Now that Finding Forever has been officially released, I can finally sit down and give it a proper review. Now I have absolutely no problem with d'loading music for free, but you have to admit that this "digital revolution" does have a few minor setbacks. One of which, being the fact that music is often dissected and thoroughly examined before it is officially released. So for a fan like me, that still relies heavily on the feeling I get from opening the package and reading the liner notes, it's difficult to see a record criticized or even heralded for that matter, before anyone has an official copy. When I went to my local Best Buy to pick it up, I tried my hardest to block out all the negative reviews I had been reading all week, a feat that proved to be very difficult. As much as I would love to believe my opinion wouldn't be biased after reading previous reviews, the truth is it was. Finding Forever, is not the record I was yearning for from Common. Following in the footsteps of Be, this record was up against some serious odds. It appears as though Finding Forever will be filed right alongside It Was Written, In My Lifetime Vol. 1, and all the others that followed modern hip hop classic records. But by no means is Finding Forever a failure. The record is a testimonial to the creativity and shear genius that is spawned from the chemistry between Kanye and Com. Com excels particularly as a storyteller on Finding Forever, a strength of his that is often overlooked. After all this is the man that brought us "I Used To Love H.E.R." Tracks like "Black Maybe", "Driving Me Wild" and "Misunderstood" show Com the storyteller at his finest hour. The problem I have with this record, is that it lacks that raw energy that was so evident and clear on Be. It's like he took a few steps back and returned to the nonchalant attitude that made Like Water For Chocolate come off as more of a neo soul R&B record than hip hop. Be was successful because it was pure hip hop. Finding Forever is a bit too mellow and at points mundane. "Break My Heart" is too short and boring and "I Want You" doesn't have the same sensual appeal as "Go". Scratch these two records and you have another solid release by one of the greatest to ever touch the mic. So as far as I'm concerned Finding Forever is easily better than most of the shit released so far this year. Just on the strength of songs like "The People", "Start The Show" and "Black Maybe", this will be getting continuous burn in the ipod.
finding forever definitely fell short compared to be. i think that com and kanye for a whole lp was so fresh when be came out, but that created near impossible expectations for the second round. i agree on the post-illmatic, post-reasonable doubt type sentiment. be was just so refreshing and good that finding forever simply couldn't match from the jump.
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