It's been 5 years since Nelly Furtado has released an album but a couple days ago she made a comeback with her new album The Ride. This is a long time coming kind of album, especially for die hard Nelly Furtado fans. Even though this album isn't in Spanish, you can still get that Latin flavor from this record. Without spoiling to much too early, I grade this album a C-. In this short blog post, I will go through every song and give my opinion on each song. You can also check out this same(ish) review on YouTube here.
The Ride Nelly Furtado
- Cold Hard Truth: 10 out of 10
The first song on the album entitled "Cold Heart Truth", is such a strong opening song. In my notes while listening to this album the second time around, I wrote down YASSSSSSSSSSS. I like how instead of repeating the words four times in the verse, she only repeats them three times. I think whenever songwriters think of these kind of small details it shows how much thought and consideration went into the song. I also love how the cowbell was so strong in this song. I'm such a slut for a cowbell. I could listen to this song over and over on repeat and not get tired of it. Actually, I could get tired of it because vouging does wear me out after ten minutes. I'm a heavy smoker! Last thing I will say about this song is that I could definitely see a famous DJ (like Zedd or Deadmau5) remixing this song and turning it into something even cooler!
- Flatline: 7 out of 10
I have this theory when it comes to albums: the second song is either a banger or a dud. This album didn't really validate this theory because for me, it was neither incredible nor terrible; it was just ok. It could've been way worse in my opinion but for what it's worth, it was just ok. The first verse was kind of weak but the pre-chorus was super strong and the chorus was even stronger! In the second verse the melody changes slightly causing me to think that is why there was an omission of a second pre-chorus. In my opinion, this song was a little bit too edited/produced. Nelly Furtado has such an amazing voice and this song didn't allow me to enjoy that.
- Carnival Games: 6 out of 10
I think at this point in the album, she was starting to lose me. This song in particular, sounded like it was going to take me on a ride but it stayed pretty mellow throughout. As a songwriter, I definitely listened to the lyrics in this song. For a subject matter so intense like this one, I kind of wish this song could've been a ballad. But then I thought to myself, if this were a ballad, would that scream Nelly Furtado? THis song sounded like a bunch of pop songs we've all heard before a million times mixed into one but it still had that Nelly Furtado sound overall. Regardless, ...meh.
- Live: 5 out of 10
Without sounding shady, I wrote in my initial notes that is song was, for lack of a better word: cute. It's pretty cool. There is a type of flow to this song and I don't mean that in the way you might think. There is an edit on the vocals that sounds like there is a flowy effect. I could be wrong; I could be listening too hard but ya know, that was there. I am a big Adele fan and this song sounded a lot like "Why Do You Love Me" by Adele that was on the Target exclusive version of 25.
- Paris Sun: 6.5 out of 10
Initially this song put a smile on my face. I enjoyed the instrumentation and the composition of it but after a while I caught myself not paying attention. I was checking my twitter instead of listening and that could just be me being an idiot. After I heard the surprise chord progression, I was zoned out.
- Sticks and Stones: 6.5 out of 10
There is a pattern I'n starting to find in all of these songs: introduction and verses are a little boring and then the pre-chorus and chorus sis what make the song. Just like in the previous song, Paris Sun, I still found myself zoning out a bunch adn checking my twitter for dank memes.
- Magic: 4 out of 10
I wrote down a lot of notes for this song lol. And if you check out my YouTube video about this album you can see my face reaction. This song (to me) sounded like a song that was written solely for a childrens televsion show or a shitty 80s style movie. "Coming soon to theaters near you, a teenage girl finds out that her great great great grandfather is Houdini and she soon discovers that magic isn't so fake after all. (Rated PG13)". This song almost put me to sleep. It was my least favorite on the album.
- Pipe Dreams: 7 out of 10
Like I said earlier, there is a pattern to these songs on The Ride where the introduction and pre-chorus are a little boring just to prepare you for what's about to come next. This song howvere didn't really have such a strong pre-chorus and chorus. I wasn't that impressed. What would've been cool is if this song were stripped MTV Unplugged style. That way, we can enjoy everything this song has to offer. Since I see potential, I rated this a 7 out of 10 instead of anything lower. I also thought the organ addition really made the songs ending the best part.
- Palaces: 7.5 out of 10
Right away, I felt like there was something missing from this song. That thing was an electric guitar. If there was an electric guitar, this song would've sounded more whole to me. Regardless, it is still a very dance-worthy song, The best part about this song is that it also has an organ in it! Two songs in a row with organ? Sign me up!
- Tap Dancing: 7 out of 10
I know I'm not the only that has those go-to songs to put them in a certain mood. This song is now one of those songs I will go to to put a smile on my face. It might not be the most incredible song, I think it's positioned well on the track listing and for what it's worth it's a good song for a single and music video. I wouldn't be surprised if this song were playing in a movie but as background noise.
- Right Road: 3 out of 10
I didn't like this song. That's it.
- Phoenix: 3 out of 10
I didn't hate this song but I didn't love this song. When it comes to last songs on albums, it's supposed to be a song that personifies the phrase "Thanks for listening." This song said that but I didn't believe it. On a positive note, I like how I couldn't tell if the word Phoenix in the chorus was a 3 syllable or 2 syllable melissma. I kind of don't want to know.
And there ya have it! The ride by Nelly Furtado is available on iTunes and Spotify. Be sure to check out the YouTube video on this review here and be sure to head to the front page of this website for more content and links to other social media. My name is Tim and I'm in a band called Timisarocker. We are pop that's punk but not pop-punk. Thanks for reading, until next time.
-Tim