With 2002's Electric Circus, Common rocketed deliriously into the outer limits of sonic experimentation, at least as far as major-label hip-hop is concerned. On 2005's Be, he returned triumphantly to Earth with a sound as intimate and soothing as a warm bath after a hard day's work. Now comes Finding Forever, another Kanye West-engineered opus that picks up exactly where Be left off. It feels less like a sequel than an extension of Be, though the uncanny resemblance is both a major strength and its biggest weakness. Forever boasts nearly all of Be's homey virtues: It's tight, cohesive, devoid of filler, refreshingly brisk (at 50 minutes long), and sonically and lyrically focused. In an age of production-by-committee and double-digit guest rosters, it's the work of one MC and one producer (Kanye West) blessed with rare chemistry and a strong mutual vision.