The album Talk a Good Game by Kelly Rowland is the fourthsolo studio album by the artist since Destiny’s Child broke up in 2005. The first track of the album “Freak” is mediocre, but not awful. The backing music and vocals overpower the song and once the song was over I wasn’t really sure if the lyrics really had any sort of meaning behind them, the lyrics were extremely repetitive and it was probably written in a few hours. Although it might not be a particularly good track, it is a good opener to something that could be a lot better. Come to think of it, “Freak” would be a really good track to have as background music at a clothes store. It’s that kind of song.
The third song of the song “Gone” which features vocals by Wiz Khalifa at the end is the saving grace after the mediocre intro. Although the lyrics themselves are partly borrowed from the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi”, Rowland puts her own twist on the song which sounds really awesome. The song is very similar to the sort of R&B that was coming out in the early 2000’s. The downfall of the song, unfortunately, is the annoying rapping done by Wiz Khalifa at the end of the song. I’m not a huge fan of Wiz Khalifa anyway and I am extremely grateful that he comes in at the latter end of the song because if his parts were scattered about the song it would’ve ruined the track. Despite the horrible rapping at the end, I’m still going to probably be listening to this track on constant repeat for the next month.
One of the more featured tracks of the album “Dirty Laundry” is like exactly what it’s called. She expresses her anger at Beyonce’s success after the split of Destiny’s Child. She also sings of how she was in an abusive relationship. This song is phenomenal. She lays it all out and tells it how it is, like she’s airing her dirty laundry. It’s paired with a subtle backing track that doesn’t overpower the lyrics, which I think is what made this song so good. This track also features Rowland’s awesome vocals; it wasn’t until this track that I really realized how talented this woman is. Buy the album if only for this track; it’s that good.
The seventh track of the album “You’ve Changed”, which features vocals from both Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams, Rowland’s former band mates. The song is a bluesy track that could’ve been written in 2005. Like the track “Gone” it goes back to the older 2000’s roots of R&B and doesn’t present any garish dubstep-esque backing baselines. I feel like Knowles and Williams could’ve had a more pronounced presence in the song though. It was a little disappointing in that I had no idea who was singing and when. The final song of the album named “Stand in Front of Me” is a soft closer to this bold album. It’s a lighthearted song that features gentler and higher tones. It’s a little bit like bubblegum pop for adults. Although I like this song, I don’t think I would listen to it more than once. It’s not really the sort of song I would typically listen to, but it is a good song that is pleasant to listen to.
The album on the whole is pretty damn good. I went into this review thinking that I was going to be able to insult it left, right, and center, but it was actually really well done and varied. This album has something for everyone. “Gone” and “Dirty Laundry” are easily the best tracks on the album and if I was to recommend any songs it would definitely be those two. Listen to this album, seriously.
