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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Channel Orange

Frank Ocean

2012

Buy At Rough Trade
Channel Orange
Album Summary

Channel Orange (stylized as channel ORANGE) is the debut studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra the previous year, Ocean began writing new songs with Malay, a producer and songwriter who then assisted him with recording Channel Orange at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. Rather than rely on samples as he had with his mixtape, Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on the album. Other producers who worked on the album included Om'Mas Keith and Pharrell Williams. Its recording also featured guest appearances from Odd Future rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator, vocalist/songwriter André 3000, and guitarist John Mayer. Noted by writers as musically unconventional, Channel Orange draws on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelic styles, as well as nonmusical sounds such as film dialogue and ambient noise that function as interludes. Vocally, Ocean uses a free-form flow as well as alternating falsetto and tenor registers throughout the album. His songwriting explores themes of unrequited love, decadence, class, and drugs through the use of surrealistic imagery, conversational devices, and descriptive narratives depicting dark characters. He titled the album as a reference to the neurological phenomenon grapheme–color synesthesia, through which he had perceived the color orange during the summer he first fell in love. To prevent Channel Orange from leaking onto the Internet, Ocean and Def Jam released the album digitally one week earlier than its publicly announced date. It was promoted with five singles, including Ocean's highest charting single "Thinkin Bout You" (number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100) and a supporting concert tour in July 2012. Channel Orange debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and sold 131,000 copies in its first week, eventually selling 621,000 copies in the US by September 2014. Critically, it was the best-reviewed album of 2012 and the year's top-ranked album in numerous critics' lists, including the American Pazz & Jop and the British HMV Poll of Polls. At the 2013 Grammy Awards, Channel Orange was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album. Since then, it has featured in several professional lists ranking the best albums from the 2010s as well as all time.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.36

Votes

12113
Genres
Hip Hop
Soul
Pop

Reviews

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Mon Dec 12 2022
5

February 10, 2013: I'm sitting in the living room of our college apartment, watching the Grammys on my giant box TV. Not sure why, I guess I was bored. I saw that Mumford & Sons were nominated quite a bit for their Babel album, which had been a favorite of mine over the previous year. Near the end of the broadcast, a guy named Frank Ocean gets up to perform a song called "Forrest Gump." He's standing behind a keyboard, and there's a screen displaying his legs running, and he ends the song whistling and running down behind the keyboard, off into the distance. I was intrigued. This same guy beat Chris Brown for the suspiciously racist "best urban contemporary album" award, but he lost AOTY to Mumford & Sons. I went to sleep with "Forrest Gump" stuck in my head. Next chance I had, I downloaded the album from [REDACTED] and began listening. It was gas. Our grandmother had passed away a day before the Grammy performance, and in the late nights between then and our flight to Chicago for the funeral, I absorbed this album like a sponge. I was trying to get all of my grieving cousins to listen to Frank Ocean. I loved most of the tracks, but was obsessed with "Bad Religion." I realized very quickly that this should've beat Mumford & Sons. I bought a bootleg vinyl on eBay (pressed on orange wax of course), and Alex and I would listen to this in the dark in that apartment. I put it on a CD in my car and played it over and over until it became scratched and skippy. I learned the in's and out's of this project like a treasure map. This album didn't just put me on to Frank Ocean, it made me a fan of music in a way I'd never been before. I started looking for acclaimed albums I'd never heard, started downloading playlists of Pitchfork's top 100 songs of each year. Paired with Yeezus a few months later, these albums opened my eyes and ears to the point where they may never close again. Without this album, there's probably no obsessive record collection, no year-end albums and tracks lists, no semi-famous youtuber, and almost certainly no participation in this 1001 albums journey. This album really changed my life and it means the world to me. Favorite tracks: Every song on here to some degree. Album art: It's orange baby. That's enough. 5/5

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Tue May 18 2021
5

I haven't really delved into Frank Ocean's music before, there's only a couple of songs that I knew before listening to this album. But this album is SO good! I can't get over how good it sounds, from start to finish. Highlights were Thinkin Bout You, Sweet Life, Pilot Jones, Pyramids, Lost, Bad Religion. Definitely rate it 5/5 stars. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. This might very well be my favourite album I've been given to listen so far. I'm definitely going to be listening to more of his music after this.

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Fri May 21 2021
5

Legit mad that I'd never listened to this before now. Incredible from start to finish. The run from Pyramids to Pink Matter is *chef's kiss*. As soon as it was over, I wanted to listen again - a first for me in about 120 albums. Didn't even mind the long run time. Can't believe I missed out on 9 years of listening to this.

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Sat Oct 09 2021
1

This music is the soundtrack for the beginning of the degeneration of music and society as a whole. This goes hand in hand with instagram slut culture and signifies the move away from the rock and indie movement into the faceless, pointless RnB/hip hop and mumble rap of the current age. Paving the way for morons like Takeshi 69, Post Malone and Travis Scott, It has also spawned a social acceptance for hyper feminism such as Meghan thee Stallion and Cardi B. Nasty Ass Pussy. Music is an 808, syncopated, hi-hat/snare arrangement away from utter devastation and failure as a concept.

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Tue Jan 19 2021
5

Effortlessly cool. Talking about a past lover, kids who just don’t understand living life and it’s troubles, a girl having to go work the strip club...none of it feels forced. This album rules

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Thu Apr 15 2021
5

great album to cry to - ‘thinkin bout you’ is a masterpiece - his voice is gorgeous - arguably more honest and raw than Blonde - incredibly produced and composed.

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Tue Jul 27 2021
5

Listening to this brings me back to being 16. For some of us, this album was one of the biggest deals in all of high school. I first heard of Frank Ocean when my friends told me about this album and how it had dropped a week early. What an event this record turned out to be. We all had our favorite songs off of it. I gravitated towards the Elton John sampling "Super Rich Kids" and it's narrative of decadent ennui, the epic "Pyramids," with it's multiple phases and fried-beyond-recognition John Mayer guitar solo, and the simple bliss of "Forrest Gump." And of course, "Thinkin About You." We all loved that song. It closed out prom that year. I'll always be more of a Blonde guy if we're looking at complete albums, but Channel Orange, to this day, has some of my favorite songs ever on it. And, maybe more importantly, it's one of those albums that acts as a time machine for me, back to a time of halcyon togetherness. Can't be go lower than a 5.

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Tue Feb 16 2021
1

This is in the 1001 top albums?

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Wed Jul 12 2023
4

It's as good as people were saying at the time isn't it? It feels like the sort of album Prince might have made had he been born 30 years later. Thinking, Pyramids and a few others are very impressive. I wish it had a little less of the "I'm up in my penthouse feeling alienated" crap in there, the curse of 2010s music - leave that to Drake and his army of simpleton fans to simp over. But other than that, a work of a very clever musician.

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Mon Jan 25 2021
5

5/5. Sometimes people are right

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Wed Feb 03 2021
5

Channel Orange is an amazing album and Frank Ocean is incredible. Flawless production, Frank Ocean's voice is so full of depth - the sound, the raw emotion, the range. Even the lyrics in this album are amazing, he really knows how to literally put you into his shoes as the listener and feel like you're experiencing the songs as you listen.

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Fri Mar 31 2023
5

An incredible album made by one of the greatest R&B artists of his generation and it was very important to me in my formative years. No real misses on this album for me. My favorite song is Sweet Life but you can't really go wrong with any of them. I think the weakest track on here for me have to be White but it is still okay (like a 5-10). The rest of the songs range from a like 7-10.

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Thu May 27 2021
5

I fully agree with the hype! Lyrics and songwriting miles ahead of anyone in the genre and a well put together album beginning to end

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Mon Sep 27 2021
4

An album that I would not have listened to without it being suggested, which I guess is the whole point of the platform. At first, I found it to be a little bland and uninvolving, far too preoccupied with samples, microbeats and other musical gimmicks. But then I began to "hear" the pleasing quality of Frank's voice and it became more of an enjoyable listen. By the time I reached "Lost", I realised that I would need to listen to the whole thing a couple more times before I settled on a judgement. Being tenacious in order to experience new music has been rewarded.

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Sat Nov 27 2021
2

Squeaky Usher. Like R Kelly, but without all the noncing (probably).... I mean, we don't know the real reason Ocean's 11 was called that. Still, ...better than Ocean's 8. Both in terms of the film and the connotations that I'm trying to imply, which are, that Frank Ocean nonces 8 and 11 year olds.

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Tue Oct 03 2023
2

I'm sure people love this for many reasons, but I am not sure what they are. This album was just meh for me. Sounds like old school R&B at times, but with a rapper who can't sing and tries to be "creative" with voice effects and sound effects.

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Wed Feb 10 2021
1

The dire ramblings of someone with too much time and not enough tune

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Mon Mar 08 2021
1

Absolutely horrible. Words cannot express how much I hate this music. Something about the R&B wharble is like nails on a blackboard to me. I can't listen to it.

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Fri May 14 2021
1

Just boring. It took me about 1 minute per each track to be sick of it.

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Thu Oct 14 2021
5

Heavy bias here because I've spent hours and hours with this album (and Blonde) and good ol Cole Cuchna via the Dissect podcast. Everything about this album - the open letter coming out backstory, the double meanings, the skits, the instrumentation, the album cover, the song sequencing, the themes - is considered and layered with meaning. But its also not tedious or cold. Restrained, surreal storytelling. Unique production. Cleopatra in a strip club. Features are sparse but exactly where needed- numb rich guy iambic verse from Earl S, extremely tasteful John Mayer interlude, show stealing Andre 30000. If I didn't have a deep history with Frank I'd probably score this lower, but I do so A+

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Fri Oct 22 2021
5

This album is almost ten years old which is WILD! I listened to it a ton driving around LA when I was there for work. I remember how revelatory it was at the time that Frank Ocean was bisexual—it was a first and was considered pretty dramatic. And here we are 10 years later and it doesn’t feel like a big deal at all. And this album? Such a boo from top to bottom. I hope Ocean makes more. Sometimes we have to wait for good things.

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Tue Nov 02 2021
5

Me gusta mucho, aunque no sé bien explicarlo. E igual me asombra que haya gente que lo eleve tantísimo a Frank Ocean, pero quizá sólo sea mi ignorancia. Mientras, lo disfruto. Entre mis favs: "Sweet Life", "Pyramids", "Lost" y "Bad Religion" 9.5/10

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Mon Jul 10 2023
5

5/5 you already know i fucking love this album right here. frank comes alive and tells us stories via song. W. No skips. Pyramids is prob my favorite but idk man its hard.

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Mon Oct 02 2023
5

Common Themes: Frank Ocean brings personal and intimate vocals to this album. Shorter "intermission" songs provide a short break from longer tracks. Reminded me of Adult Swim commercials in between shows. Latter half of the album discusses themes of love and being loved, once again intimate and sensual in a way. I wonder how Blonde innovates upon this formula.

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Wed Sep 15 2021
4

I’ve always wanted to listen to Frank Ocean. 2. This Song is fantastic 5. I really love this 7. Love this too. It’s interesting contrasted with the previous track 14. Obsessed with this I’m not sure I really get this album but it was good.

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Wed Oct 11 2023
4

7/10 - Upbeat, jazzy, funky, spoken word. Some Stevie Wonder influence. Large range of styles.

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Fri Oct 13 2023
4

Real good. Great production. Could cut off the last few songs and it might be better, but the run through the middle of the album is killer. I don't know enough about the genre to speak definitively, but hard for me to imagine a much better version of what this is.

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Mon Jun 13 2022
3

I was enjoying it for the first few songs but by the end, I felt like I was listening to the same song over and over again. 3.5.

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Wed Aug 30 2023
3

I find this album overall boring? It doesn't sound bad at all! His voice is beautiful and the general sound is as well, I just don't find it exciting. I think I don't have nostalgia related to this album which makes my enjoyment less intense. Some very high highs and it was a relaxing nice listen. The Andre 3000 feature was awesome

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Thu Sep 14 2023
3

Good music but not my style. Would listen again and revise.

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Thu Aug 24 2023
2

Seriously I was just anxious for it to be over the whole time. I did not find it interesting or enjoyable.

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Thu Sep 28 2023
2

I'll be honest, I had very low expectations, and half of this album met those on the nose. But once we got past the usual misogynistic dross, there were a few tunes in here that I kind of enjoyed - Super Rich Kids had me humming along, Bad Religion I liked. Enough to come back to it? I doubt it, but I don't regret listening.

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Tue Mar 09 2021
1

El disco no solo es una mierda si no que además es terriblemente aburrido.

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Tue Dec 14 2021
1

this is considered the greatest? it is barely music.

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Wed Aug 31 2022
1

This is the answer to the question, "What would Stevie Wonder sound like if he had no talent for singing or song writing?"

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Mon Jan 09 2023
1

Not my cup of tea. Sounds like a million and one other 'artistes' of the last 10 years. Utterly pointless songs. Says nothing to me about my life.

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Sat Oct 14 2023
1

1. ztart - 0 2. thinking about you - 1 3. fertilizer - 0 4. zierra leone - 1 5. zuueet life - 1 6. not juzt money - 0 7. zuper rich kidz - 1 8. pilot jonez - 0 9. crack rock - 1 10. pyramidz - 1.5 11. lozt - 1 12. uuhite - 0 13. monkz - 1 14. bad religion - 1 15. pink matter - 1 16. forrezt gump - 1 17. end - 0

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Thu Dec 24 2020
5

Classic - Thinkin About You, Sweet Life, Pyramids and Bad Religion are my favorites, but every non-interlude track is great.

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Wed Jan 20 2021
5

Smooth af. Actually put me in a better mood.

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Wed May 26 2021
5

This will always be a great album. Would be a nice one to have on vinyl.

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Tue Mar 09 2021
5

This is such an amazing album. I'm glad this gave me the reminder to listen through again.

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Tue Apr 06 2021
5

One of the top albums of the 2010's and up there in my top 20 of all time.

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Thu Apr 22 2021
5

Already love... RnB GOAT, unequivocally

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Sun Apr 18 2021
5

Great album. 0 bad songs and really high highs. Favorite song: Pyramids

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Thu May 06 2021
5

Not a bad track. Feels like an unfolding story. Stripped back. Almost perfect.

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Fri Jul 23 2021
5

played this once way back but as background noise BUT NOWWWW DAMNNNN BOYYYYYYYYY THIS IS GOOD ASS SHIT MMMMMMMMM

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

9/10. This was pretty good. He has a nice voice. Beginning of Super Rich Kids had me worried because it sounded like Benny and the Jets for a moment.

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

Really good, would relisten. Couldn't always make out the lyrics but sounded nice anyway. 9

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

Huge album, I love basically everything about it but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to give it a perfect score, I think because I want it to be more cohesive than it is. 9/10

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Fri Oct 22 2021
5

this album is very good I like it I think it is his best

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Sat Nov 06 2021
5

One of the best albums of the last 20 years

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Fri Nov 12 2021
5

I liked this way more than I thought I would

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Thu Nov 18 2021
5

This is one of my favourite albums, to the point where I was listening to tracks from it earlier today before this glorious website assigned me Channel Orange. If you want Channel Orange to be deep, it can be. You can sort the songs into pairs, consider Mr Ocean's exploration of his sexual identity and his telling of stories from different corners of society, both as a slice of life and a metaphor of his own experience. Or you can just take every song on their own, feeling sad or loved-up or defiant or introspective as the feeling takes you. "Bad Religion" stands as a glorious cornerstone of the album and ever fails to make my eyes leak. And best of all - this isn't even Frank Ocean's best work.

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Fri Nov 19 2021
5

The album is just a great vibe. Easy listening and suited to so many occasions.

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Mon Dec 13 2021
5

Este álbum me sorprendió mucho, ya que no soy muy fan del R&B, pero me encontré escuchándolo como unas tres veces. No creo que algún otro álbum del género llegue a tener esta calificación por mi. Hay algo respecto de los arreglos musicales que lo hace diferente. No es sólo rap y no me pareció tedioso, además el uso de sonidos ambientales como el Play Station del intro le dio una textura especial. No le presté demasiada atención a la letra, pero después de leer el artículo de Wikipedia creo que debería. Mis canciones favoritas fueron “Pyramids” y “Super Rich Kids”.

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Fri Dec 31 2021
5

This is one of my favorite albums. Almost being 10 years old, it still holds up. By far one of the best albums of this century.

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Fri Jan 07 2022
5

A great album that seems to keep momentum all the way through. Forrest Gump is one of my favorite songs of the past decade. Pyramids is a 9 minute journey.

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Wed Feb 02 2022
5

Hooked right out of the gate. The hits are massive, drums sound great throughout.

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Wed Feb 09 2022
5

Oooo boy now this is a certified classic. Ocean has clearly already established the mainstays of his discography by this point, with the evocative yet sensitive lyrics and achingly beautiful vocals that underpin each song. "Pyramids" is just plain epic. I love this album!!!

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Mon Apr 04 2022
5

What a please to be assigned this album today. This was something I had on repeat back when it was released. Every track is a banger!

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Tue Apr 05 2022
5

4/03/2022 Today's Album: "Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean - This album is dense, extremely well executed, and packed with a ton of instrumental personality, so it definitely took a few days and a handful of listens to really "get" it. This album is phenomenal. These are really expressive and rich R&B tracks that cover a veriety of subject matters with suprising levels of nuance and with tons of layers of meaning in every line. From a surface level listen, you're met with likeable tracks that fuze pop and R&B with fantastic production and suprisingly listenable heavy sub-bass. Frank's vocals are fantastic on every track, the choruses are quickly learnable and given the hundreds of listens on each track, Frank is obviously a big heavy hitter in the pop scene. Going into the tracklist, there are a lot of times where the themes of drugs, past relationships, racism, systematic inequality, etc. that are all over most albums in this genre and the broader hip hop and rap scenes show up, but in a way that is very interesting to the listener. For instance, the first song of the album, Thinkin' Bout You explores the regret of past relationships by asking their first love if they still think about them, but his lyricism makes it hard to determine if this is an ongoing relationship or one that has already ended, adding to the message. The track Fertilizer is a short poppy interlude with only one line of lyrics, but the meaning of it is one of a partner feeling like they must continue with a relationship despite them being treated like shit. The name Fertilizer is also a play on words, implying the only connection in this relationship is when Frank and his partner have love- less sex (Fertilizing Her). The song Sierra Leone covers seemingly all of the emotions surrounding an unplaned pregnancy, with Frank having to come to turns with his immaturity and grow up to raise a child, the financial and familial struggle of dealing with an unplanned child, and even the relationship Frank has with being a father given how his father left him when he was young. The track Super Rich Kids is not only a fantastic sounding song, but it covers the troubles of young wealth and all of the mental, interpersonal, and legal issues related to someone having vast amounts of wealth when they are young. Pilot Jones and Crack Rock both cover the issues related to drugs and homelessness in America in great depth, with the former being from the perspective of Frank dealing with a parter that is dealing/addicted to drugs. The 10 minute track Pyramids is a great examination into the tarnished identity of black women as they were stolen from their home continent and were bastardized by the west. The first part is about the capturing and exploitation of black woman slaves right from the African Population and the second part is about the modern day black woman and how many have been reduced down to hookers and strippers. This track also sounds phenomenal from start to finish and features some amazing instrumental moments. Lost covers the drug industry further, this time with Frank taking the perspective of a man forcing a woman to mule drugs by putting them inside of her Double D sized breasts. It sounds immature and cliche upon first listen, but after understanding the premise it is a story of a young woman who is unable to escape a world of drug trafficing that she is already too far deep within. Monks is Frank examining his fame, but through discribing a drug fueled sexual encounter he had with a handful of groupies from one of his shows. One of the heaviest hitters, Bad Religion, compares a romantic relationship to a religion, as Frank finds this partner he once worshiped gone from him now. Like many tracks on this album, he describes these past relationships in an absolutely heartbreaking way, shedding light to the parts of a relationship that most dont think about. Pink Matter is a beautiful track that uses relationships and specifically a woman's womb to contemplate desire, fantasy, and even existentialism. It is an example of another pattern of this album, where Frank seems to be simply singing a love song, but there are several deeper meanings underneath simply talking about vaginas or boobs. Forest Gump is a light-hearted track from the perspective of Jenny from Forest Gump, being a metaphor for Frank's first love, who he later admitted was male and the final track End ends the album in a similar way it started, with background chatter and noise as Frank is musically switching through memories like TV channels. From an instrumental and musical standpoint, there are some moments that feel a little underdeveloped on this LP, but the diversity of sounds and melodies alongside solid instrumentals and lyricism that are so layered it can take hundreds of listens to fully comprehend make this album just fantastic from start to end. Themes of first loves, past toxic relationships, drugs, pregnancy, status, wealth, and power are all brilliantly meditated on under the guise of an R&B pop album and I really just cannot emphasize how well it is pulled off. This album is getting me really excited to check out Ocean's other music and about 80 percent of the tracks here are going to find their way into my library. Listen to this one if you like R&B, pop, heavy bass, great vocals, smart lyrics, or any/all of the above. Score: 9.5/10 Smart, Beautiful, Excellent. Highlights: Thinkin Bout You, Fertilizer, Super Rich Kids, Pilot Jones, Pyramids, Lost, White, Monks, Bad Religion, Pink Matter, Forest Gump.

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Tue Apr 12 2022
5

Byrjar á autotune í Thinkin' bout you (mest spilaða laginu) og ég verð fyrir vonbrigðum, en svo lagast það og platan reynist svona líka góð. Mjög gaman að hlusta og ég mun gera það oftar.

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Fri Apr 15 2022
5

goated. absolute classic. one of my favorite albums of all time by my favorite artist of all time. 0 flaws.

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Thu Apr 28 2022
5

Love this one. There are actually more killer tracks than I remember (Thinking Bout You, Lost & Super Rich Kids are my top 3, but there are 8 or 9 very decent songs here). Even the weaker or interlude-y tracks contribute to the bigger picture though. There's this kinda modern, minimal, slightly spacey thing going on that takes me to some specific place and time it's hard to describe (probably southern California, near future; somewhere affluent and hi-tech but slightly unsettling nonetheless?) 4.5

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Fri May 20 2022
5

I didn't get into Frank Ocean until this past December (2021) because he got a ton of universal hype across indie review websites and I would always be almost insulted when I would see him atop "Best Indie Albums" lists. I would think- "Is this hip hop guy's album really more monumental for indie music than the Strokes "Is This It"?" or I would question "Frank Ocean is more indie than Neutral Milk Hotel?". But then in December I heard one of his tracks covered live and I was like "oh man is THIS Frank Ocean? The time has come." Frank Ocean is the Fucking Shit with a capital F and S, and Channel Orange is a masterpiece. To me he has that one magical thing about his voice that he could sing literally anything and it would sound beautiful, hip, emotional, contemplative, and cool. His persona only adds to it- he rarely gives interviews and keeps a bit behind the curtain, he's so cool that he performs on SNL and his guitarist in the back - in the dark - is John Mayer, he even announced his sexuality via his personal Tumblr by just saying "4 Summer ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too." (It's a beautiful short thank you note that you should check out if you haven't and are a fan. I love how frank he is about it in an environment where being gay or bisexual isn't so widely accepted)... he's just a cool guy. "Thinkin Bout You", "Super Rich Kids", and "Lost" are modern classics! This is an album where I would love to have had a rating system out of 100 instead of out of 5. To me it's hard to say that this album is only a 4/5 because that's an 80/100. It's also not a 5/5 or 100/100 like a few others on this list are, but I think that it's closer to being a 5/5 than it is a 4/5 so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt.

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Fri May 20 2022
5

Wheeew I listened to this one about five times in a row and I think it's actually a masterpiece. Like, he makes legitimately artful music without taking himself too seriously. The beats draw you in, the lyrics are thought-provoking, and his voice is like buttah.

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Mon Jun 27 2022
5

This is simple. Frank Ocean writes some of hip-hop/ R&B’s sexiest stuff. Two standout all-timers inhabit a total package that brilliant and really quite lovely.

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Sun Jul 10 2022
5

one of the GOATS. endlessly listenable.

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Tue Aug 16 2022
5

"Channel Orange" is the debut studio album from Frank Ocean following up his previous year's mixtape album "Nostalgia, Ultra." Frank wanted a song structure change as he didn't wanted to solely rely on mixtapes. He primarily co-wrote and co-produced with Malay but also had collaborations with Om'Mas Keith, Pharrell Williams and Tyler the Creator. Quite the company. That probably also partially explains the vaiety of styles. The music was noted as unconventional for R&B drawing electronic, funk, pop-soul, jazz, pyschedelic, film dialogue and ambient. All those styles are heard. The themes, and this is important for the flow of the album, are unrequited love, decadence, class and drugs. There is an order to the songs as they are pretty much grouped into the thematic categories listed above. The songs within each category are connected with interludes including spoken word or everyday sounds or sometimes go from song to song. This is quite a big but rewarding listen. A lot of times, the story is told in narrative style from different points of view and it's obvious a lot is taken from Frank's personal experience (or is it). The album begins with an interlude of noises including video games and doors opening into the first of the five singles released, "Thinkin' About You." Electronic, funk, a ballad, a slow atmospheric drumbeat, soulful singing. This reminds right away of Stevie Wonder which is heard frequently throughout the album. Frank goes from his tenor to a falsetto and back, another technique heard throughout. The song was originally written for Bridget Kelly and was about Frank's admitted first attraction and love to a 19-year old man. "Sweet Life," is the third single and in the area of the album whose theme is mostly about class and in particular about living and wasting your time on the beach in Southern California. Great keyboards, soul, jazz. No doubt it's influenced by his collaborator Pharrell Williams. The ghost of Stevie Wonder is heard again. "Super Rich Kids," the fifth single continues the class theme with young, wealthy characters and fake lives. Earl Sweatshirts contributes in this more soulful song. The second half of the album starts a more drug-themed focus. The nearly 10-minute epic and second single single "Pyramids" uses the imagery of Cleopatra, pyramids and strip clubs for a love story of a pimp and one of his lovers. Great, great production and maybe the centerpiece of the album. More dance and EDM sounding. Pyschedelic, soulful. Quite a song. "Lost" immediately follows and is my favorite song on the album. A more traditional rock and pop structure. Great synthesizer and vocal chorus and drumbeat. It is about a relationship and mentions his cocaine-smoking girlfriend. Heavy stuff lyrically. This album is quite the achievement. It is not only considered by many as one of the best albums of 2012 but of the 2010's. Getting into this the album is a lot ( a lot here) but days like this makes ths challenge rewarding, especially when you get into and listen to something like this.

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Mon Sep 12 2022
5

Fantastic album, probably one of the most important albums of my musical journey and I would say a front to back masterpiece.

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Mon Sep 12 2022
5

This album has definitely grown on me hard since I first heard it, I think in large part due to my own expanding musical palette. As a born-and-bred classic rock kid this album just did not work for me years ago. Now, with the experience of listening to a much wider array of genres, I can not only appreciate Frank's excellent songwriting, but how he blends so many disparate sounds into his RnB style. Pure excellence.

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Tue Sep 13 2022
5

Taler for sig selv - en moderne klassiker

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Sat Sep 24 2022
5

Amazing soulful, clever song writing and performance - I don’t know how I had passed on Frank Ocean but I sure do regret it. This album is great, end to end, and gets better with every listen.

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Tue Oct 18 2022
5

Holy shit, 5 easy. Reading the reviews we've clearly got a lot of boomers and/or racist homophobes listening to this list.

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Tue Oct 18 2022
5

Oh no! It isn't indie rock or music made in the late 60s/70s! What will we do! All music is ending as we know it! Some of the reviews here are hilarious. Maybe we should have stopped evolving music when the first caveman struck two bones together and called it a xylophone. Banging album, took the trends around the time and distilled it into a coherent masterpiece of modern music.

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Tue Oct 25 2022
5

One of the best albums of the 2010s. Channel Orange was one of the first major albums to openly discuss same-sex relationships sounded fantastic at the same time. Thinkin Bout You is beautiful, Super Rich Kids is good commentary, and Pyramids is an absolute epic. Plus this may be the only time we hear John Mayer on this list and he provides two excellent guitar solos (White and Pyramids). Frank Ocean delivered a classic on his debut and it's a shame that his music was never really this focused again.

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Tue Oct 25 2022
5

Though I prefer Frank’s next album, Blonde, which is a bit more experimental, I can’t deny the quality of this album. Frank’s voice and song writing are top tier and there are so many classic songs on here. I just want everyone to take a minute to appreciate Earl Sweatshirts poetic wordplay on Super Rich Kids. “Alright, close your eyes to what you can't imagine We are the Xanny-gnashing Caddy-smashing, bratty assy He mad, he snatched his daddy's Jag And used the shit for batting practice Adamant and he thrashing Purchasing crappy grams with half the hand of cash you handed” 🔥🔥🔥

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Tue Oct 25 2022
5

This album is so good - definitely was trying to remember all the amazing details pointed out in that dissect series

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