The first fully collaborative album by two of hip-hop's giants, Watch the Throne, the new full-length by Kanye West and Jay-Z, is always enjoyable, often thrilling, yet sometimes head-scratching.After starting off with "No Church in the Wild," an ominous slow-tempo joint with guest vocals by Frank Ocean of the suddenly omnipresent Odd Future crew, Watch the Throne quickly gets into party mode with "Lift Off," an operatic, big-scale banger with an incredible strings-and-horns based opening, hectic percussion, and an insanely huge chorus by Jay-Z's wife, who quickly emerges as the star of the song despite very decent verses by the featured attractions. Another great track, wisely released as the first single off of the album, is "Otis," a soulful, bluesy burner with help from a deftly sampled Otis Redding track (hence the name). While the lyrics are quickly disposable boast rap, the beat is anything but, and the production is raw and intense, high on bass and long on guitar-and-piano fury.
