Disco de Wyclef Jean: “The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant”

Wyclef Jean likes music, and he doesn't discriminate by genre. His jack of all trades approach to his past albums brought a distinctly unique feel to them, but with this latest effort, it seems that while he may well be a jack of all trades, he's a master of none.

Jean's a producer at heart, and it's always shown. Relying on the collaborative effort to produce his visions has always worked well for him, and this album is no exception. A huge issue in production, however, is knowing when to stop.

Almost every one of Jean's songs feels like a mess. There's energy and passion, but there is no clarity to it. Mixing genres is fine, but the plan wasn't realized here, and just taking the different musical styles and throwing them into a blender isn't going to be enough.

For all the passion, talent, and exploration here, there just wasn't enough planning.

Everything Clef touches turns to gold. Wyclef has definitely sold out (see his "concert" exclusively for WalMart) but it only means more of his easily earned cash will benefit the charitable causes he sustains. He is one of the few stars who blends activism and humanitarinism in his lyrics, his phat beats and the resulting non-stop Carnival vibe he rides on.

The collaborations on this party album have matched voices no one else would ever attempt...Wyclef and Norah Jones??? Paul Simon??? Wow. Shakira leaves her imprint as does Mary J. Blige, but they're regulars.

More impressive to me is Clef's ability to weave the legendary voice of Sizzla Kalonji into this record. Sizzla doesn't disappoint, but he might get outshined by Akon and Weezy on "Sweetest Girl," or by Chamillionaire on "Hollywood Meets Bollywood." See, Wyclef knows there are billions of potential fans in India, so he puts some wicked bhangra on his record. He knows Mexicans love music, so he sings a tribute to Selena, accompanied by the impressive Melissa Jimenez.

This may be part two of the multicultural masterpiece Wyclef dropped on Carnival, but it's decidedly less Carribean, and less emotional. Now you hear juicy beats and pumping bass, even the intense ramblings of Serj Tankian from System of a Down. Wyclef is a mad chemist!

Just wait for the finale, the 13-minute "Touch Your Button" Carnival extravaganza, the surest way to drive totally across town riding Clef's raucous riddims. Now let's see Wyclef lead the way to solve problems in Haiti and everywhere else where people starve.

Ever since the Fugees split up after the mega success with "The Score", the three band members had diffrent fate. Lauryn Hill release the modern classic "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" but later vannished from the music world after she became a mother. Pras had a few hits right after but also vanished after lack of popularity. Wyclef Jean on the other hand continued making solid albums during the upcoming years and proved time after time that he wasn't only the brain of the Fugees but was able to evolve as a musician with great music that both was challenging to listen to and with intelligent lyrics. Wyclef's debut album "The Carnival" is the brickstone of his solo career. It features all kind of music styles from Reggae, R&b, World Music, Latin to Rock and Wyclef always invites plenty of guests from all kinds of genres to make things more interesting, but apart from other Rap artists that rely on guest to alter their albums on the record companies demand for public interest, Wyclef write/arrange and produce/ everything by himself and then he just invite guests to spice up things a little. His albums always mix two topics, big social problems and feel good dance music. Wyclef made both "911" and "Party To Damascus" to make an example of his variety in styles. One of the problems with Wyclef's albums was sometimes that he wanted too much and made albums that had too many songs, but ever since the "Preacher's Son" we've seen considerably less songs of his albums. It's also been a while since he scored with a big hit from his albums. "Damascus" may have been a club hit, but only reached a modest #65 position on the charts and his last "back to his roots" album "Welcome To Haiti" from 2004 was a non-commercial album that didn't have singles, but in 2006 he wrote/produced and appeared in Shakira's "Hip's Don't Lie" that became the biggest hit of the year, reaching #1 in almost 50 diffrent countries!. However, after many expriments with music and a few years off mostly involved in humanitarian efforts, Wyclef comes back with his sixth album "The Carnival II : Memoirs of an Immgrant. Yep, he's trying to re-create the sound of his classic debut album making a more accessable effort in ages and as always it's full with guest apperences and a myriad of diffrent styles and themes. Needless to say, you probably know if you like Wyclef Jean by now or not cause you know what to expect on his albums. There's a big question though, is this album as good as the first Carnival?. Let's take a look at the songs and find out.

By the title of the albums it's obvious that Immigration issues is in focus here, and by listening to the album alot of songs seems to deal with the issue. Thus, the songwriting is in focus even if the music is as good as always. Wyclef wants to remind us that USA was built by Immigration and the recent trend is no diffrent from the past. Some lyrics can be seen as self autobiographical, others dedicated to people in simular situations, but there's some pure party songs aswell. The first song is a short intro where Wyclef is suppostely writing music. He say things are changing and the world is in panic. His daughter can briefly be heard here. Second song "Riot (Trouble Again)" continue where the intro left. It feature dancehall singer Sizzla and Serj Tankian from System of Down and it's more or less a Rock song with great guitar riffs and high intensity. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" deals with a girl that used to be good at school that ruined her life by turning to stripping. It feautures Akon singing the hook and Lil Wayne that actually makes a suitable verse here. It's the first single and really good. Sizzla comes back on "Welcome To the East" with a mid eastern sound. After producing "You Know What It Is" and "My Swag" from T.I's last album, he returns the favour with "Slow Down" and their duet works out really well. It's a rhythmic uptempo with good lyrics. The same thing happens when Shakira join in on "King & Queens" which is one of the highlights. "Fast Car" is my favorite song, it features Paul Simon! of all people. Wyclef starts by making reference to Kanye's songs "Jesus Walks" and "Through The Wire" and ends up writing some of the best lyrics he ever made. My guess is that it's about how we can die anytime. "You gotta be no billionaire/To get a ticket up to the moon/We all know somebody up there/You need a helping hand". In a later verse he also make a refernce to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes that died in a car accident in Honduras some years ago. On the most soulish song of this album "What About The Baby", we find Mary J Blige back. This song is about fathers that aren't around for their children. "Hollywood meets Bollywood" an indian sounding song that deals with immigration and the multi ethnical society and Wyclef talk about how America was built by immigrants. Chamillionaire "sings" the hook and drop a guest verse aswell. It sounds really good even if it's too diffrent to work on radio. "Any Other Day" a slow ballad with Norah Jones, that really could have been taken from her album - minus the Wyclef rap. On "Heaven's In New York" Wyclef finds himself alone for the only time on this album in a sweet ballad with good lyrics. Upcoming singer Melissa Jimenez Appears on a latin inspired song called "Selena" a tribute to the the late singer Selena Quintanilla 1971-1995. Wyclef plays the guitar here and the song is another highlight. "Touch Your Button" is 13 minutes jam feauture a myriad of guests like Melissa Jimenez and Will.i.am (who as as annoying as he can be on this song), and several others. This song just shouldn't have appeared on the album at all. The album closes with that, only 13 songs. Bonus songs are "On Tour" and "China Wine". Both subpar party songs.

Overall, it doesn't hurt to have many friends. Wyclef makes the best out of it here and song after song I find myself praising him for good lyrics, arrangements and styles and most of the guest appearences couldn't have been better. "Carnival II" Is the best Wyclef album since his original 1997 "Carnival". As a self proclaimed world music Ambassador, Wyclef makes an hell of a job of creating music that represents all the world and he always has a thought behind his lyrics. Although there's only 12 real songs here and not 24 (including interludes) from the first Carnival you get what you asked for and all of those 12 songs apart from the aformenentioned closer are really good. I already had alot of respect for this man, but it increased even more after this listen. Wyclef doesn't only put Haiti on the map, but he puts international relations in focus. 4'5 stars and recommended.

On "Carnival Vol. II Memoires of an Immigrant", Wyclef is as eclectic (or should that read ecleftic) as ever, with a lyrical theme of Immigration and an armada of guests. A rock-tinged intro touching on the dire state of the world since his debut solo CD in 1997. That's not all that has changed in the 10 years since his multi platinum debut. His sales have plummeted too, not a reflection on his music, mind you.

The sound is as diverse as ever with various world influences; Opening cut proper "Riot", is given a rock edge (interspersed with a dub break and ending on a dub note) by Serj Tankian (whose guitar playing adds tension and drama) and featuring Sizzla. I love it! Lead-off single is the highly melodic acoustic tinged "Sweetest girl" which features the ubiquitous Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia (providing ethereal harmonies). In a similar vein is the acoustic "Slow down" featuring T.I., a look at the degeneration of the society. "I see then the whole world turn into a war zone/no love in the city" he sings. Returning the favour for appearing on her chart topping hit "Hips don't lie" is Shakira on "King & queen".

Paul Simon appears on the poignant folk/reggae "Fast car", and appearing on the similar "Any other day" is Norah Jones adding her elfin vocals to the acoustic sound. The stunning "What about the baby" teams him up again with Mary J. Blige (who turns in a fiery delivery) telling the touching story of a deadbeat dad who wants to get to know his daughter, while "Hollywood meets Blooywood" featuring Charmillionaire is given a Bollywood tinge by use of Indian sounding percussion, strings and guitar.

Taking a look at his mortality (and the lone song not featuring a guest artist) is the acoustic "Heaven's in New York" which sees him singing about "wanting to go back in time and put the twin towers back in the skyline" against a background of soothing harmonies and gentle percussion. Soothing and reflective. "Selena" (featuring Melissa Jimenez) is a tribute to the late Mexican diva, even featuring her "Bidi bidi bum bum" quote. It starts off as a reggae song before shifting tempo into a carnival soca bounce, with lyrics having Clef wishing he had met her.

Closing is the star studded "Touch your button", a raucous energetic song (for the most part) featuring will.i.am, Melissa Jiménez, Machel Montana, Daniela Mercury, Black Alex & Djakout Mizik. The thirteen minute epic comes in movements, starting off with nice scratchy guitars, a bouncy beat, and hollering in the background, taking on a soca/Cuban feel after about four minutes, taking a mournful turn with choir-like harmonies and lyrics in French with sprinklings of trumpet after another four minutes, and ending with a fantastic electric guitar solo. This song is deeply moving, and summarizes the sound and concept of the album; from light hearted bouncy fun, to sombre reflection.

It is sad that a brilliant album like this should flounder sales-wise, but that is a reflection of the state of the music industry. A thoroughly enjoyable carnival with Clef!

This is a somewhat tough album to put a finger on, because while it is catchy, well-crafted and has a bit more depth than the great majority of pop albums coming out, it still is a pop album. The message that Wyclef fans found on the first "Carnival," "The Eclectic" and his other, less-played solo albums takes a second seat to the production and musical hodgepodge. Most of the tracks deliver a bouncy, catchy, poppy feel, so, say, even if were singing about war or politics, those messages are immersed in upbeat sounds. And while only a few people can pull off the multi-cultural musical blend that's here (and Wyclef is one of them), the CD suffers from overproduction.

It's not bad, and Wyclef sounds like he had fun recording this one, and it's an upbeat one, but just not a deep one. Wyclef pulls out many tricks, but few of the tracks have the subtle, straightforward power of, say, "Diallo" from "Eclectic."

Just like "Carnival" was a sign of its time, "Carnival II" is as well, opting for a more commercial onset, tackling various styles, touching on many music bases -- there's another song with Shakira (with whom he remade his own "Hips Don't Lie"), appearances by Sizzla, Serj Tankian (of System of a Down), Chamillionaire, Akon (one of the big hook guys of the moment), Mary J. Blige, Norah Jones and even Paul Simon (Paul Simon??!?).

Unlike most acts who get together with so many guest artists, the sound here is definitely that of Wyclef.

But, unfortunately, as solid as this album is, it just feels like some substance is missing, mostly due, again, to the overproduction. If only Wyclef chose to make an album more for his base, rather than the mainstream.

But, for an album named "Carnival II," this album is definitely a global party and, yes, worth getting. Party to this one, and you won't find fault in it.