Take Care |
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Released: November 15, 2011 Charted: December 3, 2011 Peak: 11 US, 112 RB, 5 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.6 UK, 6.92 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rap |
Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.
Total Running Time: 80:18 |
Rating:  3.855 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About the Album: “After the huge commercial and artistic success of…Thank Me Later, Drake threatened/promised that his next album would be a straight-up R&B record that forsook rapping for vocals. The plan fell through, but his 2011 album Take Care has the feel of a late-night R&B album, full of slow tempos, muted textures, impassioned crooning, and an introspective tone that is only rarely punctured by aggressive tracks, boasts, and/or come-ons.” AMG “Success hasn’t done much to improve Drake’s mood, as he details his failures at love, his worries about living a hollow life, and his general malaise.” AMG With Take Care, the Toronto MC establishes “his image as the Champagne Papi who can always find a way to overshare, whether in the club or the bedroom. Drake covers both seductive R&B finesse and hip-hop swagger.” RS’20 Noah “40” Shebib, Drake’s longtime producer and partner, handled most of the production work. “He surrounds Drake’s voice with murky beats, layers of dusky synths, and moody guitars that fit…perfectly; the two work together to create a thick mood of melancholy. When other producers take over, there is a definite shift in mood. Boi-1DA gives Headlines a jaunty synth line that Drake matches with his strongest rap. T-Minus brings some booty bass to the thoughtfully sexy Nicky Minaj feature Make Me Proud, Just Blaze builds Lord Knows around some majestic samples that let Drake brag like a boss, and Chase N. Cashe take things one step further toward R&B by creating a late-night after-hours club feel on the bittersweet Look What You’ve Done (which features a phone message left for Drake by his grandmother).” AMG Marvin’s Room is the showstopper – late at night, Drake drunk-dials his ex to figure out what went wrong (‘I’ve had sex four times this week, I’ll explain / I’m having a hard time adjusting to fame’).” RS’20 “The album's most unique track, Take Care, features Jamies Smith of the xx working with Shebib on an (almost) uptempo, (almost) danceable song that has a typically great vocal from Rihanna. The super-moody collaboration with the Weeknd on Crew Love is another highlight, though it does point out the problematic fact that the Weeknd beats Drake out in the vocal department. The collabo with the predictably brilliant André 3000 and Lil Wayne also point out Drake’s shortcomings as a rapper. Though he drops the occasional line that dazzles (‘All my exes live in Texas like I’m George Strait’), Drake is a middle-of-the-pack rapper at best.” AMG “His true strength, as Take Care proves over and over, is his willingness to delve deeply into his emotions and the ability to transmit them in such a simple and real fashion that it’s easy to connect with him even if your life isn’t filled with glamorous exes, hangs with Stevie Wonder (who adds some harmonica to Doing It Wrong), and gold owls. It’s an important achievement, and his success might mean that the world was ready for the first emo rapper. Thank Me Later hinted at it, but Take Care makes it plain,” AMG showing “that Drake is always best when he bares his feelings in the spotlight.” RS’20 “Don’t play it at your next house party or DJ night; save it for later when you need something to get you through the rest of the night .” AMG Notes: The iTunes edition of the album included “The Motto” and “Hate Sleeping Alone” as bonus tracks. |
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First posted 4/21/2022. |
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