Album Review: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

There's nothing particularly dark or twisted about this latest offering from Kanye West, the follow up to the underrated 808s And Heartbreak, instead My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is an overlong, overblown and outrageously self-indulgent hip hop odyssey turned electro glam rock opera about broken relationships, the emptiness of hedonistic living and modern celebrity culture, and of course, West himself. Your enjoyment of this album will really depend on whether or not you can handle his self-referential egotistical ramblings, but either way the production on here is almost faultless, apart from its excess, with an extensive list of collaborators and guests. There are some great tracks on here, including the standout single Monster featuring a superb performance from Nicki Minaj. Some though, like Runaway and Blame Game, just meander and overstay their welcome. West does a lot more rapping than singing on here following the flak he received for his auto-tuned crooning on 808s, and when he's not blowing up tracks with too many effects or getting sidetracked with superfluous instrumental sections or extended outros the output is highly engaging, such as on the aforementioned Monster and So Appalled, which features Jay-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz & The RZA. It's difficult to deny the effort that's clearly gone into this album, but a little more focus and restraint would have made it easier to sit through and unless you're still an unwavering Kanye West fan and supporter you may find this album a little too much Kanye to handle. Check out Monster below: