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In Search Of... | 
| Artist: N*e*r*d
Label: Virgin
Category: Music
New (17) Used (8) from £2.07
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 85376
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 724381198322
EAN: 0724381198322
ASIN: B00005V916
Release Date: March 11, 2002
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| Tracks:
| • | Lapdance - NERD & Lee Harvey/Vita | | • | Things Are Getting Better | | • | Brain | | • | Provider | | • | Truth Or Dare - NERD & Kelis/Pusha T | | • | Tape You | | • | Run To The Sun | | • | Baby Doll | | • | Am I High - NERD & Malice | | • | Rock Star | | • | Bobby James | | • | Stay Together |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
If at first you don't succeed...rerecord it! This is certainly what Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo aka N*E*R*D, aka famous production duo the Neptunes, have done with In Search Of.... This is a slightly reworked version of the duo's debut album released last year to limited acclaim. In fact this is more of a director's cut with the unfunny between track jokes taken out and the original funk, soul and hip-hop boosted by more live instrumentation. N*E*R*D have made their album more "neo-soul" putting In Search Of... in line with the slick, retro style of D'Angelo, Angie Stone and Jill Scott. It's a wise move. Their trademark sound of loud drum machines and minimal samples was wearing thin, even though it had propelled the likes of Kelis, Jay Z and Mystikal to platinum-style greatness. "Am I High" goes from a chilled groove into a piece of elasticated funk, "Baby Doll" is now a piece of kinky reggae and "Rock Star" is funked up with extra guitars and drums. There's more emphasis on musicianship and less on power. But it's not a complete success. In truth N*E*R*D have been allowed to go back and tinker with their work when less stellar groups would never have been afforded the chance. "Truth or Dare" is now overloaded with strings, synths and every other trick in the studio. Thankfully they haven't messed with "Provider", the album's best song and a soulful, Marvin Gaye-like paean to the moral quandaries of drug dealing. In Search Of... remains a good experimental hip-hop soul album. Version 2 just wins by a head by dint of being a fuller album, though the millions addicted to the raw Neptunes sound will always prefer the first.--Jake Barnes
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 The Search is Over February 25, 2004
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well I bought this album about a year ago. I was in the Trafford Centre in topshop with my girlfriend and this amazing song was on the screen. I waited till it finished to see who it was by. N*E*R*D - Provider. I then went next door and bought it. The next day I skipped uni and I must have listened to the album non-stop for about 5 hours. I couldn't believe how good it was. I am in no way into rap or urban music, but this album is something a whole lot different. I'm into The Strokes and Oasis type stuff, but I think anyone could enjoy this album.
"Lapdance" is addictive from the first beat. You cannot resist your temptation to start bobbing your head.
"Things are getting better" is probably the second best song on there. Pharrell's voice is in excellent form on this track and again you will find yourself singing the song before you know it.
The album's showpiece is "Provider". This is probably one of the best songs I have ever heard. It's just different to anything you have ever heard, like Bob Dylan's "The Hurricane" or "Cigarettes & Alcohol" by Oasis. Pharrell sounds absolutely amazing on this track and the song alone is worth the price you will pay for the album.
"Bobby James" is the second to last track. However in my opinion this song should have been the last. It would have been a brilliant end to what is an exqusite debut album. It made me feel the same way as Definately Maybe, I knew that this was something special.
Don't miss the chance to add this album to your collection.
I challenge you to be disappointed. The search is over for your new favourite album.
 Above commercial hip-hop by a long way. August 19, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Usually I keep well away from hip-hop and rap, especially the more commercial side. Most of the best of the genre have either faded (Public Enemy), or tried to cling to former glories (Cypress Hill). Recently, though, groups like The Roots have been going back to the live instrumentation of 70's soul. NERD seem to have caught onto this, and re-recorded their debut album with the help of a live band, giving it a more human feel. Gone are the beats that Neptunes fans are so familiar with, and in is an electric, soulful sound that the original was missing.Opening with the sleazy funk of 'Lapdance', you'd think NERD were yet another commercial "guns-and-hoes" rap group. Not so, look carefully and it's actually a cleverly made statement on politicians who'd do anything for money. The album is confined to one tune either, although for some reason they do revisit 'Lapdance''s riff on 'Brain', a love song to a partner's mind. There's the mellow soul storytelling of former single 'Provider', which is one of a few songs which benefits most from the live instrumentation. Then the poppy-love-funk of 'Run To The Sun', another moment which wouldn't seem out of place if it had been released back in the 70s, the backing vocalists complementing Pharrell William's croon. 'Baby Doll' (which was once sublimely covered by political-garage-funk-punk masters The International Noise Conspiracy on their 'Bigger Cages, Longer Chains' EP) sports one of the best basslines on the albums. Oddly enough for someone as hip-hop-orientated as The Neptunes, the best moments on this albums are when they aren't rapping, Pharrell far better at singing than rapping, as he oozes the soul of the golden days of Motown. Further proof is the saddening 6-minute psychedelia of 'Bobby James' or closer 'Stay Together' which sounds like bouncy 70's soul backed by The Beatles' 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. On paper it sounds insane, on record, it's brilliant. Really, this album is one for fans of The Neptunes (even though as the Amazon reviewer noted they'd probably prefer the original), and people who like the sound of a brilliant modern soul album.
Too good for words... April 10, 2003
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Iam listening to this CD as I write this review, to be honest I have been listening to it non stop since I bought it! Anyway..Iam a big music lover and I listen to all types from rap to rock to dance to soul so this isnt a bias review but I can quite honestly say that this may be THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER PRODUCED! My God Pharrell Williams is a GENIUS! Seriously you just HAVE TO buy this CD!
One Of The Best Albums i've heard in some time! February 21, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've always loved Rock music, anything primarily guitar/drum based.. and not a huge fan of 'electronic' music, although i have a fair few pop albums. But i've never brought a rap album before, i like most of the decent singles rap artists bring out, but i find their albums over-produced and full of dead-space.. now i don't know whether to class N.E.R.D as rap artists, i actually don't know if i can class them in one group, and that's what i like about them, they are the bits and pieces i love from hip-hop, all packed into one. I suppose i could sum it up as Rock Rap i can sing along to. It fills me with that adrenaline i get from rock, and the stamina/energy from rap/hip-hop. Most of the tracks do that, and if i could have it my way, i'd like more of the album to be more fast-paced.. but after a few listens the slower tracks have really grown on me, it's one of those albums where i don't feel like skipping at all now! It starts of well with Lapdance, and ends really well with a dance remix of RockStar.. i'm not the biggest fan of dance music, but some stuff i like, and this final track is one of them.. actually one of my fav tracks on the whole CD!!! I haven't heard the original release, and am curious to see the difference, but i could see how that could be one of those overheavy rap albums i don't like.. this album is pretty darn tight, just needs one or more upbeat tracks, and it would be the ultimate! I'm really looking forward to their next album, if it's even one touch better than this, then it could be one of my desert islands!!
In Search of Great Things? December 12, 2002
As one of the most influential partnerships in music of recent years, Pharrell and Chad must have looked at each other and decided that their original production style may benefit genres other than the hip hop they are churning out by the bucketload. Thus, "In Search Of..." is an eclectic mix of funk, soul, hip hop, rock and even jazz. The lyrics are often funny but carry an agenda(i.e. "Lapdance") and carry numerous references to drug dealers (the fabulous "Bobby James" being the pick of this specific crop). There are other wonderful moments on this album as well; "Am I High" with its wonderful, soulful chorus and obviously, the lead single "Rock Star." What impresses most is the use of instruments; big dirty guitar riffs, funky drum grooves and the odd spruce of gentle Spanish plucking. The only slight complaint I have is the fact that on numerous songs it feels as though the same riff is being used but as long as the riff sounds this good, who cares? A must have for anybody who enjoys hip hop or if you are a music fan who wants to expand their listening horizons.
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