Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Anderson Paak, ADA/Warner Music Australia 2019.
Anderson Paak is a multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer, originally from California and Ventura is his fourth album.
I don’t know a lot about him other than he is highly regarded and that Dr. Dre, one of the pioneers of rap, produced Anderson’s highly regarded last record, Oxnard (2018), as well as this disc.
This album is my introduction to his music and I’m not entirely sure what to make of it.
There are some great moments.
The opening two tracks, Come Home (featuring Andre 3000) and Make It Better (featuring Smokey Robinson) are wonderful, laid back, soul numbers.
When it comes to soul it’s hard to go past these two vocalists and the slinky beats that Anderson Paak produces for them gives them the perfect platform to build upon.
Having said that, there are some pretty ordinary tracks.
Reachin’ 2 Much (featuring Lalah Hathaway) contains some nonsensical lyrics and the most annoying rhythm track. I couldn’t last through the five plus minutes of it.
On the other hand, Winners Circle is a jazz track that contains some scatt jazz backing vocals. It’s enough to almost save the track from complete mediocrity.
I found some of the musical transitions quite clunky, particularly in the track Yada Yada. The opening instrumental seems disconnected from the body of the song.
The song King James is about basketballer Lebron James and his efforts to support the African American community.
I like the sentiments while finding the track rather average.
Jet Black (featuring Brandy) is another track that benefits from the excellent vocal talents of Brandy. Her sung chorus vocals work well with Anderson’s rapped verses.
I suppose that what I dislike most about the album is the synthetic rhythm tracks that become really monotonous.
Twilight is possibly the worst track on the disc but it’s followed by one of the best.
What Can We Do? contains the vocal of the late Nate Dogg and it’s a perfect tribute song to him, plus a positive end to the album.
Ventura is an album of highs and lows.
Fans will probably reject my criticisms but overall I was disappointed with the disc.
