Fergie - The Dutchess
 (A&M Records)

- reviewed by Chris G

Excuse me, I'm late to the Black Eyed Peas party: never was a fan and can't say I'm a fan of them now. All that "Let's Get it Started" Super Bowl halftime extravaganzness (new word) with the funny hats, ear to ear smiles and non-stop energy just didn't register in my world. I could only imagine them box surfing at the flea market and pulling out Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer's rap candy shoes, 'Oh yeah, we're squeezing our feet into these.' Hip-hop stripped of every bump and bruise, no edge, can't call it hip, call it pop-hop.

Don't mistake me for a narrow-minded, where's the thug in this, rap purveyor. One of my favorite albums coming up was Deee-Lite. I'm allergic to dancing for dollars.

Two things made it possible for me too give Fergie's album a listen: will.i.am all over the place being praised as a producer extraordinaire and Fergie's "London Bridge". Easily the best female rap record of the year, and near the top of the list for best rap song point blank. Ok. I won't go that far, but great records make you perk up in 30 seconds or less. All it takes is 10 seconds of the chorus and 20 seconds of Fergie tip tapping all in between the beat to make a person ask, 'who is that?' more..

Excuse me, I'm late to the Black Eyed Peas party: never was a fan and can't say I'm a fan of them now. All that "Let's Get it Started" Super Bowl halftime extravaganzness (new word) with the funny hats, ear to ear smiles and non-stop energy just didn't register in my world. I could only imagine them box surfing at the flea market and pulling out Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer's rap candy shoes, 'Oh yeah, we're squeezing our feet into these.' Hip-hop stripped of every bump and bruise, no edge, can't call it hip, call it pop-hop.

Don't mistake me for a narrow-minded, where's the thug in this, rap purveyor. One of my favorite albums coming up was Deee-Lite. I'm allergic to dancing for dollars.

Two things made it possible for me too give Fergie's album a listen: will.i.am all over the place being praised as a producer extraordinaire and Fergie's "London Bridge". Easily the best female rap record of the year, and near the top of the list for best rap song point blank. Ok. I won't go that far, but great records make you perk up in 30 seconds or less. All it takes is 10 seconds of the chorus and 20 seconds of Fergie tip tapping all in between the beat to make a person ask, 'who is that?'

Before joining the Black Eyed Peas, Stacy Ferguson was part of a struggling music group, Wild Orchid. Unhappy creatively she decided to go solo. One of her last shows with Wild Orchid was opening for Black Eyed Peas. Who at that time were not much heralded or paid attention to outside of a tight circle. Already in the process of recording her solo album she thought crossing paths with them must mean something. She approached will.i.am, exchanged numbers and started talking about collaborating on music. Some background work here, a chorus there, by the time "Elephunk" came around she was an unspoken member of the group. The next step was making her an official member. The rest is humped.

Even though a member of the group - and still a member - she always had the intention of releasing her solo album. With a healthy handful of production from will.i.am, Polow Da Don, Keith Harris, Ron Fair, and.. John Legend, the album has become a reality. And the music world is much better for it.

I like to bounce between calling her Fergie when she's rapping, and Stacy Ferguson when singing. Fergie shows up on "Fergalicious" a song that shows the influence Salt n Pepa, Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shante and Monie Love had on her; in a Billboard interview she said they were artists she emulated growing up. She left out one female group though: JJ Fad.
"Fergalicious" has the same stutter step, plow ahead, simplistic flow of "Supersonic", that long lost and forgotten song (the bicycle tights on the roof?...:) memories) and yeah, the sassiness of Salt n Pepa…

"Fergalicious.. definition.. make them boys go crazy.. they always claim they know me.. coming to me.. call me Stacy."

Uh, guilty as charged.

"I'm the f to the e.. r.. g.. the i.. e.. And can't no other lady put it down like me. I'm Fergalicious"

There is something about her take it back there approach to rapping and attitude that screams confidence without pretense. That opinion is given life on "Glamorous" where she sings.. "First class up in the sky, popping champagne, living the fast life - I still go to Taco Bell, drive through raw as hell."

Musically and creatively the album comes at you like fast food that's been injected with super nutrients. Insert "Clumsy" which bounces over a will.i.am beat (percussion sample not credited, but I've heard it/have it somewhere) nothing more than talking about being crazy in love, but absolutely built for repeat listens, with its tumbling drums and Fergie's sing-song "Hey Love' verses.

"All That" is the closest to a r&b song you'll hear, where she asks if a guy will accept her no matter what: if she didn't work out or if she didn't change her natural hair. Umm.. no to one, yes to two.

"Pedestal" is a jab at tabloid, gossip mags and websites - who are you to say anything about me? - with a keyboard clicking in the background she won't make many friends on this here internet, but the song bangs, and her skat style singing, powerful even, brings to mind Jill Scott when she goes uptempo.

"Voodoo Doll" I read this interview where the journalist talked about Puff's meticulous attention to detail on a horn section he was producing. The horns on this song are fantastic. Flirts with reggae, but not quite to the point where you can put a finger on it. Just really good background music.

On "Velvet" the pace is slowed down for a more intimate moment. This is one of the songs she wrote far away from the bustle of the city; the aim to capture the smoothness and feel of velvet. (duh)

It's songs like that and "Big Girls Don't Cry" that show she's an exceptionally talented singer.

Let's go back to "Big Girls Don't Cry", while the verses break into these stretches where I got the "White Chick" chills - you know that scene where the Wayans Bros reluctantly and bafflingly sing-a-long to a candy-ass pop song? "Big Girls Don't Cry" has this addictive acoustic guitar bridge connecting the two that makes it hard not to twist the volume up.. and down, unless you're wearing lip gloss.

Returning to the edge she started the album with "Mary Jane Shoes" is a clever metaphor for enjoying the Bob Marley with all the feel of being on a Caribbean island, fattie lit, fruity drink and a warm ocean breeze. "When I wear my Mary Jane shoes... I can escape from the blues.. The whole world seems a little bit brighter.. My heavy steps get a little bit lighter.. Woahhh, my Mary Janes.. Whoaaa.. my Mary Janes."

The term simple complexity seems to mean nothing at first glance. I honestly have grown to hate it because a lot of people I've seen using it were being nothing but simple. Here's a great definition that gives it a reinvigorated sense of being… "It's something you experience everyday. It could be the smell of a rose; rich, layered, sweet and peppery and at the same time condensed down into a simple experience. Or the experience of great food, be it Bar-B-Q, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream or green tea crème brulee. In that experience each item has many components that boil down to one thing. Its parts come together into a wonderfully simple single experience."

Five sentences that define Fergie's "The Dutchess" to perfection.

Now I think I better listen to that last Black Eyed Peas album. If it's anything like this, I missed a lot.

back to the ratings..

Track By Track

-- Degrees --	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
1.  Fergalicious
2.  Clumsy
3.  All That I Got
4.  London Bridge
5.  Pedestal
6.  Voodoo Doll
7.  Glamorous
8.  Here I Come
9.  Velvet
10. Big Girls Don't Cry
11. Mary Jane Shoes
12. Losing My Ground
13. Finally

0; $i--) {array_push($rev, $lines[$i]);} // Reverse order and display earliest entry first $lines=$rev; // Display 5 comments while ($i < 6){ list($key)= each ($lines); // split the data lines into a user array - user[0] is the name, user[1] is the date, [2] is the message, [3] is album rating [4 and up] are the individual track ratings $user = explode("#",$lines[$key]); // Check for latest entries and pop off the last item.. corrects bug in diplay programming $lastentry = explode("%",$content); $lastentry = array_pop($lastentry); // get it on the screen already.. :) echo ""; // increment loop variable $i++; } ?>

.