Late Registration [Vinyl]

TracklistA1 Wake Up Mr. West Featuring - DeRay A2 Heard 'Em Say Vocals - Adam Levine A3 Touch The Sky Producer - Just Blaze Rap [Featuring] - Lupe Fiasco A4 Gold Digger Vocals - Jamie Foxx A5 Skit #1 A6 Drive Slow Rap [Featuring] - GLC , Paul Wall Vocals - Tony Williams B1 My Way Home Rap [Featuring] - Common B2 Crack Music Rap [Featuring] - Game, The , Malik Yusef Vocals - Charlie Wilson , Keyshia Cole , Tony Williams B3 Roses Vocals - Tony WilliamsB4 Bring Me Down Vocals - Brandy C1 Addiction C2 Skit #2 C3 Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) Producer - Devo Springsteen Rap [Featuring] - Jay-Z C4 We Major Producer - Warryn Campbell Rap [Featuring] - Nas , Really Doe Vocals - Tony Williams D1 Skit #3 D2 Hey Mama D3 Celebration Vocals - John Legend D4 Skit #4 D5 Gone Rap [Featuring] - Cam'ron , Consequence

For haters eager to see Kanye hit a sophomore slump--no such luck. Late Registration can't replicate the novelty of last year's College Dropout, but otherwise, this is an impressively more mature and labored-over album. Lyrically, Kanye's only improved a notch but musically, the album sounds incredible, especially with co-producer Jon Brion helping polish the songs to perfection. Tracks like "Heard 'Em Say" (featuring Maroon 5's Adam Levine) and "Hey Mama," are richly textured in their soulfulness while the flint-edge of "Crack Music" and "Gone" (feat. Cam'ron) will appeal to the street-oriented. There's a few duds on here--the sickly-sweet, syrupy "Bring Me Down" (feat. Brandy) being one of the worst offenders--but when the album's good, it's very, very good. In short, Kanye's detractors may not be swayed in their resistance to his charms but not only will his past supporters be rewarded but Late Registration has enough appeal to earn new crowds of fans. --Oliver Wang