The beauty of Blond to me is the relatability of it. The way he is trying as hard as he can to claw his way back into a past relationship, even though it failed, a feeling that many have felt. The tone he sings in throughout the entirety of the song is imbued with a feeling of sadness.
This, to me, is by far the saddest of Frank Ocean’s tracks, which is saying quite a lot. This intentional self-isolation hits home for many suburban listeners, and this song has helped me realize the bubble both myself and other Saint Edward students must pop. There, they are shielded from reality, and never get to experience what life is like for the majority of people.
The chorus itself is my favorite of any Frank Ocean, with its “mangoes, peaches, and limes.” However, behind the joyful facade, is a critique of the bubble that many affluent children grow up in. The upbeat tone of Pharrell Williams is obviously present, and if one does not listen to the lyrics, it would be a great song to simply enjoy. Its chorus and piano music throughout are fun, joyous, and all-around easy to listen to.
Sweet Life is a perfect song for any situation.
#Channel orange review track by track full#
Like with Kendrick Lamar, one is not distracted from the story with maximalist beats, and the story and vocals are on full display. This minimalism is a staple of Ocean and a reason why this song and many others resonate so much with me. The light electronic synths in the background allow Ocean to put his voice on full display, and this decision allows the listener to appreciate the beauty of the harmony and story which make this Ocean’s best song. He meanders through the usage of quiet singing and auto-tuned 808s and Heartbreaks-esque vocals, until the outro hits, in which Ocean lulls the listener into the fleeting moments of a relationship which had moved far too fast with his serene vocals. White Ferrari is peak Frank Ocean, an adventure of beautiful auto-tuned vocals, a deep meaning, and a confluence of styles and tones. Also Solo (Reprise) is an Andre 3000 song at its core, so that is not ranked either. This is all personal opinion as well, and one can easily have any song at any place on this list.ĭisclaimer: I will only review the songs of Channel Orange and Blond, and no interludes, preludes, or epilogues will be reviewed. However, these choices were based on meaning, tone, and production. Every song on here is on my personal playlist, and there is not a single I do not like. Ranking these songs proved to be an extreme challenge. He tackles complex issues such as what it means to be masculine, the effects of loss, his perceived impossibility to find love, the modern disconnected field of human interaction, and hedonism as a whole, all topics which listeners can relate to on a personal level. What really brought this album and Channel Orange together for me were the themes touched upon by Frank Ocean. Unexpectedly, Ocean even emphasized acoustic and electric guitars over the popular electric beats, which only furthered the peculiar nature of this album. The end result is an album that has no genre, an album that one can not classify by the binary classifications given to the industry by “experts.” To me, it reminds me most of a psychedelic pop album mixed with a Drake-era hip-hop album, with samples from countless other genres. He weaved between guitar riffs, Beach Boys samples, and bizarre vocals with ease. He furthered his experimentation and introspectiveness in this album, creating a landscape that is far from a common hip-hop album. Ocean did not stop at Channel Orange, but he followed with Blond, an album which won various album of the decade awards and is ranked in the top 100 albums of all time by the Rolling Stones, a widely-recognized benchmark for musical success. Instead, Ocean experimented with the ideas of many different musical styles, reminding many, including myself, of the most notable innovator of our time, Kanye West. Through this, Ocean was able to prove himself to the industry as a whole as an innovative, introspective artist who did not confine himself to one genre or style. Channel Orange, his debut album, earned itself a grammy and a slew of album of the year awards from top-tier publications. His two studio albums, Channel Orange and Blond have been critically acclaimed. Although Frank Ocean does not have the same volume of music that artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Drake have, his track record of music puts him on the same level of modern hip-hop as the aforementioned icons of 21st-century hip-hop.