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Grateful [Deluxe Edition]
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Grateful [Deluxe Edition]
Current price: $13.49
Barnes and Noble
Grateful [Deluxe Edition]
Current price: $13.49
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is distinguishable from the nine previous
albums by its cover alone -- a regal portrait of platinum fraternal shepherd, self-hype man, and producer
beside son
and a young tiger. Bestowed with an executive production credit,
is present in more than a visual sense. On the "Sesame Street visits a black church" number "I Love You So Much,"
and
exalt their kids, with the former in endearingly effusive overdrive, beaming "You're an icon, you're a legend" and, motivated perhaps by witnessing
devour some strained carrots, "the greatest that ever did it." That and the album's concluding moment of touching thanks are among the most family-friendly tracks in the
discography, which swells here with 21 additional selections of mostly celebratory bluster. By late-2010s'
standard,
is typically overstuffed. Due to the plinking "I'm the One," led by
, and "Wild Thoughts," a
-fronted update of
's "Maria Maria" (itself partially a flagrant
rehash), the album had major hits before it arrived. More emblematic are the two other pre-album singles that didn't fare as well: "Shining," featuring
and her husband ("21 Grammys -- I'm a savage"), is energized but only adequate, while "To the Max" is a scampering platform for
in half-hearted woeful braggart mode.
old guards such as
,
, and
make requisite notable appearances, while newer collaborators
add some youthful energy with contributions to the album's comparatively street-oriented, paper-chasing, ominous-sounding second half. The beats are fully outfitted, and several are suitably immense, but they blur into one another as they serve as a spirited if mostly unremarkable summertime backdrop. Compared to
, there's a little less objectification going on. Just as significant, the second track on which
is featured isn't the lone gospel connection. Almost lost in this lengthy flow of content is an a cappella
interlude and what trails it: an uplifted
co-production fronted by
with a clean and righteous verse from
, "Go to war for every black queen that they lynched, and my pockets on chubby but they can't be pinched." [
was also released in a two-disc Deluxe Edition.] ~ Andy Kellman