Stop, Collaborate, And “Listen” To David Guetta’s New Album

[divider]Production[/divider]

David Guetta’s ultimate strength as an artist is his ability to produce, which actually really isn’t saying that much. For David Guetta’s first three albums, most of the tracks’ production credits were given to Joachim Garraud, alluding to the fact that David Guetta receives a good amount of ghost production on projects that were marketed as solely his work. Luckily, Guetta has had ample time for his production skills to catch up to his DJ skills, but it’s a safe bet that a full  will probably never happen.

Guetta is credited on every single song on Listen, which definitely marks at least some sort of improvement from past work. Relatively unknown producer Giogio Tuinfort is listed as a producer on all but three of the album’s tracks so he likely had a large role in composing most of the songs. David Guetta is good at mixing and mastering. The man knows how to make tracks sound good or at least better. It remains to be seen if he actually knows how to produce however. Bad is the most well produced song on the album, but we have a slight inkling that Showtek spearheaded the direction of that track.

Featured Track: David Guetta ft. Showtek & Vassy- Bad

[divider]Songwriting[/divider]

The focus of Listen is on the songwriting. The album features an impressive lists of vocalist from all around the world.  Unfortunately the sum of the parts is much more than the whole, as many of the tracks fall flat. The artists sound as if they are limited by the cookie cutter production style of the album and can’t truly be themselves. In addition, gross over-processing of the vocals drastically inhibits the emotional vibe the album is going for. For instance, the track Listen featuring the uber-soulful John Legend filters out the organic and smokey sound that makes John’s voice so great.

As far as song structure, virtually every single track is structured the same. Vocals with melodic chords and or strings. Introduction of kick. Build. Filters and effects galore. Drop into a generic poppy and house beat. The Whisperer is breath of fresh air because it abandons David Guetta’s overused structure by featuring a mellow and continuous piano riff.

Featured Track: David Guetta ft. Sia – The Whisperer

[divider]Cohesion[/divider]

Listen is definitely cohesive in that the album holds a constant vibe throughout its entirety. The pop-centric and progressive house feel that appears in nearly every track definitely promotes cohesiveness, but nearly all the songs on the album sound incredibly similar. However, it is unclear whether or not this was deliberate. It sounds as though David Guetta attempts to try different things by just throwing things at a wall and seeing what will stick. Most of the songs David Guetta tries to experiment on ultimately end up turning into the stereotypical pop cheese that we are used to hearing from David. Nico & Vinz deep vocals on Lift me up do the best job of pulling this album together.

Featured Track: David Guetta ft. Nico & Vinz & Lady Black Mambazo- Lift me up

[divider]Originality[/divider]

It is usually harder to classify more pop-centric music as being original and Listen is no different. David Guetta viewed this album as a creative departure and it still ended up sounding like all of his other songs. Listen is stuffed with features and whenever there is an overkill of collaborations, it is usually over-compensation from what the album would otherwise be lacking. Dangerous is the most unique sounding song on Listen and is a decent way to start the album.

Featured Track: David Guetta ft. Sam Martin- Dangerous

Overall, Listen is not a good album. It’s repetitive. It’s generic. It’s predictable. There are parts of the album that feature catchy melodies and lyrics that could easily get stuck in your head. However, it is a challenge to sit down and listen to such a profound collection of tired pop ballads and generic house drops. In so many ways David Guetta embodies the cringe-worthy acronym “EDM.” Whether it be the overhype, immense commercialization, or lack of creative substance, there are plenty of reasons this album is more of the same from a veteran of the scene.

Regardless of how we feel about David Guetta’s latest album here at Dance Music Northwest, give Listen a listen and let us know what you think. You can let us know your opinions by following Dance Music Northwest on Twitter or by liking our Facebook page.