Missy Elliott - The Cookbook

great cd

I must admit. Ive been sleep on missy's last few albums for the simple fact I had no disire to buy them. But now she came back strong on this album. My favorite songs are lose control which is a dance jam. I have to pop lock on that jam every time I hear it, lol. I prefer when she sings which are my favorite jams they are #9,12,6. It interesting hearing mary j. blidge rap on track 5. But any ways this is a high quality cd from missy elliot and I reccomend it. March 28, 2007

Many Recipes But A Good Result

Missy Elliott must get credit for this album cause it was the first where she wasn't entirely relying on Timbaland's production. She let producers like Neptunes, Scott Storch, Rich Harrison and even herelf produce some songs. On some of her previous albums Timbaland had produced the majority of songs and eventually it looked like the production was more important then the quality of the lyrics or hook and Missy's song weren't always that good even if Timbaland's production skills were amazing. Only one single became a hit from this album out of only three released and that was "Lose Control", perhaps the worst song of the whole album that lazily samples Cybotron's classic breakbeat sample that also Africa Bambaataa once used. But this doesn't mean that the album is bad, as usual the production is hot and some interesting artists like old skool rapper Slick Rick appear on "Irresistable", Ciara and super annoying Fatman Scoop on "Lose Control" Mary J Blige on "My Struggles" which is a really good song by the way, then we have Idol Fantasia on "4 My Man". Best songs however are Neptunes "On & On" with a trademark futuristic beat and her third single "We Run This" with great drums and old skool sound. Closer "Bad Man" feauture some dancehall singers that I never heard of before, but it's a welcomed addition that sounds fresh. At the end of the day this is a solid record, with a good mix of trademark Missy beats and some new trendy collaborations aswell, Timbaland's impact here is minimal and infact he only produces 1 song (Joy). But Harrison, Neptunes and Missy herself do a good job on making some trendy party jams aswell as some slower songs. If you like Missy Elliott nothing should stop you to also get this album, but it's not her best. A solid 3. January 21, 2007

"The Cookbook" - More Sweet Than Bitter

Is this Missy Elliott's best album? If the critical and commercial response is anything to go by, "The Cookbook", Missy Elliott's 6th studio album & the successor to 2003's commercially abysmal "This Is Not A Test!", must suck to some degree because it barely surpassed U.S. Gold sales. Then again, lacklustre album sales usually don't define an album's quality - a fact that is strongly enforced on this 16-track-long disc, which once again displays Missy Elliott flexing her abilities as a producer, singer, rapper and songwriter. Before and/or after listening to this album, there are four things you should definitely notice.

Firstly, there's the cover art. Aside from Missy Elliott's surprising weight loss, her ladylike, elegant appearance in front of the vintage microphone starkly contrasts to the attitude-packing tomboy, the finger-wagging fat-s**t, the stone-cold face portrait or the dog-handling feminist displayed on the cover arts of "Supa Dupa Fly", "Da Real World", "Miss E...So Addictive" & "This Is Not A Test!", respectively. Perhaps this would indicate a re-invention of sorts, but "The Cookbook" is anything but. Obligatory club bangers like the Apache-sampling, horn-driven raunchiness of "We Run This" & the bland Crunk of "Click Clack" are still present, while many of the album's other tracks -especially the introspective "My Struggles" (featuring Grand Puba & an unexpected rap from guest singer Mary J. Blige) and the Slick Rick featuring/sampling "Irresistible Delicious", one of the album's many endeavours into part-singing/part-rapping raunchiness- are laced with old-school musical inflections.

Secondly, Missy Elliott's female-empowerment shtick is virtually nowhere to be found. "Mommy", a minimalist club joint that aspires to uplift female parent strippers, turns out sounding less like a female-empowerment anthem than another dodgy shot at raunchiness; the aforementioned "We Run This" & "Can't Stop" -featuring Rich Harrison's trademark Go-Go production (e.g. chuck a sexy old-school guitar riff/loop or a bombastic horn sample over lively drum patterns & presto)- are more meaningless displays of unapologetic lewdness ; and the raunchiness factor hits its peak on "Meltdown", which -in the vain of the aforementioned "Irresistible Delicious"- alternates between viciously crude, detailed 16-bar rap verses & an overtly sexual singing hook over smooth, hypnotic production, courtesy of the omnipresent Scott Storch.

Thirdly, "The Cookbook" has more ballads than most of its predecessors, most of which work out a lot better than expected. "Remember When", despite the occasional (and possibly annoying) shots of "YES" and "HOLLER", is a beautiful ballad where Missy Elliott croons with sincerity and emotion about her thankfulness for her boyfriend's forgiving response to her unfaithfulness; "Teary Eyed" displays emotions of vengeance and regret through sharp songwriting and Missy Elliott's emotional singing vocals over a minimalist beat, as does its lesser counterpart "Time And Time Again".

Finally, Timbaland, Missy Elliott's long-time collaboration partner, is only present on 2 of the album's tracks - more specifically, "Joy" (featuring a surprisingly good rap from Mike Jones) & "Partytime" (featuring a short, blunt stab at Sisqo's current irrelevance). The former track, with its weirdly accentuated intro skit, minimalist bounce, ethereal vocal sample, late-track slow-motion effect and Missy's boastful lyrics, is definitely the better of the two tracks, and possibly one of the duo's better tracks in their whole catalogue. While Timbaland isn't direly missed, I would've preferred any of his better concoctions than "On & On", a suitably (but unfortunately) titled chunk of filler, featuring weak production from The Neptunes, an annoying vocal hook from Pharrell Williams & more of Missy Elliott's boastful threats and self-aggrandizement. Thankfully, the Dancehall collaboration between Missy, M.I.A. & Vybez Cartel on the ruthlessly upbeat "Bad Man" (on another note, the conclusive skit is nothing but downright filthy s**t that ought to be banned or restricted or something) and the classic lead single "Lose Control" -an infectious club tune that incorporates smartly chosen samples (Cybotron's "Clear & Hot Streak's "Body Work), Missy Elliott's club-ready attitude, Fatman Scoop's energetic chants and Ciara's sweet vocals (not to mention a short rap and a sweet a Capella break) into a tight Electro/Hip-Hop/Pop jam- does more than pick up the slack.

Altogether, this is a very good (and highly sexual) album that, with or without deep examinations of its purpose or content, is well worth the purchase. 4 stars!

5 Best Tracks:
"Lose Control (feat. Ciara & Fatman Scoop)"
"Bad Man (feat. M.I.A. & Vybez Cartel)"
"My Struggles (feat. Mary J. Blige & Grand Puba)"
"Joy (feat. Mike Jones)"
"Remember When"

Worst Tracks:
"On & On (feat. Pharrell Williams)"
"My Man (feat. Fantasia)"
"We Run This"
"Click Clack"
December 16, 2006

3.5 stars

When I bought this album, I was so disappointed. I put it away for a year without ever listening to it. The other day, I brought it out and gave it another listen. Still disappointed.

I respect the fact that Missy wants to grow as an artist, but leaving Timbaland is not the way to go. She brings a huge line-up of top notch producers, all of whom give Missy their worst production to date. (Yes, even the Neptunes.) Plus, all of the different producers give the album a lack of cohesion, which has never been a problem for any Missy album. (And she makes the mistake of putting all the slow songs at the end.)The Cookbook contains many samples, and they are all very uncreatively incorporated into the songs. Very lazy.

Missy's flow is nice and her lyrics have gotten better, even though she is kind of trying to be someone she's not at times. Most of the guest appearances are unnecessary and just there for credibility's sake.

Although I've done a lot of nitpicking, this is still a three-and-a-half star album. (In other words, I did not increase or decrease the ratin because it's Missy. I rate the songs, average their scores and get the final rating) But... this is without a doubt Missy's worst album to date. Maybe buy this album used, but that's it. And please don't let this one be your first Missy record. Buy any of her other ones before this. December 9, 2006

About as talented as a blind sharp shooter

Self indulgent mess of various horrible sounds and stupid rhymes. I bought this disc and immediately went to the doctor for a shot. I did not want to be infected by its disease. I still don't know what this rash is... June 30, 2006

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