In Search Of... (album)

Infobox Album | Name = In Search Of... (electronic)
Type = Album
Recorded =
Producer = The Neptunes
Artist = N*E*R*D


Length = 61:34
Released = September 28 2001
Genre = Alternative rock, Alternative hip hop, Funk rock
Label = Virgin
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gcfpxqq0ldke link]
Last album =
This album = "In Search Of... (electronic)"
(2001)
Next album = "In Search Of... (rock)"
(2002)|

"In Search Of..." is the debut album released by N*E*R*D. The group originally released it in EuropeFact|date=February 2007 in 2001, where Kelis' Neptunes-produced album, "Wanderland", was better received. Similarly to Kelis' early work, the original version of "In Search Of..." juxtaposes hip-hop and rock influences and styles.

In 2002, the album was re-released worldwide with the electronic production backing replaced by backing provided by '60s-style 'power pop' band Spymob, giving the album more of a rock sound. The skits and the intro were also dropped, significantly shortening the play length.

2001 release

This 'electronic', or 'digital', version features produced instrumentals as the backing, with a more typical Neptunes sound.

This version is very rare these days, and features a different track listing (mostly ordering) along with skits at the end of 3 tracks, and an intro, which is, unusually, Track 2. This version is available as an import via Amazon.com.Fact|date=February 2007

The three skits tell the story of N*E*R*D member 'Shay' (featured on the cover) meeting two female high-school groupies in a locker-room (in "Things are Getting Better"), ludicrously calling in an escort (in "Stay Together"), and taping her during sexual acts (indicated by sexual female moaning) at the end of "Tape You".While not a commercial blockbuster on the order of many of their clients' discs, this venture is nonetheless one of 2001's standout releases.

Track listing

# "Lapdance" (featuring Lee Harvey and Vita) 3:33
# "Intro" 1:13
# "Things Are Getting Better" 4:55
# "Brain" 3:42
# "Provider" 4:24
# "Truth or Dare" (featuring Kelis and Pusha-T) 4:51
# "Run to the Sun" 4:45
# "Stay Together" 6:52
# "Baby Doll" 3:44
# "Tape You" 7:41
# "Am I High" (featuring Malice) 5:00
# "Rock Star - Poser" 4:29
# "Bobby James" 6:23

2002 re-release

Infobox Album | Name = In Search Of... (rock)
Type = Album
Recorded =
Producer = The Neptunes
Artist = N*E*R*D (featuring Spymob)


Length = 53:55
Released = March 12, 2002 (U.S.)
Genre = Funk rock, Alternative rock
Label = Virgin
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:iefjzfa2eh4k link]
*HipHopDX.com Rating|3|5 [http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.148/title.n-e-r-d-in-search-of link]
*Pitchfork Media (6.0/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20341-in-search-of?artist_title=20341-in-search-of link]
*RapReviews.com (7.0/10) [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2002_04F_insearch.html link]
Chronology = N*E*R*D
Last album = "In Search Of... (electronic)"
(2001)
This album = "In Search Of... (rock)"
(2002)
Next album = "Fly or Die"
(2004)|The 2002 release features the same songs (less the intro), with more of a rock sound, with the use of live drums and guitars, played by Spymob. After the making of this version Pharrell and Chad learned to play the guitar, and have kept to this style, now mostly playing their own instruments. Pharrell has stated that as N*E*R*D was a different venture to his work with the Neptunes, it should also sound different, hence the decision to re-record the album.

This version is also shorter as it has cut Shay's story provided by the skits. The U.S. market tends to respond poorly to music which it cannot categorise, and sexual content, which may help explain the decision to make the album fit more comfortably into the 'rock' category, and remove the intro (notoriously ending with "hey baby.. me, Chad and Shay, we want to squeeze your titties.. mmm"), and skits describing (albeit ludicrously) picking up an escort and taping sexual acts-- the final minute and a half of "Tape You" on the digital version features sexual female moaning. The change of tactics in the re-release also allow them to tour and play live as N*E*R*D more easily.

Track listing

#"Lapdance" 3:29
#"Things Are Getting Better" 4:15
#"Brain" 3:43
#"Provider" 4:18
#"Truth or Dare" 4:22
#"Tape You" 4:51
#"Run to the Sun" 4:51
#"Baby Doll" 3:43
#"Am I High" 4:48
#"Rock Star" 4:19
#"Bobby James" 6:11
#"Stay Together" 5:01

Reception

"Professional reviews":
*"Rolling Stone" (8/2/01, p.63) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The music is good....It's a crunch groove that's part Timbaland, part Afrika Bambaataa and part Star Trek on Ecstasy."

*"Spin" (4/02, pp.113-4) - 8 out of 10 - "Ace genre-mashing...the addition of a band [to their previously electronic album] makes the record weirder, punching up the rock that was merely implicit on the previous version. That's 'rock' as in rap rock, alt-rock and Paisley Park psych rock and even country rock."

*"Entertainment Weekly" (3/15/02, pp.74-75) - "The new, revamped album replaces their signature spartan-techno grooves with rock guitars, drums, pianos, and other oldfangled instruments....has a crackling vigor." - Rating: A-

*"Q" magazine (8/01, p.136) - 4 stars out of 5 - "A striking escape from mere genre....A swaggering, rock-friendly counterpoint to the likes of Outkast. And no less essential, either."

*"RapReviews.com" (4/02) - 7 out of 10 - "It's a musical experiment – a joyride for the Neptunes to go crazy on – and it works."

*"Uncut" (9/01, p.96) - 5 stars out of 5 - "They're on some kind of early Seventies cosmic/social conscience trip....This year's Stankonia."

*"Alternative Press" (3/02, p.86) - 7 out of 10 - "Alluring....bearing a surprising similarity to modern metal."

*"CMJ" (3/11/02, p.4) - " [The album] embodies an ubridled passion for music and for the aesthetics of pure sound....There's a bit of musical irony here, when happy, elementary grooves are undercut by a dirty, almost invasive, guitar licks."

*"Vibe" (3/02, p.172) - 3.5 discs out of 5 - "A complete departure, but with aural candy this flavorful, who cares?"

*"Mojo" (April 2002, p.112) - "Unique fusions of harmony-led AOR...Sly and Funkadelic, fragile singing and Eminemesque raps, conscious '70s soul, '80s synth-pop and Hendrix-esque rock."

*"NME" (8/18/01, p.47) - 8 out of 10 - "Awash with fuzzy-warm highs, hazy cosmic visions and exquisite ripples in the fabric of R&B as we know it."

DVD-A release

In 2005, 'In Search Of...' gained a 5.1 DVD-Audio release. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002WZSBW] This version is based on the 2002 release.

ee also

*N*E*R*D, discography
*The Neptunes, discography