Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D.

This album review comes a bit later than I intended, but sometimes the day job and the need to occassionally sleep has to take precendence!

Talk about truth in advertising:  the title of the Black Eyed Peas' newest album, The E.N.D., is short for "the energy never dies" and that's exactly what you get on track after track.  The E.N.D. is, in short, the album you put on when you and your friends are getting ready to go out to party for a night.  It's music that's guaranteed to get you dancing long before you walk out the front door.

Will.i.am throws every production trick in the book at these 15 tracks, from autotune to 808 drum beats. Different tracks reflect the variety of musical influences that the Peas bring to the table, with the pop dance beats that drive each track being the constant that ties the album together.

Fergie's voice continues to be the most notable one on the album.  The sheer range of vocal qualities that she tackles on any given album never fails to impress me.  On The E.N.D., Fergie transitions seemlessly from  a disco diva on "Meet Me Halfway" to the lazy rap of "Imma Be" to the power pop of "Missing You" to the reggae beats of "Electric City."
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Watch the slightly NSFW video for the second single, "I've Gotta Feeling":

There's nothing revolutionary about the cuts on The E.N.D. -- the relentless dance beats can start feeling overwhelming at some points, and overall it's not as strong as Monkey Business and Elephunk. But when it comes to creating an album where the dance floor energy literally never dies, BEP has certainly succeeded.

Check out these cuts: "Imma Be" and "I Gotta Feeling"