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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Idlewild
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 58 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: La Face
Release Date: 22 August 2006
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rap, R&B, Soundtrack
Summary
The mega-stars follow 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' with their own 'Purple Rain,' a sure-to-be-huge (and definitely all over the musical map) soundtrack to their movie musical of the same name.
Also By This Artist: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below Stankonia
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Idlewild
TV: Class Of 3000
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
E! Online
Idlewild is a more down-tempo affair than its genre-splitting predecessor, but it wins points with stone-cold psychedelic soul classics such as "Mighty O," "Peaches" and "Hollywood Divorce."
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
With Idlewild you get a sumptuous surface that constantly excites, but reveals its secret charms with repeated listenings.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Idlewild is a dazzling album. [Oct 2006, p.124]
Mojo
Every time you think you've got Idlewild figured out, it zips off in a totally unexpected new direction. [Oct 2006, p.97]
Uncut
Stylish and substantial, it's a deft masterpastiche that dissolves history for its own entertainment. [Oct 2006, p.114]
Rolling Stone
Their weirdest music yet. [24 Aug 2006, p.89]
The Guardian
Ambitious but flawed, at turns stunning, maddening and confusing, Idlewild is a curate's egg - but the good parts are implausibly delicious.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
In any other hands this would have been a total disaster, but yes, things are never quite that simple with these two.
Read Full Review >RapReviews.com
"Idlewild" seems to prove they're two seperate artists even more than the last double album did.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
It'd be easier to overlook the bum tracks if Idlewild boasted a knockout single like "Hey Ya!" or felt more cohesive, but the disc's shifts from upbeat pop to moody blues to noodly experimentation are downright whiplash-inducing.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
There are still enough surprises... that make even this comparatively subpar OutKast album a reason to celebrate. [#15]
Dot Music
Imperfect and absurdly oversized it may be, but only OutKast could have pulled off a crazy creative coup like "Idlewild".
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Deft, flawed, entertaining, thrilling, and disappointing, often at the same time.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Initially, it’s thrilling in the way that any spectacle is. You admire the creative largesse, and there’s no doubt a strong 12-song album here. But at 79 minutes, exhaustion sets in by the midway mark, and the whole of the album takes on the feeling of someone trying to cap a broken water main.
Read Full Review >Urb
This duo can only be measured against themselves and for the first time, it don't measure up. [Sep 2006, p.139]
The New York Times
OutKast’s brains and playfulness sparkle throughout "Idlewild."... But despite the new, jazzy trappings "Idlewild" is more superficial than OutKast’s older albums.
Read Full Review >Spin
Idlewild grasps for a distinctive sound, departing almost entirely from rap per se. [Sep 2006, p.99]
Entertainment Weekly
OutKast have stretched rap's boundaries to the breaking point before, but this time their experiments come across as gimmicky or strained.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
The most frustrating aspect of Idlewild is its lack of energy.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
"Idlewild" leaves the ears longing for something. Coherence, basically. There's no sustaining mood, no clear message, only Benjamin and Patton's efforts to outdo whatever they came up with last.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Idlewild is certainly a spectacle, and an occasionally entertaining and enlightening one at that, but it translates into an elaborate diversion when compared to what this duo has done in the past.
Read Full Review >Billboard
Film-specific songs like "Make No Sense at All" and "Call the Law" fall flat out of context.
Read Full Review >Playlouder
The 'Idlewild' experience is mostly regrettable and one that will leave you feeling cheated.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Idlewild fails in the same places as Speakerboxxx/The Love Below: both feature some stunningly flat crooning and poor pop revisions straight from the mind, body, and soul of Andre Benjamin.
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
It's an interesting failure, as OutKast are probably incapable of making boring music, but a failure nonetheless.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
An awkward, uneven record that comes over like something they made in a week instead of something that was continually pushed back for more than a year.
Read Full Review >NOW Magazine
Their well-honed flamboyance has finally given way to full-blown pretension, the lyrics that used to be an afterthought hidden behind a painfully contrived yet musically unimpressive ragtimey veneer of muted trumpets, shoo-bop, shoo-wahs and happily jingling vaudeville pianas.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 58 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ryans s gave it a3:
Every Outkast album is extremely original and innovative and pushes the boundaries of where pop and hip hop music blend and this could have been a great opportunity to update sounds from music's past and make them hip again but they failed on this record. I was so disappointed by this record that I couldn't even listen to it twice... The lyrics were alright in most of the songs but the production seemed like it was lacking that huge sound that has run through their last few albums. Its hard to explain but that was one of the things that i noticed when i was trying to understand what went wrong. They have recently had a guest appearance in UGK song and it really worked so I hope that is a sign of improvement... oh and another thing... why is it that hip hop artists rely so much on skits or in this case parts of the movie... It is usually interesting the first time you listen but gets old so fast. I think a lot of hip hop albums would be more timeless without the skits. just my opinion though...
Matty W gave it a10:
this album is class. highly original. My fave tracks are: the train, peaches, N2U, Bugg Face. My favourite track of all though is "call the law" as it is so different to everything.
Kman S gave it a1:
By far the worst hip hop album ive heard this year. Extremly disappointed. There is nothing much more to say.
T Hawk gave it a10:
This album to me is more than music, its a leeson on life yet a lesson in music history which Hip - Hop is the end product. I'd rather listen to "Makes No sense at All " than listen to all that crap they play on the RADIO !!! Hearin the same weak azz music 20 times a day, now that makes no sense at all !!!
haywood jiblomiey gave it a10:
People who dont like this album have no ears. If they dont enjoy the sweet, sweet songs that this group has produced, that just means their minds arent developed enough to fully appreciate the smooth sounds of Idlewild.
josh s gave it a10:
This album is the best thing outkast has produced thus far. It shows a side to 3000 and big boi that puts them in a much more mature light. I love every track on the lp.
Mars 88 gave it a9:
Hip hop is dead, and if anythjing, these guys are bringing it back, and making it alot more original than anyone else in hip hop (besides danger mouse)! keep going guys!
