one at that. In this case G Dragon’s extremely auto tuned voice added to the eerie feel making him sound almost not human. I appreciated the little extras in the song that gave it its cold, hollow feel, like how when GD is singing you can hear voices in the background breathing (or saying yeah). At the bridge the guitar is brought back, this guitar solo reminds me of an 80’s slasher film (think of the song “maniac”) which is very fitting for the theme of this song. I was very impressed with the ending the guitar note just floating into the air gives of the promotion that there was not a happy ending for either party at the end of the song. The only downfall of the song is when GD goes "uno.. dos.. tres.. quarto… braaaaap!" It really takes away from the mood of the song. Despite that I believe this song should have been promoted (along with a MV) just like She’s gone I think it would have made a good MV.

            T.O.P. greets us again with some more “singing” with Of All Days .  The auto tune is a bit much as its very noticeable when he switches from singing to rapping. Once again he sounds great in the chorus. Also the chorus is a bit unique (in the album) with the call and response segment.

            Up next is the albums “what the?” song. Almost all albums have one a song that is so drastically different from every song on the cd you say what the? What do you want me to do? Is that song. What makes it so different is its genre, which is old school Rock and Roll (think Little Richard, Bo Diddley) which is not a genre many pop or hip hop artist tread into. However since I’m a big fan of old school rock and roll I was positively surprised. The way GD chose the music and his nasal vocals made me recall another Asian artist  Miyavi. That said while not the best song it was a good attempt at a great but under appreciated genre.

             Closing out the album is the already released commercial hit by T.O.P. the song  was decent  as T.O.P’s rapping was good and the beat was ok but not spectacular. As with Knock Out this song seems much better with the MV.

             That concludes this (very long) review the best tracks in my opinion is Don’t go home, Baby Goodnight, Obsession, Oh Yyeah and Of all days.  That said for a first album Vol.1 gives listeners a variety (which is good) of tunes to choose from which is a high mark in my book.



                       



Metallic finish on cd





inside booklet with member card