For whatever's worth... here's a fan (not music critic) review of the listening party at copenhagen.
Give Life Back to MusicIt felt like: “Okay guys, you’ve been waiting a loooong time for this. Forget about all the music you’ve heard before. Now, hit it baby!” Nile Rodgers swallows you into the album before you even know it with this funky stuff! They sing beautifully with vocoderized voices as the chorus. I was so happy and smiling, I forgot all about my worries and troubles. Funky and heartwarming.
The Game of Love
For me, it was like the Something About Us of RAM. It instantly touched me. I could’ve cried right there and then, but I pulled myself together. Very melancholic and evoked many of my feelings.
Giorgio by Moroder
Giorgio! It was as if we have been friends always. I love this guy. With his thick German accent telling about his life with music. Starts very groovy with great riffs. Then comes the drop on top of the click beat: “… but everybody calls me Giorgio” which made laugh in such a cheerful way that I wasn’t ready at all for the synth melody craziness that was about to come. It evolved into something magical. Definitely one of my favorites already.
Within
As beautiful as you can expect. Chilly’s piano took me away. The combination of the melody and the robots singing is breathtaking. I want to enjoy a summer sunset with my friends and a couple drinks to this.
Instant Crush
This is an instant hit! Totally surprised me. Really a pop-song. I liked Julian Casablancas’ vocoderized singing a lot. I expect this to be played on the radio.
Lose Yourself to Dance
For me, this is the song. I can’t get it out of my head. Woke up this morning and Pharrell started singing “Lose Yourself To Dance” in a very soul-train, 70’s disco way inside my head - together with that amazing Rodgers riff we’ve heard from the collab video. Clapping, cool riffs, and awesome MJ-style Pharrell makes this song cool. Yes, THAT IS COOL!
Touch
Magnificent in all its parts. Consists of many tracks that take you through a rollercoaster of musical emotions. Very spacey too.
Get Lucky
I just can’t listen to the Radio Edit any more. It is truely an edit. The album version has the neat intro we’ve heard and a longer ending, but the radio version is edited in between as well. The full song is way, way better.
Beyond
Honestly can’t remember much of this song. I just know it was good.
Motherboard
Same goes for this song, haha. Just because I can’t remember it, doesn’t mean it’s bad. It was really great!
Fragments of Time
Uuu, this one. I love this song. I expected a more sad/melancholic song after hearing the acapella in the collab. It wasn’t at all. This is such a happy summer song instead! I had to sing along with lyrics at the event. One of my favorites too.
Doin’ it Right
Panda Bear surprised me! I wasn’t anticipating that much. F*ck, it’s such an awesome track. If Daft Punk were ever to make a hipster track (in a good way), this is it. Amazing spartan beat (straight-from-Berlin-ish minimal techno sound) with Panda Bear singing greatly, while the robots intertwine with their vocoderized voices. Stadium concert track.
Contact
Loss for words. I closed my eyes and I was imagining myself flying through space through these Sonic-ish golden rings. No, I wasn’t on drugs. This escalated into unknown, unchartered territories, reaching for the ultimate climax and ending the album perfectly. I felt so small, but happy inside. Like an astronaut looking at the earth from a great distance.
― Moka, Friday, 10 May 2013 05:48 (thirteen years ago)