Carnival, Vol. 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant

8.8分（14人评分）

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共19首歌曲

艺人: Wyclef Jean
语种: 英语
厂牌: Columba
发行时间: 2007年12月04日
专辑类别: 录音室专辑

专辑介绍

by David Jeffries

Ten years after his 1997 solo debut, The Carnival, former Fugee, &Hips Don't Lie& producer, and globetrotting activist Wyclef Jean presents the sequel, subtitled Memoirs of an Immigrant and meaning it. There's a star-studded guest list, but Carnival, Vol. 2 is composed from Wyclef's personal experience and filled with his commentary on 2007's immigration crisis. He even works his own green-card story into &Selena,& a lighthearted love letter to the Mexican American diva that shamelessly quotes her &Bidi Bidi Bum Bum& over a light reggae beat before it morphs into a screaming loud carnival number. Many of the songs here shift genres with fascinating ease, like when the epic &Touch Your Button Carnival Jam& goes from a Black Eyed Peas-styled pop number to an intense soca workout. Then there's &Riot,& a duet featuring System of a Down's Serj Tankian and dancehall dread Sizzla that utilizes a tense rock rhythm before exiting on a wet reggae beat. If it all sounds overwhelming, it's held together by Wyclef's well-crafted arrangements, and if Serj and Sizzla sound like an odd combination, try Sizzla and Minister Louis Farrakhan on violin for &Welcome to the East.& Chamillionaire gets a Bollywood orchestra as a backing band, T.I.'s track is almost a hippie number, and Paul Simon croons over an R&B beat during &Fast Car,& not the Tracy Chapman one but a song just as poignant. While this skillful mixing and matching of the A-list makes quite a first impression, it's the songwriting that sticks as Wyclef has upped his game. The deadbeat dad story &What About the Baby& is a convincing exchange between Wyclef and Mary J. Blige because of all the honesty written into it, and lines like &I got love for Miami all day/But if my Cubans get to stay/Why you turn my Haitians away?& add edge and weight to an album that's otherwise slick and immaculately polished. To make sure the immigration issue is always nearby, Wyclef quietly and at regular intervals references &shelter,& &helping hands,& and other words of refuge and protection. It's done so masterfully that it makes the couple &I'm gonna grab my guitar!& moments worth ignoring, which are the only times Wyclef's ego seems to be muscling into the mix. Otherwise, Carnival, Vol. 2 strives to give the immigration problem a face, turning those thousands of marchers seen on the news into a thousand personal stories of struggle and hope. It does so while pulsating with life and displaying an unabashed love of music that's rich, daring, and delightful.

Carnival, Vol. 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant

专辑介绍

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