| VH1 Storytellers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | January 5, 2010 (2010-01-05) | |||
| Recorded | February 13, 2009 | |||
| Venue | Sony Stages (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 64:34 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Kanye West | |||
| Kanye West chronology | ||||
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VH1 Storytellers is the secondlive album by the American rapperKanye West. It was released inCD and DVD formats on January 5, 2010, throughRoc-A-Fella Records andDef Jam Recordings. After West announced an appearance for the programof the same name, he performed the set at Los Angeles' Sony Stages on February 13, 2009. The performance premiered viaVH1 on February 28, with parts of West's stories cut out due to time constraints.
Nine tracks were featured onVH1 Storytellers and West's performances of three tracks were added as bonus clips on its DVD, alongside his question-and-answer session. West mostly performed tracks from his previous two albums,Graduation (2007) and808s & Heartbreak (2008). He freestyled about the stories of the tracks, referencing subjects like musical influences, American society, and the media. The album received generally positive reviews frommusic critics, who often praised West's performances. Reception of West's speeches was more divided around the depth of his stories, although a few reviewers commended the honesty.
On February 3, 2009, West announced that he would film an episode in Los Angeles for theVH1 Storytellers program on February 13. This followed his mentorJay-Z having appeared for the program a year and a half prior, and West gave away around 80 tickets to his fans through a contest on his website.[1] Stage design was done for West's episode byEs Devlin, while lighting design was handled by Martin Phillips and John McGuire.[2] The episode was taped at Los Angeles' Sony Stages on the scheduled date and lasted for three hours, although it was cut to 90 minutes for the premiere viaVH1 on February 28, 2009.[3][4][5] In an interview withReuters, executive producerBill Flanagan said that some of West's stories were cut down due to time constraints and he "tried to get the essence of his comments".[4][5] West insulted English bandRadiohead in the taping for lead singerThom Yorke's alleged snobbery of him backstage at the51st Annual Grammy Awards, taking offence as he saw the band as an inspiration. He also asked the audience to giveChris Brown "a break" after the singer's assault onRihanna, although there was a lack of detail available regarding the incident at the time.[4][5]
West delivered 14 performances for the album and 9 made the final track listing, with performances of "Street Lights", "Paranoid", and "Homecoming" included as bonus clips.[4][6] His performance of "Go Hard" was cut out, while one of "Love Lockdown" was only made available online.[4][7]VH1 Storytellers was released as aCD and DVD package by West's labelsRoc-A-Fella andDef Jam on January 5, 2010. The DVD lasted for over 70 minutes, adding his question-and-answer session and previously unaired performances.[6][8][9]
VH1 Storytellers is ahip-hoplive album.[10] For the show, West wore a bowtie, shades, and a suit.[11][12] The rapper delivered an intimate gig,[13] appearing in a cosy setting at points.[10] He was backed by the theatrics of an elaborate light show,[8][12] featuring visual projections on the background screen and illumination from a floating square overhead. The screen occasionally shoots red beams down near West, who appears on a bare stage.[2][12] A backing band supported him that included violinists wearinggoalie masks, drummers, and abacking vocalist with "imposing"shoulder pads.[8] Sparse arrangements were delivered by the live orchestration that continued for four minutes after each piece, while West often sang throughAuto-Tune.[14][15][16] West performed songs from his studio albumsGraduation (2007) and808s & Heartbreak (2008), with "Touch the Sky" from 2005'sLate Registration marking the only track of his first two albums.[10][14][15] The rapper offered the stories behind the songs after performing as he freestyled about subjects such as musical influences, American society, and the media.[6][14][16] He also focused on himself as he discussed his career, fame, and art.[12][14] During the question-and-answer session, West explained the difference between808s & Heartbreak and his 2004 debutThe College Dropout.[17]
West started his set with a performance of "See You in My Nightmares", preceded by lamenting that other hip-hop artists do not evolve musically like him.[10] He segued from the song into "RoboCop" and recited the stanza "You spoiled little L.A. girl / You're just an L.A. girl" at the end, mentioningTenacious D as an influence.[16][18] West then performed "Flashing Lights" and apologized to VH1 for not revealing personal information in the stories; he alluded to his mother's death.[10][16] His performance of "Amazing" relied on a piano figure and he complained about media coverage in the middle of the song, apologizing for his behaviour at award shows.[10][14] West identifiedMichael Jackson and swimmerMichael Phelps as amazing, as well asO. J. Simpson, an actor who was known for hismurder trial.[13][16] The rapper performed "Touch the Sky" to stripped-down instrumentation, declaring he feels pain in not being able to watch himself perform live and that he is used as a vessel by God.[8][10] For West's performance of "Say You Will", spooky keyboards were added to the somber sound and he then performed "Good Life".[10][13] West followed with a medley of "Heartless and "Pinocchio Story", pretending to look for his heart on the floor and calling out fellow rapper50 Cent as he sang.[6][8] He closed the set with a stripped-down performance of "Stronger", which largely omitted itsDaft Punk sample.[8][19]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 66/100[20] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| The A.V. Club | C[12] |
| Cokemachineglow | 4/10[8] |
| Consequence | C+[10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[21] |
| Pitchfork | 4.9/10[11] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[14] |
VH1 Storytellers was met with generally positive reviews frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, the album received anaverage score of 66, based on six reviews.[20] In a highly positive review, Leah Greenblatt fromEntertainment Weekly found West to be someone who is rarely boring and wrote that rather than telling stories, he lets out "his id onto the stage in rambling, free-form fragments".[21] Greenblatt continued, describing West's songs and speeches as being delivered in "a sort of messy, testifying fervor".[21] Writing forPopMatters, Ross Langager was often excited by West's performances on the album and opined that the key element is his "idiosyncratic take on the vaunted 'storytelling' portion of the show", with him also showing self-awareness.[14]
Andy Kellman was less enthusiastic inAllMusic, feeling West uses the speech to go from "laying his soul bare [to] acting like an egomaniac", though Kellman concluded by callingVH1 Storytellers "a nice addition to a hardcore supporter's collection".[13] In a mixed review, Nathan Rabin ofThe A.V. Club found that West's "unusually dour" presentation "undermines the back-porch, intimate, telling-stories-to-pals vibe ofStorytellers".[12] Rabin expressed the viewpoint of the stories being rambled to incompletion and ultimately dull, while he praised West for sounding "tight, accomplished, and polished to a blinding sheen" at certain points.[12] Similarly, Scott Plagenhoef fromPitchfork observed "less storytelling and more golden age of entertainment-type stuff" from West, feeling that he "should have had a highball in his hand".[11] However, Plagenhoef viewed West as "an entertainer and a perfectionist-- a bang-for-your-buck guy" and presumed that the attendees "got their money's worth".[11] Providing a negative review forCokemachineglow, Lindsay Zoladz calledVH1 Storytellers an "extravagant, bombastic mess" and attributed this to West's "relentless martyr complex" being given a storytelling format.[8] Zoladz felt that the album focuses on West's antics and shows his "crazy at its most potent", although was impressed by the lighting and "tremendous backing band".[8]
Total length: 64:34
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