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Album Review: David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat

Posted by Stephanie Williams on 09/14 at 04:58 PM

Grade: A-

I am a huge fan of house music and when I heard that David Guetta was releasing a new album I was more than eager to listen as soon as possible. Just as I expected, the album, Nothing But the Beat, is very well done. It features A-list artist collaborations and catchy songs.  If you aren’t familiar with David Guetta, he is known for his dance hits and remixes of other popular songs.

Nothing But the Beat starts off with the popular song “Where Them Girls At” featuring Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida.  The song is a very bold, fun and upbeat start to the album that makes listeners immediately want to get up and dance. 

“Little Bad Girl,” featuring Taio Cruz and Ludacris, keeps up the motion left by “Where Them Girls At.” The progression of the music goes along with the changes in vocals from a very repetitive set, to a more dynamc sequence. The rap interlude by Ludacris, however, did not fit the rest of the song well and added a completely different attitude to the tone of the song. “Turn Me On” has a very soft, mysterious introduction that kept you on your toes guessing what was coming next. Nicki Minaj starts off with lower vocals leading up to an explosive refrain. 

“Sweat,” featuring Snoop Dogg brought a new tone to the album. But, the vocals are very basic and the music overpowers Snoops voice throughout the song. Overall, it is pretty repetitive and hard to understand - not my favorite. “Without You” featuring Usher is my favorite song on the album. It is softer and more melodic than any of the previous songs. It flows like a ballad on the album and Usher’s vocals provide a deep emotion to the track that makes it more than just another dance song.

“Nothing Really Matters,” featuring Will.I.Am. is a fun song to follow up “Without You.” It is a really carefree song that you can just bop along to. It is another club song with the refrain, “nothing really matters in the club but the beat.” “I Can Only Imagine,” featuring Chris Brown, is another song similar to “Without You.” Though it isn’t a clear dance hit, the music climaxes at many different moments and keeps the listener intrigued.

“Crank It Up,” featuring Akon is another clear dance song on the album. It has a great beat and rhythmic vocals. The song is a very bold and gets the listener pumped up again after a few slower songs. “I Just Wanna F*” featuring Timbaland and Dev, has a very interesting instrumental component that is different than anything I have heard before. It really kept me interested in what was coming next. Timbaland gave strong vocals to follow the tune, however I was not impressed by Dev’s part and felt that her voice was not strong enough to keep up with the track. 

“Lunar,” featuring Afrojack, has a long intro that harkens back to eighties techno music with a very synthesized, futuristic-like sound. I like that David Guetta included an instrumental track on the album because it goes back to his roots as a DJ. However the track is too repetitive and goes on for five minutes. I lost interest very quickly. “Night of Your Life,” featuring Jennifer Hudson is another one of my favorite songs on the album. The 20-second introduction sounds like a marimba and creates a very mysterious beginning. Hudson blew me away with her strong vocals especially during the refrain.

“Repeat,” featuring Jessie J, is one of the weaker songs on the album. It is slower and has more meaningful lyrics then any other previous track. But Jessie J simply did not provide strong enough vocals to follow up Jennifer Hudson’s on “Night of Your Life.”  “Titanium” featuring Sia really wraps up the album well. Sia’s lower, sliding voice provides a different tone to the song. It has a very relaxed beginning, and brings the album to a mellow close.

Although there were a few small sections that I did not like as much, Nothing But the Beat was still enjoyable. The album is a great listen and really makes you want to get up and dance. It has top-notch vocals and progressive beats, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the tracks make it into the top 40.  Nothing But The Beat leaves you satisfied and wanting to listen to the tracks over again.

Nothing But the Beat is available for purchase on Amazon.com.  Along with the single album, there is a deluxe album that includes a second disc with all instrumental tracks: