OutKast: Idlewild

On Idlewild the album, Andre 3000 returns to rap, but he seems most engaged when he's allowed to indulge his inner Tin Pan Alley tunesmith, as on the terrific "PJ & Rooster." Meanwhile, "Buggface" and the single "Morris Brown" deftly showcase Big Boi's brassy, swaggering brand of sly Southernplayalistics. But too many of Idlewild's tracks feel half-realized. "N2U" starts off with some promising Beatles-esque "la la las," but seems to be missing a crucial verse. The same is true of "Chronomentrophobia," a song that's too short on an album that's too long. Idlewild threatens to reach the 82-minute mark, so why must there be so many interminable skits? And whose idea was it to end the album with the aptly titled "A Bad Note," a tuneless, eight-minute-plus, nearly instrumental dirge? (Andre 3000's, obviously. But still…)

Granted, "Bad Note," like "Makes No Sense At All," seems irritating and self-indulgent by design, but that doesn't make it any less skippable. It'd be easier to overlook the bum tracks if Idlewild boasted a knockout single like "Hey Ya!" or felt more cohesive, but the disc's shifts from upbeat pop to moody blues to noodly experimentation are downright whiplash-inducing. OutKast fans have come to expect a masterpiece every time out, but here, they'll have to settle for a glorious mess.