N.E.R.D. - “Fly Or Die”
General Description
Artist/Band: N.E.R.D.
Album Title: Fly Or Die
Year: 2004
What can I say about this band? Seeing that this is an album review, my dear reader, you expect at least more than that silly question..
No one Ever Really Dies is the band in which the producer duo The Neptunes express themselves without restraint. As producers, in the last four years there’s great chance that anyone listening to chart music has heard at least one of their productions: from the lovely R&B tomboy in hot pants, Kelis, to the wannabe god-knows-what pop-tart Britney Spears (there, I mentioned the Disposable One!). They’ve produced several rappers like Mystikal and worked with Jay-Z. So, is their band about rap and R&B? Not quite.. Their influences are based on real quality production bands like the Beatles, with a twist of Beach Boys mixed with several rock and punk standards.
How I Got Into This Music
Well.. The first time I registered their production style as the Neptunes was with Mystikal’s “Shake Your Ass“ and that’s when I realised I heard that beat before, or rather, the way the beat was set up: they have a signature sound and approach to everything they produce. Over in Holland, they appeared on a television documentary made by some serious music lovers at the VPRO. These same guys showed the Chilli Peppers way before they exploded commercially, so I just knew I had to pay attention. After that I kept my eyes and ears open for anything related to N.E.R.D. (missed both concerts at Paradiso, so that’s kinda silly) and then the first album “In Search Of..“ happened about two years ago! I kept nagging my friends about these guys ’till their ears dropped off, but now N.E.R.D. is a household name, so my friends are very, very happy.
Tracks review
Don’t Worry About It
Pharrell gets on a falsetto James Brown groove with a great rock vibe
Fly Or Die
Anthem for the rebels without a cause
Jump
A typical N.E.R.D. track: you just don’t expect this pop-happy approach to telling the world to piss off
Backseat Love
Nasty bad boy rock song
She Wants To Move
First single off the album. Man, this song haunted my brain for so many frigging weeks. Just the way the beat is set up, the little piano in the background, the guitar sounding very familiar and a very nice bass. “Her ass is a spaceship I want to ride“, great way of putting it!
Breakout
A song starting out as a lovey-dovey thing and building up into a funky and punky tune
Wonderful Place
Peace out.. Another song you don’t see coming until it’s all over you!
Waiting For U
Really great track and incredibly sweet lyrics
Drill Sergeant
Straight anti-war song, not expecting the band to perform at any Republican or Democrat fund-raiser
Trasher
Least favorite song
Maybe
Wow! Second single and a brilliant song!! Giving me the Beatle rock feeling with goose bumps to go
The Way She Dances
Really eighties feeling from this song
Chariot of Fire
Unbelievably smart song, great falsetto on Pharrell works great on this track
Find My Way
Rock ballad, slow R&B, quirky keyboards, this song has everything
Conclusion
N.E.R.D. have delivered a second album that works great for me. I enjoy the up-tempo skater boy songs, the heavy guitar rock moody songs and the weird production all over the album. Of course Pharrell’s voice fits perfectly without being annoying. This band sets the standard for great music and helps us forget that there’s a direct link between this band and Britney Smears.
Rating: 
