Graduation (Enhanced)

Rating

Album: Graduation (Enhanced)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Good Morning	More Info...	0:03
2)	Champion	More Info...	0:02
3)	Stronger	More Info...	0:05
4)	I Wonder	More Info...	0:04
5)	Good Life	More Info...	0:03
6)	Can't Tell Me Nothing	More Info...	0:04
7)	Barry Bonds	More Info...	0:03
8)	Drunk And Hot Girls	More Info...	0:05
9)	Flashing Lights	More Info...	0:04
10)	Everything I Am	More Info...	0:03
11)	The Glory	More Info...	0:03
12)	Homecoming	More Info...	0:03
13)	Big Brother	More Info...	0:09
14)	Good Night	More Info...	0:03

Album: Graduation (Enhanced)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Good Morning	More Info...	0:03
2)	Champion	More Info...	0:02
3)	Stronger	More Info...	0:05
4)	I Wonder	More Info...	0:04
5)	Good Life	More Info...	0:03
6)	Can't Tell Me Nothing	More Info...	0:04
7)	Barry Bonds	More Info...	0:03
8)	Drunk And Hot Girls	More Info...	0:05
9)	Flashing Lights	More Info...	0:04
10)	Everything I Am	More Info...	0:03
11)	The Glory	More Info...	0:03
12)	Homecoming	More Info...	0:03
13)	Big Brother	More Info...	0:09
14)	Good Night	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

Given the remarkable critical and commercial success of 2005's LATE REGISTRATION, Kanye West's rich, rewarding sophomore release, expectations were high for 2007's GRADUATION. Ever savvy, West flouts those expectations by delivering a record that delivers curveballs while staying true to his sharply sculpted, commercially minded m.o. West's rapping, never his greatest strength, is still entertaining. He delivers witty, smart, sometimes absurd rhymes (he seems to take more lyrical chances on GRADUATION) that fit nicely with the overall feel of his tracks.
As usual, it's West's productions that stand out. While there are examples of his style-defining use of classic R&B samples and background choirs (as on the feel-good highlight "I Wonder"), West streamlines his sound to center on synth-driven lines, giving many of the tracks a retro-electro new wave feel. "Stronger," for example, another standout, is powered by a vocoder-drenched vocal sample courtesy of French dance superstars Daft Punk, which finds West again more comfortable in hip-hop's uncharted waters. The overall results make for a fun, inventive album that offers proof that West still has tricks up his sleeve.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.90) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "This is an album that you first like ,then love....He's grown as a writer....The music needs his spazzed out, neurotic creativity more than ever."

Rolling Stone (p.108) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "[T]he year's most high-impact work..."

Spin (p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "West's third album is mesmerizing and alienating, like all the purest forms of pop culture. Its music is a rush of designer adrenaline..."

Q (p.95) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Musically, West is still capable of the inspirational. The cocktail piano of opening track 'I Wonder' soon gives way to the towering layers of '80s synthesizers that characterise the whole album."