Channel Orange

Blonde er et album jeg har hørt ganske mye på til tross for at jeg ambivalent til det. De første tre låtene er moderne mesterverk. Og så rakner det litt. Mange telefonsamtaler og mye retningsløs R&B hoper seg sammen til flere små irratajonsmomenter. Men det sterkeste på den skiva er til gjengjeld låter jeg mener i stor grad klarer å løsrive seg fra kulturell stagnering. Channel Orange har jeg sikkert begynt på flere ganger før, men jeg kan umulig ha kommet veldig langt. Som egentlig er litt rart, for den har mange av de samme kvalitetene som Blonde — både på godt & vondt. Det er introspektivt & nostalgisk. Skiva åpner med en interlude av lydeffekter, deriblant oppstarts-jinglen til PSOne. Dette er 2012, samtidig med at Vaporwave begynte å ta sine første steg ut ifra undergrunnen. Så kommer Thinkin Bout You, et av skivas sterkeste spor, og demonstrerer hva Ocean kan. Overdådige strenger inn i en progressjon av ambient synth pads, low passed trommer som står på terskelen av trap, og en imponerende vokal-prestasjon. Men så får vi en fake commecial i form av Fertilzer, og selv om jeg kan like ambisjonen av å spoofe radio, er selv en radio spoof litt for likt å høre på en radio-reklame. Og det er slike innfall som stadig trekker skiva litt ned. Pyramids må være noe av det gjeveste innen moderne dance som lyttemusikk. Tror The Weeknd har basert hele karrieren sin på den låta. Likevel synes jeg det gode overveier det som er mindre bra. Den andre skiva fra 2010s som faktisk fortjener å bli inkludert. Frank Ocean må være en av de som har dratt hardest for å få pop-musikken opp ifra millenniumssumpen.

Det lover bra når lyden av PS1 får åpne plata, og "Thinkin Bout You" er spennende. Jeg kjenner den kun fra Matthew E. White og Flo Morrissey sin flotte coverversjon. Etter denne syns jeg plata er litt ujevn. Mye som følge av ulike skits, og det føles som plata ikke får kommet i gang helt. Vi får enda en topp med "Super Rich Kids", og liket at beaten på "Crack Rock" er "Little Miss Lover" av Hendrix opp av dage, men det er ikke før "Pyramids" at plata virkelig starter. Jeg merka ikke at den var nesten ti minutter engang. Så deilig det må være å være DJ å kunne sette på den og ha dansegulvet underholdt i ti min. Etter dette kommer låtene som perler på en snor. "Lost" setter seg på hjernen med det minimalistiske synthriffet sitt. "Bad Religion" høres ut som en forvrengt 70-tallsballade, og det er dritfett, og jeg er jo svak for orgel. Overrasket over å høre fløytisten André 3000 rappe på "Pink MAtter", men det funker bra. Jeg fikk nok ikke helt med meg Frank Ocean-hypen da denne plata kom, og ikke da Blond kom heller. Men jeg tenker i alle fall at hypen er delvis berettiget, og igjen er det oppstramming jeg ønsker meg, men Ocean var nære toppkarakter.

Endelig på tide å høre på Frank Ocean for første gang, og er veldig glad for at denne dukka opp på lista!

Mellow, easy-listening for the most part, but unremarkable overall and largely forgettable after it's done.

Didn't care for it.

I love this album!!!!!!

A great album. Impressive vocals (I then learned it his first studio album). Mix between melancholics / sadness and joy Potential for a personal top-shelf (weekly listen)

I was SO excited for this one, I’ve wanted to listen to more of Frank Ocean’s work for ages. I will say some of the songs were too slow for my liking. Fav song is ‘Super Rich Kids’.

This was a soundtrack to my high school years, which of course, were spent in beautiful southern california. Why see the world when you’ve got the beach! Frank Ocean is incredible and I am so pleased to have this trip down nostalgia lane

An instant classic, and joins the annals of smash debut albums. Shame he hasn't put out anything in a decade.

Would be closer to 3.5 stars on a more detailed rating and on the right day in the right mood 4. I still remember catching an odd future show at fader fort at sxsw I'm maybe 2011 and being amazed.

Totally overrated.

Fluctuated between being something I really resonated with to music I didnt connect to within a single song. Its seems experimental and unconventional, but not in a typical way. Each song was as surprising as the last, in a way that kind of became a pattern?? I feel like the artist deserves more than this rating for sure, but Im going by first impression. Not my style, but I feel like I could reconnect if a friend offered.

still remember the first time i heard this album, all time fav

another pretty perfect record for me. if this is a "weak" 5, then "blonde is an even stronger 5. I hope it's on here as well. i could go song-by-song about how amazing this album is, but "pyramids" is all i need to point to. it is 10 minutes of brilliance, one song broken up into 3 perfect parts. just stunningly good

*The* Gen Z album. Masterpiece

I expected this to be just a typical 2010s album that I wasn't going to be a fan of. Now, I didn't end up being a fan at the end of the album, but I didn't hate it. Frank does kinda sound like Stevie Wonder here, but that almost takes away from this album as a whole.

Ok, might need another listen but not sure I will

I love this. So much better than The Black Album. Im not sure how I have never heard this.

Could be a 4, but maybe blinded by familiarity. R&B usually falls short for me, but Frank’s more straightforward style of singing communicates emotion a lot more to me than a more impassioned style. Great use of organ on Bad Religion and Forrest Gump

Sort of ashamed this is my first time listening to this album. I remember it blowing up when I was in college. Thinkin bout you is so beautiful. Feel like some of it gets a tad repetitive which knocks it down to a 5

It was cool but not my style

really chill, not my style but coherent and i get why people like it, some songs sounded like h&m music tho lol the interval songs nice i liked them thinking about you - 3 sierra leone - 3 sweet life - 3,5 super rich kids - 3 pilot jones - 3 pyramids - 3,5 (could be 4 but 9 minutes is ragebait) lost - 3 monks - 3 bad religion - 2,5 pink matter - 3 forrest gump - 3 end - 4 37/12=3,08, i guess still 3 but better than radiohead, not my style, would give 3,5 tho if i could cuz intervals good

Going by my own taste in music this is a 3, but I'mgiving a 4 in recognition that the guy knows what he's doing: The songs are bare and spacious yet don't fill empty, every element is carrying a lot on its back successfully. To me this is a sign of a good musician. The reward of the sparse mix is a very clean sound with a distinct sense of space. Yeah, I don't particularly like R&B and this album is no exception. But I do like a good sounding mix, and this one is exemplary.

Not my most favourite genre, but there were some catchy tunes. Innovative mixes and melodies.

so so so good

Heel goed en leuk en fantastisch. Leuke baslijntjes synths en drums. Goede stem en gebruikt goede invloeden van alle hededaagse muziek. Een van de beste artiesten uit zijn tijd!

3,5 ster. Er zitten een paar echt goede nummers op maar ook paar die echt minder zijn. Nummers als Sierra Leone, sweet life, crack rock, monks zijn te smooth r&b voor mijn smaak waardoor ik afhaak. Bad Religion, thinking about you, super rich kids en als favoriet pink matter met andre 3000. Als ik het vergelijk met blonde is daar bijna elk nummer goed en heeft iets interessant wat orange niet heeft. Paar fantastische nummers maar als geheel album niet. Heb soms het gevoel dat door de mystiek rond Frank ocean dat hij op sommige vlakken wat word overgewaardeerd en een mythische status krijgt terwijl het ook redelijk mainstream is. Zeker paar hele goede nummers ontdekt

Dit is een 5 sterren-album, niet mijn meest favoriete maar wel 5 sterren. Veel goeie songs en een aanloop tot een van mijn meest favoriete all time favoriete albums. Mensen die zeuren om een nieuw Frank Ocean album moeten hier nog maar even op kauwen, er valt nog heel veel in te ontdekken.

Pyramids is a decent song, but this wasn’t a great album.

This really didn’t sit well with me. Garbage

Kind of boring and generic sounding.

really good stuff. modern classic dare i say? sort of formative for my generation I think

This was a good listen and saw Frank Ocean headline Bonnaroo for the 'channel Orange' tour. This actually has generational bangers and influence. I'd known Frank Ocean since the Odd Future days and this is a brilliant album. He acts like he's scrolling through radio stations as the song switches and has some intros/outros/setups that are very creative. Reminded me of Marvin Gaye and think this greatly influenced Anderson Paak's vocal cadence. Frank was the first person in the hip hop community to be bisexual/gay and broke a lot of ground for acceptability in the genre. This album is legendary for the generation and really enjoyed it.

It was ok, kind of

This is an album I listened to for the first time about ten years ago. I totally hated it and didn't understand what all the hype about Frank Ocean was about. Since then, I've listened to it several times, each time liking it more. Now, 2026 me thinks that it's an amazing album with such beautiful tunes

fantastic album, mellow

Glimpses of good but mostly meh

4 stars for an amazing album that isn't my taste

8/10 Best songs: Sweet Life, Super Rich Kids, Crack Rock, Pyramids, Lost A rather melancholic album about youth and the Black experience - or, at least, a very specific portion of it. In general I find the album quite strong (the Crack Rock-Pyramids-Lost stretch is great) but most of the songs are a little too slow for me - feeling kind of like background music.

Impressive

“Thinkin Bout You” is good, I might add it to my liked songs. “Lost” has a very nice intro, maybe also getting added to my liked songs.

Is Frank a pimp? Or perhaps a one man cult? Crack Rock, Lost, and Bad Religion are listenable - the rest of the songs are annoying to me. Would not recommend Channel Orange to a friend. (1.7*s) Didn’t really like his falsetto or pimpin’. Although no crotch grabbing and pointing, it’s just not my style.

Kanye West meets Stevie Wonder. Channel Orange starts out terrible. At the midway point ("Super Rich Kids" - "Lost"), there is some decent work to be found. Back 6 tracks return to pretty terrible. I can see why this album got attention though. It has some common themes people can relate to paired with not so common production and a softer singing style. I'm expecting a surprisingly high review from openmindz as this record would pair well with a Robbie Williams/Kendrick Lamar mix. 1/3 of the album is good and I would replay that middle section again. Also willing to check out his other album so for that...1.96 Crack Rocks.

Something made me feel that I had heard Frank Ocean's name in the past. Seeing this was a 2012 release and featured a handful of other popular artists I figured I would at least have some passing familiarity with it. Surprisingly this was all new to me and although some of it wasn't bad, I'm not sure any of it was good either. Not sure why this album is so highly reviewed and garnered a bunch of Grammy nominations. There's some mildly creative use of sampling during the interludes but the main meat of the album seemed like a lot of run-of-the-mill R&B tracks to me. Mostly slowish soul tracks with simple themes, limited hooks and a bunch of juvenile bullshit fake sexy lyrics. These are fine for the first couple tracks but as this album continues it gets more and more annoying. Even standalone none of these songs are anything I'm going to put on in my free time. Bold move to start an album with the original PlayStation start-up sound. Wish this hadn't been my favorite part of the album as it really was steadily downhill after the opening 30 seconds. Just because you sing about tits and add a couple of dated pop culture references into an R&B album doesn't make it interesting. The reality is there wasn't anything else that stood out for me from Channel Orange when it wrapped. This was pretty much a miss for me and Frank Ocean is an artist that looks like will get shelved moving forward. 1.42 stars

Absolutely adore this record. Loved it when it came out and still like the melancholy

Weird that such a soulful album was so thoroughly worked over in production, polished until some of the personality was scraped off

Holy nuts.

Haut mich net um

War ok verstehe aber immer noch nicht wieso Frank ocean so gehypt war in den zehner Jahren

Skjønner at det er noen sin vibe

good

really good, didn't think it was my jam, but its good listening. Nothing really stuck though, kind of background-y

fun, interesting and a vibe

9/10

When to listen: feeling smooth or easy or sentimental. I really enjoyed this album even if a few songs I feel like were overplayed on TikTok. I think Frank Ocean is a genuinely impressive artist / this album top to bottom is a great listening experience.

Some songs I enjoyed on here. I hate talking on tracks.

7.0/10 Liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Listened through a few times and can see myself listening again if the mood is right.

What can I say. Haven’t listened to this in so long. Takes me back to being sad as shit in senior year of highschool and beginning of college.

I fucking love it sm

Save:13

0 songs added to my favorites. Would not listen again.

mah

Familiar with the album. Bit of an overhyped album that I've never clicked with. 3.5/5. Raising to 4.

🫶🏾💯

I love frank ocean

I was happy with this pick and enjoyed pyramids, bad religion, Forrest Gump and crack rock

I never really liked this type of music. I found out about him during the COVID lockdown, when his songs were trending on the gay side of TikTok (I don’t know if they were trending on the entire app, since that’s the only side I’ve ever been on). I don’t get the hype at all. I can kind of understand why someone would like it, but I just can’t. I really tried to get into his music when I was a teen, but I couldn’t. It seems like I haven’t changed that much since then.

Um bom álbum, apenas isso. Nada surpreendente.

Fire but I don’t love every song in it Pyramids and monks carries album for me

Not my type of music 5/10

I can hear te in so many later songs

3/5

I didn't find anything particular about this album. It's ok, but I don't think it really needs to be on this list. Nothing that special about it. He has an ok voice but that's about it.

This is bad.

Enjoyable background music.

Mange af sangene lyder ens på en eller anden måde. Så selvom de måske indivudielle er gode sange, så mangler der noget der skiller dem fra hinanden når man hører albummet.

yessss loved blonde but never got the chance to listen to this one so let's see very strong, melodic presence in every song his voice on every instrumental is like knife through soft butter really good and even if one song lets me down the next one immediately hits in all the right places reallyyyyy liked the drums also, it's 14 years old but still sounds fresh

uyy, weird, i like that

some good stuff need to listen more

Love it

Estoy consciente de que es un muy buen álbum, simplemente no es de mi gusto

better than i thought, didnt give a chance before cause i dont like r&b but it had a few songs that i enjoyed

better than blonde low key

already listen to it, lov u frank, please come back

New to me. Very positive experience, good vibes. Must relisten someday.

with Ella - some of it I love, some I don't get

It sounds like a time capsule. I like a lot of the songs, but it didn’t rock my world like it did all my friends when it came out

brings me back to simpler times… a classic album.

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a perfect album, but it is certainly stellar. I hadn’t listened to this album in full in about a decade. “Lost” was our song when we first started dating and it was great to hear again and bring me the nostalgia and a feeling of youth. Would definitely listen again.

Not my style usually, but enjoyed this listen enough not to turn it off. Interesting vocals and song subject matter.

YAH

I love this album!

so fucking good

grande album, ja estou acostumada a ouvir sou fã, para mim é o melhor trabalho do frank

Modern classic album This has never been an album that I listened to on repeat despite understanding the love and importance for it. The more I listen to this the more I am compelled to sing praises, the tracks keep getting better, and if not better than what has already played it is so interesting that my heart flutter faster. really like crack rock and pink matter.

zo nostalgisch

uso de reverb, buen ritmo y combinación de instrumentos.Nuevo album favorito.

I remember when this came out and it’s so good so many good songs

Upon relistening to this album again, for the umpteenth time yet almost a decade since last time, I found myself underwhelmed compared to the internal mythology I'd constructed around it. Revisiting to the most influential music of 10-15 years ago for this project always ends up in some disappointment - we're almost one generation removed from these albums, which upon release revolutionized music in one way or another, and their long shadows end up giving the sound on these tracks a worn-out feel. In 2026, the flavour of Frank Ocean's soft R&B delivery dominates top 40 charts and has become the de facto sound for the constant flood of over-produced one-hit-wonder TikTok-viral Drake wannabes. In this context, Channel Orange feels less 'fresh off the tree' and is stuck languishing in this gunky genericism that will need another decade or two to wash off. It sucks because this and Blonde were the soundtrack of my earliest years of adulthood. Sitting around in undermaintained university dormrooms, broke and optimistic, blasting Tame Impala and Frank Ocean while chatting about girls and drinking cheap booze. So many of these lyrics are still tattooed across my heart from those halcyon days - Lost, Super Rich Kids, Pyramids, Sweet Life - and yet now looking back, it feels less nostalgic and more adolescent and juvenile. Perhaps there's a bitterness in that melancholy for a youth wasted, that Channel Orange has that maudlin quality of unearthing a lost optimism. Part of this must be deliberate, right? Between the bright vintage pianos and voyeuristic samples the album invokes this abstract, out-of-time and out-of-place poetic sadness. The album is saturated with this sepia-toned attachment to lost loves and a sentimental yearning for summers passed. In Welsh they have this term calle 'Hiraeth', a homesickness for a place to which you cannot return, or perhaps never was: a fitting enough word to describe Channel Orange I think. or maybe I'm just pretentiously projecting. Ocean is a sensitive loverboy caught up too much in his own head. It's somewhat of a story album, best listened to in its original sequence, but has a good selection of singles that still rightly see radio play. fav tracks: Lost, Super Rich Kids, Pyramids, Sweet Life

Once again I need to reiterate that earlier 3s were not true 3s and should not have been given 3s. This is a 3.5. I cannot give it a four because Blond is the four album. This is a good album but it is no Blond. Couple of things I really like - (1) layered music (like you can hear him saying multiple lines at once sometimes or he responds to himself in a different tone, you know the thing) (2) the addition of non-main songs on the album. This is really a modern thing I don’t know of any old albums that do it. Which makes sense because in the vinyl era it would be a pain in the ass to have to sit through these 40 second blips. But I LOVE albums that have random little things thrown in like instrumentals or in Frank Ocean’s case spoken dialogue. It makes the album feel less like a thing to sell and more like an artistic collection. Coldplay does a really good job at this in Viva La Vida but that isn’t the album I’m reviewing right now. Favorite song is Pyramids.

This record started slow as fuck for me, at which point I was worried I'd have to write a pissy little "sorry for not getting it" style review. Thankfully, at the three track run of 'Crack Rock', 'Pyramids', and 'Lost', everything fell into place, and the album stayed strong from there. Getting John Mayer on to do a 30 second interlude is funny

This record has some very nice production, sounds great. I just prefer it when Frank Ocean leans more into the classic R&B sound. So much of this album is boring rap and generic pop, the best tracks had the instrumentation and sound of a true R&B song, which he has a great voice for. Standout Tracks: Sweet Life

Such an awesome album. Love frank ocean

one of my favorite albums. Glad it came into rotation

state of the art for 2012, but it feels very dated now - no significant songs, nothing memorable

oh i already love this

perfect once again

Opera dal sound vaporoso, qualche guizzo interessante qua e là, ma nel complesso il disco scorre in modo piuttosto piatto. A parte l'ottima prova canora di Frank Ocean, c'è poco altro che mi abbia colpito. Sicuramente non il mio genere.

I was surprised to see this album seeing that I’ve already knew about it before. I had previously already listened to a lot of the songs on it, and my opinion is still the same. It’s a nice and calm album, but it’s nothing life-changing. I understand why people are obsessed with it, but I would only really turn this on in the background of me studying, not when I actually want to listen to music. I still really enjoyed the album though.

It's okay. Inoffensive. Clearly influenced by Stevie Wonder without the funkiness. Nothing really sets it apart.

For anyone that was in high school in 2012 when this record was released, this is probably one of the most recognizable albums released during those years. Frank Ocean has a unique psychadelic, R&B sound that meshes excellently with a late summer night and a joint. The album has some of the most recognizable and unique songs and beats of any album. There are moments where I find myself sining along and others where I just vibe to the feeling of the song. Going into listening I expected to give this a 5 but I ended up going with a 4 because I feel like there some fat on the album and a few moments that lull. Its rare that an album would get 5s if it had multiple skips, as I think this album does. This album would probably also go in the Hall of Fame of most polarizing based on the other reviews haha.

Urtypen för aptråkig modern neosoul/hiphop. Amerikansk mainstream hiphop har glömt av de senaste 15 åren att dess första uppgift är att svänga. Det här svänger inte nånstans och det är helt ospännande musikaliskt, det bara pågår, i bästa fall som nåt bakgrundsskvall. "Monks" har nåt som liknar funk, det är allt. Det är också därför, när det dyker upp en platta som Kendrick Lamars "To pimp a butterfly", så låter den mycket bättre och mer spännande än den kanske är pga att allt annat runtomkring låter så urbota tråkigt. Man saknar tiden när Outkast kunde släppa en fullmatad dubbel med mainstream hiphop som svängde från första till sista ton. Vi skyller väl allt på Kanye, det är lättast så. Onödig musik

Här brottas jag med blandade känslor. Det här är ju så klart väldigt bra. På årsbästalistan 2012 placerade jag FO på 10e plats. Så här i efterhand borde han hamnat längre upp (detta trots god konkurrens ). Beatsen liksom FOs stämma suger tag i en utan att det någonsin känns krystat. Soundet har definitivt stått emot tidens tand. Något som absolut inte är en självklarhet för liknande musik. Antagligen är förklaringen så enkel att det handlar om ett genuint väl genomfört hantverk. FO är helt enkelt väldigt bra på det han gör. MEN, och detta är ett synnerligen allvarligt men. Pyramids! Hur kan en så fin låt förstöras av denna historielöshet. ”Working at the pyramid tonight”. Vad är detta? Det byggdes fan i mig inga pyramider på Kleoptras tid. Tillbaka till skolbänken. Gör om och gör rätt!

Jag hade med Channel Orange på årsbästalistan för 2012. Det är verkligen ett album snare än några låtar som sticker ut. Det är produktionen och ljudbilden som tilltalar mig. Det låter förvånansvärt modernt, hade likaväl kunnat spelats in igår. Tyvärr levde Frank Ocean aldrig upp till förväntningarna från debuten och uppföljaren blev tämligen blek. Channel Orange är ett album jag kan sjunka in i då och då utan att jag för den skull håller det som något mästerverk.

The soundtrack to the greatest video game you’ve never played.

I don’t get this genre - “R&B Hip-Hop”? The talking lyrics that don’t always rhyme, with the [intentional?] terrible attempt (?) at trying to sing in an alto vocal (think Biz Markie).

Best songs: super rich kids, Forrest Gump

Yeah, this is just not for me at all. I got bored immediately. I hate these relaxed, mumble-y vocals so much. In terms of the instrumentation, there’s also just nothing interesting at all. There are some somewhat interesting parts, like the more energetic passages on Pyramids, but not enough to keep me engaged. Although I can’t say it’s awful, this album was a slog to listen to for me. I just don’t like this relaxed R&B/Soul. Not my thing.

01) Start - / 02) Thinkin Bout You - 10,0 03) Fertilizer - / 04) Sierra Leone - 8,0 05) Sweet Life - 8,5 06) Not Just Money - / 07) Super Rich Kids - 8,5 08) Pilot Jones - 8,0 09) Crack Rock - 8,0 10) Pyramids - 10,0 11) Lost - 10,0 12) White - 8,0 13) Monks - 8,5 14) Bad Religion - 9,0 15) Pink Matter - 8,0 16) Forrest Gump - 9,0 17) End - 7,0 TOTAL: 8,61 (86/100) Current ranking: 119/778

Top tier listen

One of my no-skips albums.

Ok

Chill

Getting Channel Orange today felt like a legendary pull because Frank Ocean is one of those artists that people my age can’t shut up about and I’ve never actually listened his debut album. My one real experience with Mr. Hotdog Water was checking out Blonde right after it came out, thinking to myself “yeah, that was pretty good” and then never coming back to it again. The tune he did with Calvin Harris was cool too, I guess. This one’s decent – I feel like it gets WAY more hype than it deserves, but it did have its moments (though none of its highlights ever reached “loved” territory for me) and I can respect how he tried to bring everything together in a conceptual way, even if the execution wasn’t fully there for me. Probably not an album I’ll ever listen to from front to back again, but I’m glad I finally got to check it off the list! Highlights: Sweet Life, Super Rich Kids, Pyramids, Lost, Monks, Pink Matter

I have tried so many times to appreciate Frank Ocean but he’s just so boring to me. He sounds nice, but dull.

Already knew this one. It’s very good.

Fertilizer

🟠

The "easy-listening" R&B thing is not really my style, and the popularity strikes me as a bit confusing. That being said, Ocean is clearly innovative, although most of the content is pretty shallow. Favorite Track: Lost

Almost gave it 5 stars immediately for opening with a PSX boot noise.

I think I would have loved to see Ocean spend a little more time to figure out how to say what he wanted to say before he wrote everything

only 4 stars because blond is better

This one was not for me

1001/1001

arancione caldo di quando hai la febbre che t’illumina la testa come una lampadina. prima di addormentarti, imbottita di paracetamolo e acqua di sirmione (alla fievole luce della tua stessa testa) ascolti il cambiare dei canali dei pensieri irrazionali che ti accompagnano nella veglia e fanno da sottofondo alla tossetta. e se ti addormenti è solo per poco.. e per il verso di andré 3000 su pink matter ti risvegli sempre. e preghi all’altarino di una notte nel chill. non è il vero rilassamento, è la registrazione di svarioni notturni riprodotti a rallentatore sul mangiacassette (da tenere vicino all’orecchio come un segreto).

The second highest rated global review for this might be the most stupid words on this website. Astonishing album.

Average in my eye at best. One of those albums I mumble to myself- “ is this really in the 1001 list??!”

I know the name but not a lot else. Felt like somewhere between Andre 3000 and Kanye. It’s way too long and it’s just not my thing at all. It’s not all bad, but that’s about as positive as I can muster. It gets 2 stars for now but I’m contemplating 1.

Perfect!

Love his voice, the production is very fun and varied. Classic.

I first tried to listen to this album a few years ago bc I youtuber I liked said it was one of their all time favorite albums. And I just really didn't get it. Idk what it was that changed since then, but I absolutely loved every second of this album as I listened to it today. I can see this becoming an album I listen to on the regular.

I already knew and liked the album, but listening closely to it today as I was waiting to board the plane to Hanover to spend New Years gave me a chance to appreciate the album again.

My rating 3.5

Understated and unfocused. Pleasant enough though.

Only good track was with Andre 3000

Super Rich Kids and Pyramids are favorites

all the songs are a bop, felt like a cheater bc i’ve listened to this album before :)

Amazing. I have listened to it before but this captures modern love in all the right ways. It's so emotional.

Recently got in vynil

Super creative and unusual. I would like to listen to it again

it’s not really my type of album, but I get the hype!

i looooove frank ocean so this was a treat although i don’t think i ever listened to the whole album faves: pilot jones, pyramids, lost and bad religion

First listened on 2nd and 3rd November 2022. Favourite songs are Sierra Leone, Super Rich Kids and Pyramids.

Modern R&B is not my thing but I was surprised by how creative the production and use of samples etc is on this. If anything, the production is a bit busy for my taste, with lots of layers of stuff going on.

Very disjointed and surprisingly ordinary album. Can see the genre should be represented but there must be something better than this. If was an outstanding album that year what a poor year.

I liked this album a lot when it first came out, but didn't think it quite lived up to all the hype. I still feel a but like that, but can see with hindsight now how influential it proved to be. I find the second half of it pretty uneven, first half is great though!

Hadn’t ever listened all the way through. Some great songs, but Eve better as a collective album.

Solo habia escuchado canciones aisladas y no le hacen justicia a lo bueno que es este album, no le tenia tanta fe y me termino gustando muchisimo as a whole. Favs: Sweet Life, Crack Rock, Pyramids, Pink Matter !!!

Nice one

Modern R&B that shines at times, and loses me at others.

Meh. Supongo que si está en esta lista es un disco a tener en cuenta. Pues me ha aburrido bastante señores

capolavoro pyramids è la mia colonna sonora

Pretty good. Kind of standard r&b album

Pleasant surprise to see this album here. I mean, if you wanted a single album that encapsulated the vibey, slow, sentimental R&B sounds of the early and mid-2010s, it would be this one (I'd say even moreso than Frank's follow-up, Blonde). Frank Ocean's vocals are the standout on this album, ultimately, above all the trippy, low-key, and evocative production. I'd say that's clear right off the bat on 'Thinking Bout You' where he perfectly balances his falsetto high with his deep and sort of raw vocal delivery. And I call it raw because there's just something about Frank's vocals when he's in his lower register that sounds so down-to-earth, human, and flawed. The production is still solid, though, especially on maybe my favorite song here, 'Pyramids', which has to be one of the most epic-sounding R&B songs ever. A 10-minute track filled with heartbreak, confusion, and haziness - its scale rivaled only by a song like 'House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls' by the Weeknd. The song is soundtracked by a heavy dance beat, analog synths, and gorgeous arpeggios that really allow it to thrive in the tracklisting here. I also really love 'Lost' - it's just the catchiest thing here. It's a feel-good song, but there's something about the melodies, lyrics, and imagery that is so filled with yearning and sadness. And shout out to the rap features here, 'Super Rich Kids' has fellow Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt doing his thing. His and Frank's styles mesh oddly well; I'd say it's something about the feelings of unfulfillment underlying the song. And I can't NOT love 'Pink Matter' with 3K doing his thing as he usually does. I think I love his guest verse on Blonde just a little bit more, but this song also has this sick, dirty guitar solo...so not really sure which song's better at the end of the day. Really good, iconic stuff, though I'd say it's definitely trapped in the decade it was released (not a bad thing at all, makes it super nostalgic for me personally). Too bad he'll never drop again :(

Rich with beauty and intimacy. This definitely deserves further listens.

I was excited to get an album prompt not from 1969. Too bad, it was the most boring thing I’ve ever had to endure. Thank you FO, for making me think of breast feeding babies AND crack rocks.

The album is well made. The performances are good. But it didn’t really do anything for me.

Fine with a few interesting stylistic choices on certain tracks but overall unmemorable

Good background music, but background music.

Nope. Not for me.

Good but not as special as it’s made out to be.

Not for me.

Middle of the road R&B, hardly any exciting songs

Channel Orange is a great transition album, which I am especially fond of. Each track is like a different television channel, all kind of telling different stories. Frank Ocean’s music isn’t my taste, but I really appreciated how his smooth vocals were complimented by the synth in a few songs. It was an enjoyable experience, but probably not an album that I would listen to in its entirety again. Favorites: Thinkin Bout You, Sweet Life, Super Rich Kids, Crack Rock

Still one of my all time favorite albums. Just 🔥

warme atmosphäre, manchmal ein anstrengender wechsel von normal zu falsettstimme. alles in allem aber easy listening und eine entdeckung.

Das hören die Jungen. Erträglich.

Unpoetic nothingness, 1st listen 1/5 stars. Will never want to hear these songs for enjoyment.

Pretty decent, amazing production but immature lyrics.

I remember really enjoying Pyramids, but I think it was a slowed down remix. Nice enough otherwise but not very exciting, a solid 2.5 (rounded up)

Take me back to Unterstufe in Corona Zeit. All Time Klassiker Fav Lied: Lost, Pyramids, Bad Religion

So slick. Loved listening to it.

Listening to Channel Orange, I can completely understand why it connected so deeply with so many people, even if it never quite clicked for me in the same way. There is a real intimacy to the album, the sense that you are being let into very private moments and emotions. Frank Ocean’s voice is smooth and expressive, and he has a gift for atmosphere, creating these hazy, late-night spaces where everything feels slightly blurred around the edges. There are tracks here that I genuinely enjoy. “Thinkin Bout You” is beautifully written and emotionally direct, and songs like “Pyramids” show an ambition that goes beyond standard R&B, stretching ideas out and playing with structure in interesting ways. But as the album goes on, I start to feel a bit detached. The pacing drifts, and some of the songs feel more like mood pieces than fully formed ideas, which makes it harder for me to stay engaged all the way through. I respect Channel Orange more than I love it. It is thoughtful, well-crafted, and clearly important, but it does not always pull me in emotionally. For me, it is an album I appreciate in parts rather than as a complete journey. There is a lot to admire here, even if it does not quite earn a place among my personal favourites.

Frank Ocean will never not put out top tier albums.

Great moments.

Great first listen, I enjoyed it and even though a lot of songs like super rich kids, Thinking about you and Bad religion I discovered other songs like Lost and Pyramids which I feel becoming favorites in the future.

but im still unemployeeedd

This was great

Favourite Songs: Thinkin Bout You Super Rich Kids Crack Rock Pyramids Monks

Frank Ocean has always been a singular artist, with a style so unmistakably unique yet smooth and appealing. He has been a leading force in modern R&B for over a decade, and Channel Orange really showcases how much talent he had even early on. This album is so evocative for me, makes me think of warm summer days and simpler times. It might not be as emotionally vulnerable and explorative as something like Blonde, but I don't think it needs to be. Sometimes it's good to just have a nice, flowery, romantic summer album to remind you of warmth during cold and dark days. While the singles are absolutely stunning, with Pyramids being one of the greatest R&B tracks of the 21st century, I think the album as a whole works incredibly well in creating a cohesive vibe. In a weird way it reminds me of Songs for the Deaf, probably because of the whole television theme, but more so because it's eclectic bunch of songs that work together as a way of exploring different avenues of life. Each track drips with exploration and creativity while still managing to maintain their orbit around a beautiful, warm, tight R&B sound that Frank Ocean has mastered. Though I may have some criticisms, there is no album that is more reminiscent of the joys of summer than Channel Orange.

Smooth soul with a voice. But yet it’s not. This feels years beyond 2012, it’s amazing this album is old already.

Glad I listened to this, I almost tapped out during the first track.

Amsterdam mentioned!

Not a huge fan of R&B in general, but I did find a little joy in the songs Super Rich Kids and Bad Religion. He was wrong for doing Forrest Gump that way though. Voting 2 because 1.5 is not an option.

Sure, this was pretty solid. No real standout songs that I'm going to come back to, but pretty likeable.

Orange = Ocean's summer where he first fell in love with a man

Most songs were enjoyable, although there were a handful that I found to be not as good or even cringy. Solid 3/5.

Would not buy

Solid R&B

I'm too much of a millennial to truly appreciate this album. Haha! My favorite song had Andre 3000 on it so I know that it's true. I can appreciate it for what it is but leans a little heavy on the Gen Z for me.

his debut album mind you. crack rock-pyramids-lost is an INSANE three track run

Frank Ocean has always been one of those musicians whose name comes up from every single fucking person my age when you ask them who they listen to (alongside Daniel Caesar). I guess I've always avoided him because I'm a prick who doesn't like being mainstream -- but also because every time I've tried, it just feels too...generic, maybe? A touch lazy? Regardless, I'm glad this list made me listen to the full thing here, because it really is an admirable album. I still sort of feel the way I always had, but there are also some great songs here, some decent grooves, and solid lyricism. Fave tracks: - Sweet Life - Super Rich Kids - Crack Rock - Lost - Monks - Bad Religion

Separate Ocean from all the Odd Future hype and you’ve got something genre-bending and quite distinctive. He’d scored a hit in 2011 with Nostalgia, Ultra which was landed out of nowhere. He sounds as if he’s creating spontaneously into the mic at times, which works quite well. He deals will a wide variety of themes musically and the addition of odd sound effects and ambient noise here and there, as in the opening track, whilst far from original, is an interesting counterpoint to the lyrical themes. Nothing on this album is accidental or casual, despite the laid back delivery, it’s all very carefully thought out. The odd thing is the stretch to combine crossover appeal to the mainstream and at the same time be boundary pushing and avant-garde. It mostly works but sometimes the two personalities don’t quite play well together.

I get it. I've listened to this album and the past and didn't enjoy it, but something clicked on this listen. I don't think every track is a hit, but pretty close. It certainly didn't change my life, but I had a good time listening to it.

this album will always be a classic to me

Kinda boring

Nice

Awsome new soul journey, pyramids is the highlight track for me

Sooooo good.

Probably another 3.5. Phenomenal flow and a generational album, just trying to be a bit sensible with my stars. Cleopatra is Namibia in a song.

Had heard of Frank Ocean and this album was an easy enough listen, but not a style I’d typically throw on. Pyramids was probably the standout for me.

Not my thing personally

This was a rough listen. There isn’t a single track here I’d ever willingly play again. The music feels like a half-hearted, low-budget knockoff of R&B, and the lyrics somehow manage to be even weaker. At points it sounded like he was freestyling nonsense straight into the microphone.

It's really interesting how nostalgic Frank Ocean's music can feel. I don't even kind of relate to his music, but something about the feel of the music and the lyricism feels like remembering old times. Also his voice is wonderful, I could listen to him sing about anything. Give me a Frank Ocean album about fighting pink robots and contemplating how short life is and I'd listen to that all day. Anyways, I feel like there's only so much "I did drugs that I shouldn't have with people that I shouldn't have" and different words for breasts you can fit into a double LP before it starts to run a little thin, and it definitely does towards the end of the album, but it's his voice that really keeps me going. That and the pretty cool instrumentals.

4.9

Smooth, soft-soul R&B with a bit of hip hop - couldn't get further from my wheelhouse. I quit listening before I fell asleep at the wheel.

Not a post hardcore album

Pyramids is great

Pulled me in from the Start.

Pyramids is such a belter. Great album

Franktastic. Such a good album, would have been 5 stars if it wasn't for some of the filler. I still remember hearing Pyramids being debuted on the Zane Lowe Radio 1 show and having my mind blown. Also, why didn't he put Novacaine on this album?

5 stars. Excellent variety and creativity, ranging from introspective poetry to pop tunes and a lot in between. I suspect it's ranking will get tanked because this website seems to favour 80's rock above all else but this is a modern classic.

Hella vibes I like it

I’ve apparently been living under a rock because while I was familiar with Frank Ocean’s name, I hadn’t heard any of his music to my knowledge, nor was I aware of the hype around him being one of the greatest musicians of his generation. And while this is fundamentally not my thing, as albums with songs about the ennui of rich kids tend not to be, there was more than enough here to keep me interested and listening, and the nearly hour-long running length passes quickly. Glad to be introduced to this.

How can people rate this as a 1....wtf?! Thrombing Gristle is a 1!!! This is a solid 4. You can swing your hips for ages.

Liked this more than I thought I would. 3.3

I know everyone really loves him.... I really didn't like it too much I am just not a low fi fan usually either ._.

Shoulda been lost at sea.

listening when: didn’t listen but i’ve heard it thoughts: i get that this is a masterpiece just not my masterpiece rating: 8/10 cuz i’m not dumb

Favorite Track: Lost

So... I anticipated dreading this album. But I ended up being surprised. Wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to listen to it again, but if a track came up in the future, wouldn't be opposed. Fine for background

👎🏻

This isn't un-listenable but there's nothing here that would compel me to ever want to listen to it again.

shore

THIS Gentlemen prefers Blond. But this is still such a steller proper debut from one of the most important musicians from his generation and a critical voice in the modern r&b landscape, kinda like Gen Z D'Angelo. The Earl Sweatshirt verse on super rich kids is probably a top 5 favorite rap feature all time for me. Andre 3000 also kills it on his feature.

Mm good

Not my kind of music. Although good exemplar, seemingly.

70

Not my style but a lot of good stuff on this one

Frank helped pave the way for most of 2010s R&B with his free-flowing style. I really like the production and its blend of multiple genres from old-school soul to electropop.

Apparantly brilliant, but really doesn't do it for me

"Channel Orange" mixes free-form flow with soul-like singing, and the usual background harmonies of modern pop-soul/funk. The production quality is great, with the arrangements generally quite stripped back, as common in the genre, without big shifts in tempo or timbre. The feel of the album is quite ambient, and attempts to be reflective, but is limited by the flow between the songs being a bit lacking or disjointed.

Can't remember ever listening to the whole album, but obviously some songs have been impossible to miss. It's a really good mellow album with a lot of highlights. Pyramids into Lost was a perfect middle and I really enjoyed the whole album.

This was actually much better than I was expecting. I was prepared to hit 1 and move on; don't know why that name somehow made me think of a bad rock star early 2000's. Anyway, different artist, different genre.

Phenomenal

I was so gay in 2012

listened

This is super cool. Lots of chill beats and Frank Ocean's voice really is incredible for this type of music. "Sweet Life" and "Pyramids" are standouts to me. I think the back half of the album is where it shines, or maybe I'm just vibing with it. Either way, this is excellent! Really enjoyed it. I can't decide between 4 and 5 stars today so I'll err on the side of criticism.

# Album Name: Channel Orange # Artist: Frank Ocean # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: Honestly, for some reason i thought this was frank zappa. By the end i wish it was. Just an OK listen. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Meh

Great album. Chill vibes.

Some nice songs but not everything grabbed me on first listen. Quite long and a bit hit and miss.

Never heard of this guy but when the first track used a sample of the old PS1 startup sound it hit that nostalgia button and I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately that was the peak. It’s a fine enough album, just really dull. The one track that stood out was Pyramids but then that was ruined by going on for near ten minutes which was completely unnecessary.

4 stars Frank Ocean came around at a good time for me. Based on a lot of the mixed perception of this album I think if I were younger or older I might not have appreciated it. But I was one of the people anticipating the drop of this album after his mixtape Nostalgia Ultra. And he delivered on it. There are better and worse tracks, but no true skips, sans interludes that are not necessary even if they are supposed to add a connective element to the album. It doesn’t feel too long even though it could be shorter. This is definitive 2010s R&B and will get plenty of replay from me over the years, as it has since it was released.

Not sure what this will be.... OMG no way lol A tornado flew around my room!? lol Well we'll see if I last through this one.

Like slightly-not-as-good Stevie Wonder. Fine, but doesn't excite me.

Finding very little to compliment here. It keeps sliding back and forth from boring to annoying. Not really into the overt digital production.

Extremely talented artist

Hello again my favorite album of all time when I was 15

Nu-soul? Nydelig stemme, vokste på meg.

I’m a fool for having never listened to this all the way through before now.

Thought it was getting better at one point but then it only dragged on further

Opened up with the Ps2 jingle! Sounds amazing. But idk, that sort of pre-mumble rap. Half-sung half-rapped. Not for me I'm sorry

Heard it before. This is a million times better than Blonde, I think people are hallucinating Blonde being good because it's deeply boring. Meanwhile Channel Orange has a nice vibe and variety, including essentially a pop/r&b prog track (Pyramids) 3/5

Not my cup of tea

Finding this difficult to rate. There were songs I enjoyed in here and enjoyed the mix of R&B and soul elements. However there was also some pretentious rubbish in here. Tentative rating at 3.

Not for me

Why are the bad albums so long? Maybe this isn’t awful. But I sure don’t like it.

Fantastic discovery!

One thing I've learned while doing this list is that I don't really like R&B, it's not that I dislike it, I just find it very bland. This however is one of the better albums. Not something I'd return to, but I see why people like it. It right in-between a 3 and 4 for me. Low 4.

I think this album sucks. I know it's acclaimed but meh - not for me

Meh. 3 stars

Really enjoyable. 4 *

Easily one of the best albums of the 2010s. A masterclass in modern R&B. Always in my rotation. No skips. Channel Orange. Frank Ocean. 10/10.

I think this is a 5, which is interesting since I didn’t care for Blond when I listened to ot. The jams are great, the musicianship is great. Would recommend.

The mixin on this is goooood. nice n smooth another point to this list - the kind of album I would never seek out myself, but gaddam he got flow how's the gutter doin best songs: super rich kids, lost

good vibes

It's a pretty good offering for the genre. It's just not a genre I enjoy. I did enjoy the mini interludes scattered throughout. I thought that was a great inclusion to break up what is essentially one long run of the same sound over and over.

A fine R&B album, for the most part. Pyramids, however, was nearly 10 minutes of nearly constant soulless empty bass tone. Put my sub to work. Not my jam, but a good album, methinks.

no idea what's going on

great album. Frank Ocean is great man. Production went bonkers. 4.50-4.75/5

Bathroom masturbation music or something.

Not really my genre. Didn’t find any of the songs particularly catchy. Unlikely to play again.

Finally an album I’ve heard of before today. Start is elite, thinks bout you is one of the best songs of my generation. High school banger ever for how emotional it is. Production lyrics aiming all top notch. Fertilizer is a fun bridge nothing more to it. Sierra Leone is fine, hard to follow up thinks bout you. Great songwriting though. Good subtle base line too. Production and songwriting once again elite on sweet life. Very 2000s with the skits/bridge songs. Not just money works so well. Super rich kids is another banger and a massive part of my childhood. Again just great production and songwriting. I like the chorus to pilot jones, production is pretty good. Ultimately a good not great song. Not really a fan of crack rock, good transition into pyramids tho. Pyramids production🔥🔥. Lyrics great, sweet flow ditch up in the middle. Great song. Guitar outro is amazing. Lost has the best production of any song so far. What a song once again. White was cool enough. Nothing really special. Monks was just fine as well. Coldplay sample on bad religion?? Looks like it’s not credited but opening sounds just like fix you. Good song. Great production. Pink matter🔥🔥. What a feature from 3000. Guitar solo also so sick. Forrest Gump is very interesting. Love the movie quote interpolations. Song itself is fine. Really good album but not his best. Plus some points for significance to me. 3.7 stars

Very poetic and about superficial things: drugs, sex, etc. Sonically - production-wise - really strong. Quite impressed

2.5

Ehhh it was pretty decent, I was close to giving it 2 stars but it doesn’t deserve that really. Starting with what makes it good is mostly some of the production and the vocals, I actually think the interludes were the best parts and some of the ambient sounds within. Some of the wet synthy sounds were great as well like on Lost and Pyramids ( a song that felt a lot shorter than it actually was to be fair), the drums on crack rock were great (just because it was a sample of little miss lover) and some of the bass lines were really groovy. What makes it not so good for me is that it’s just not very exciting of an album in terms of musical diversity or sounds, a lot of it is genuinely quite boring to be honest with not much substance. I guess it’s just got that mainstream radio sound to it. That takes me onto my next point about the sound: I did praise some of the production but it’s mostly very lofi and downbeat which isn’t inherently bad but I find that there’s always an element to a song that sounds like it’s coming from underwater if that makes sense. Like the drums on the first song and Sierra Leone for instance or the bass on sweet life or Forrest Gump. Maybe a weird criticism but I genuinely couldn’t stop noticing how some of the mix sounded like it was being played by the fishes or something. Favourites: pyramids, Lost and I guess crack Rock. There were parts of songs that I liked which I mentioned but most of them I didn’t like as a whole. Overall, 5/10.

slick

Some bangers. Don't love the vocal style or often the instrumentation

Cool to hear innovative r&b. Some songs, like Pyramid, are amazing. A lot didn’t grab me on one listen.

Frank'd my Ocean all night long to these chill vibes

Liked the overall vibe but lyrically wasn't always my thing

I listened to this album once some years ago, and was blown away by the originality and the production on it. Revisiting it today, it really holds up. I know this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea - and honestly it wouldn't usually be mine... but there's such cleverness and depth and artistry going on here, and on a debut album no less! An easy 5. I like the part where he says Majin Buu. Also: "A potato flew around my room before you came excuse me..." God, I miss Vine.

i know blonde is considered his masterpiece but this one remains my favorite frank ocean record

Uninspiring in every way. I didn’t hate it. I’m not sure it’s possible to hate anything this boring.

Classic

9/10 Favorites: Thinkin Bout You Crack Rock Pyramids Lost Bad Religion Pink Matter

Hell yeah, Frank Ocean! “thick girls were made for cuddlin!”

Love this album; I've been listening to it since its release.

As a genre, there are few R&B songs that I like. On this album, all the obvious auto-tune songs I did not like. There were one or two songs without auto-tune, or without my knowledge of it being used, that I enjoyed more. And one mostly spoken that caught a groove in my head.