Thursday - The Weeknd

This is the second mixtape release by The Weeknd. Now I was timid to listen to this, because I just felt like this one wouldn't be very good. I don't know why, but that's what I felt. I do like that the cover is very colorful. It is kind of friendly and welcoming. I feel very IDK on the way that this thing might be. I have listened to Lonely Star a couple times, I'm not crazy about it, and The Birds Part 1, which I like a lot. This was released in August 18th, 2011. I started this review on May 2nd, 2012.

1. Lonely Star: This sounds like it would be a better quality version of a song that I would have heard on House of Balloons. I don't exactly how to feel about this song. I feel like this would be a song where I could listen to it if I was going to listen to the mix-tape front to back. And at the end of the song he says the days of the week. I don't think that that's a good way to start off a mix-tape.
2. Life Of The Party: This song is just talking about, pretty much, how high he is. And is trying to convince a girl to join him. It's either that or she is high and she could be "tripping out" while they talk to her. The song actually does give you that feel of a song that would be a song where they tried to convince a girl to do drugs in some movie. The beat in this song feels "evil". Like I could picture, in a way, a part in a movie like Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite from the movie Across the Universe. I actually liked that movie and that was kind of an introduction to The Beatles for me. I'm not comparing it to that, but I'm giving an idea of what it is kind of like. The "tripping out" idea that I had kind of reminds me of Alice In Wonderland. This isn't amazing, but it's still a good song.
3. Thursday: This has that House of Balloons vibe to it. I don't think that it is that terrible. Like this could be a rerecorded, better quality,  leftover that didn't make the cut for House of Balloons. Beside the idea of the better quality to it, it still reminds me of a song off House of Balloons. This song seems like it could grow on me if I give it a couple more listens.
4. The Zone: This has this, I might be crazy but, reggae vibe to the beat. [:( ] Please don't kill me if I'm wrong. That's just what I got out of this song the first time through. Also the chorus/hook is "I'ma gonna touch you". So the ideas that come to mind are, is he talking advantage of her, is this "touch" mutual. I don't know, but I do like this song. It could have been on the last mix tape. I know I've made a million comparisons to House of Balloons but that is the only other mix-tape I've heard front to back. I have heard all of Echoes of Silence but in all in order. Also I guess Drake is on this song. I think that his rap is actually pretty cool. I like The Weeknd on the song Crew Love off Drake's 2011 album Take Care. I didn't like Drake's part on that song though.
5. The Birds Part 1: This song is awesome, the beginning is kind of a build up. I don't think that it is a good build up though. It's not until the other instruments come in that it is cool sounding. This is a classic Weeknd song. I really love this song and the more I hear it is gets a little better. The instruments in the beats are sick. It feels like this song is a march and that he is singing this in with a marching band, but a cool one. I could see this being played at a big arena. I don't get the arena feel is exactly reached, but I could see this being a song that is played at an arena.  Thus far this is my favorite song on this mix-tape. There is like an outro where it is just Abel backing vocals and an acoustic guitar. I think that that's a really sweet ending.{9/10}
6. The Birds Part 2: The song starts out with a girl making sounds. Not sex noises but like giggles. The guitar that is in the instrumentation kind of reminds me of Bang Bang by the one and only Nancy Sinatra. The song progressively builds up, adding more instruments and horns and move backing vocals. I defiantly see this being a part 2 to The Birds. There is a really high pitched voice buried in the mix for like a chorus, kind of like the Beach House samples on House of Balloons. You can hear him light up a joint in this song. This thing is actually growing a little more on me. He uses a some of the lyrics from High for This in this song.
7. Gone: This kind of reminds me of the second part of The Party & The After Party. It also kind of reminds me of The Knowing. I feel like thoses songs are either fillers, or it's supposed to be like this is his high. The one thing I wish though was that it wasn't 8 minutes. This is the longest song to date that he has done. It's actually like of like a flip flop The Party & The After Party. The difference though about it is that it would be like The After Party & The Party. This could have been on House of Balloons.
8. Rolling Stone: This has this Spanish guitar intro to it. There are also bongos and stuff in it. This is actually the songs that I needed after Gone. This song also has theses like beads in that backgrounds that make it sound a little like rain drops. The beads kind of remind me of something a little kid would make in kindergarten with the paper towel roll and the rubber bands and raw noodles inside it. I really like this song, but I feel like 4 minutes is a little long. There is this distortion that comes in at the last like 30 seconds and ends the song.
9. Heaven Or Las Vegas: What I wanted was a The Knowing feeling to it. This song has this epic ending type of feel to it. It's either that or the fact that this is over. For some reason this song makes me want to relisten to this thing. Kind of like a repeat you know.

Overall I have to give this mixtape a 9/10. This album gives me this kind of theme to it. The same thing about House of Balloons. But the thing on this one was the shit went down on Thursday. On House of Balloons it could have gone down on any day of the week. I overall liked House of Balloons more than I did this one, though this has potential. The thing about Abel is that these songs are good, but they are best, at least for me, front to back, and need multiple listens.

House of Balloons - The Weeknd

This album is crazy. I first listened to the whole entire thing through, except track 7-9 last night while I was laying in bed. This morning I was playing those songs while I was getting dressed for school. I was going to listen to it front to back while I walked home but my mom picked me up and I was mad. That completely defeated the purpose of that. But this is my review for it. I hope you listen to it and or like my review.

1. High For This: I don't usually like this type of music but there is something about this. His voice is very pretty. I think that the sample in this song adds to it. The backing drum machine or sample makes it seem like its his heartbeat . At about 2:30 he begins to go into like a bridge, so to say, and It is my favorite part of the entire song. This is my favorite song on the album and I love this song
2. What You Need: The way this song is set up is something I could picture Marvin Gaye having made this song. The vocals somewhat remind me of a higher pitched Marvin. I love that this song has a head bop beat to it. This is defiantly a really good song. The lyrics are a little more as
3. House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls: This song is another good one.  the second part of this song has a type of dub step backing to it. That still is awesome but the flow between the transition between the two is pretty cool. Lyrically as part of the second part of the songs makes me think that he is at a party and they are all doing substances.
4. The Morning: There is a pretty, what seems to be, guitar solo in the beginning. It sounds like something that would be in a song like this. This song makes me feel like you would get laid to this song. And the lyrics mention money and like in the morning after a big party. This for some reason has a feel of one that relaxes. It almost makes me fall asleep, in a good way. The melody and beat are that chill that it sets that feel of this song. This is another song that would get you laid if you were having a baby.
5. Wicked Games: I like the beginning of this song. It has a guitar part, but everything stops. And then the entire song. This song talks about strippers/prostitutes and drugs. The feel of this song is so sweet. I want this to be like a song to play for your girl but when it comes to lines like the chorus, its hard for it to still be a love song. This entire song though is mind blowing. I love this song so much I don't know how to explain it. After hearing this song, I have grown to love it even more. This song is amazing, and better than any other song on the album. When I make that first baby this will be the song that will be playing, on a loop if needed.
6. The Party & The After Party: Lots of the songs sound the same to an extent. But they don't after you listen to the album more than twice. The more you listen to them you learn that. This song is the one where I originally began ''doubting'' that this would be an amazing album. I love how in this song  there is an inhale sound instead of actually saying that they do the drugs, That just emplies it. And also what's with the organ type sounding instrument through the first part of this song. At about 3:20 everything except the vocals and guitar are silent for about 20 seconds. This song has a certain atmosphere to it, along with the rest of the songs. This song is very good to. I kind of think the part at around 5:15 where he says you weird makes me laugh. The ending of the song has a train sound or something that segues into the next track.
7. Coming Down: This is the track where he like talks about how money is gonna change him or vice versa. The thing that sucked about this song it that it took me 3 listens to figure out what to say about this song. This song continues the flow of the smooth and sweet, just like before. I think this song could be a MTV music video for this.
8. Loft Music: This song's samples are a lot different that the rest of the album. His voices are a lot more blunt and you hear it more that before. This song is like what seems to be the climax of this partying that has been going on throughout this whole entire album. That sounds weird for me to say but that's what I picture in my head. I like how this song has a looped sounding ending to it.
9. The Knowing: This song makes me feel like this is a new beginning to the album. or the new beginning to the sunny day. This is obviously supposed to be like a morning after type track. I really think that this is a good ending to the mix tape. I feel like it is bitter sweet in that fact that it isn't really sweet but it somewhat feels it. There is like a backing vocals that make this feel like it is the end. And the way this track ends with a fade of a sound makes it sound pretty cool and gives it a done effect.

Overall I give this an 9/10. I liked this a lot and it only was more and more as I listened to it. The lyrics to this album are very dirty and he swears constantly. I think that kind of adds to the songs, in a way. It's very odd to think that he could swear so much and make that sound romantic. This album has parts that remind me of Michael Jackson and also Marvin Gaye. I can't stand the Man in the Mirror but Marvin is someone who I can handle. I changed it to a 10/10 on March 6th, 2012. The original rating was 9.5. I changed the score in 2015 to a 9. That's proably what I"m feeling now. The extra names over there in the link thing are people who contributed to production Doc McKinney, Illangelo, Zodiac, Cirkut.