Summary:N.E.R.D., the rock-oriented trio of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (who also make up the in-demand hip-hop production team The Neptunes) and Shay, return with a highly-anticipated second album. Unlike their previous effort, 'Fly' finds Chad & Pharrell handling the instrumentation themselves.
A great album, crammed with hooks and harmonies, goofball lyrics and the left-of-center melodic twists any indie-rawk geek would fly or die for. [Jul 2004, p.148]
More realized than 2002's In Search Of..., they hit all of their marks, rubbing guitar licks against '70s funk and sexy R&B that's bound to get any club flying high.
Williams has clearly approached 'Fly Or Die' as the kind of project where the central aim is to show us all how clever he is, and as he flits from musical style to style like a hungry pop bee, you're pounded into submission because HE IS JUST SO GODDAMN GOOD AT EVERYTHING.
First of all THE NEPtunes are bangin 4real if they weren't why have they produced and made sooooooo many beats for other artist ask First of all THE NEPtunes are bangin 4real if they weren't why have they produced and made sooooooo many beats for other artist ask urself that. If they were as boogji-wack as others might say why are competeing labels willing to spend millions on the talents of a production trio 1.5 mill$ record deal more than what u simple wrongfully critical ppl have !!! USE UR HEADS…Expand
Ok maybe it's not as good as In Search Of... but it's like michael jackson's Bad following thriller the album's still Ok maybe it's not as good as In Search Of... but it's like michael jackson's Bad following thriller the album's still good and one of the most original albums out right now give them credit for trying something new and expanding their horizons instead of sticking to the same formula and coming out with the same album like a lot of people are doing now a days. keep it real NERD…Expand
Overall the album is dope... not as strong as In Search of... but it's also a different approach since Pharrell and Chad actually play Overall the album is dope... not as strong as In Search of... but it's also a different approach since Pharrell and Chad actually play all of the instruments as opposed to Spymob. The result is a more simple and clean formula to each of their songs. I particularly enjoyed "Don't Worry About It", "Fly or Die", the lead single "She Wants to Move", "Breakout", "The Way She Dances", and "Chariot of Fire". A solid album overall but with the absence of vocals by Kelis that I had come to expect or a few verses from any of today's top hip hop artists make the album just short of their first project.…Expand
There seems to be many reasons why this album is getting such mixed reviews: 1) it's not hip-hop; 2) it's too rock; 3) it's There seems to be many reasons why this album is getting such mixed reviews: 1) it's not hip-hop; 2) it's too rock; 3) it's got too many guests who are "losers"; 4) the lyrics suck; 5) pharrell can't sing; 6) it doesn't sound like the last one (hell, the last one didn't even sound like the last one since there were two different versions of it); 7) it's too retro; 8) it doesn't sound how YOU want The Neptunes to sound; 9) blah, blah, blah. One should listen to what actually IS on the album instead of all the baggage that the critics/wannabe critics seem to be obsessing about. Nobody is going to mistake it for a guitar-ripping hard rock album, but for a straight-on funk/rock/pop album, it succeeds quite well. If you don't think that the highs are as high as "in search of...", OK, but the album plays better as a whole. Just because there are basically no raps is no reason to show prejudice against some solid Prince-inspired rock and funk and 60s-style pop. "Don't Worry About It" has some of the best backing vocals in recent memory. "Fly or Die" is a solid rock song even if Pharrell is "too old" to sing teenage lyrics. (Do these hip-hop-loving-only critics ever bad mouth immature, misogynistic lyrics or garbage-disposal-sounding raps in their genre of choice?) "Drill Sergeant" has been compared to The Beatles, but it's a dead ringer for XTC (true, that band was taking its cue from The Fab Four.) Overall, this album is full of songs that would make anyone with a soul who wasn't a rock-phobe want to shake their booty. God forbid that people ever be open to something that isn't exactly what they already know (or think they know) by heart.…Expand
Well Since you guys like Rock so much then why don't you make all rock music instead of being in rap video's fags and don't Well Since you guys like Rock so much then why don't you make all rock music instead of being in rap video's fags and don't have gold teeth if your a rocker…Expand
