Rating: 6/10

Track Amount: 29

Running Time: 1 hour and 55 minutes

Genre: Pop/Electronic

Personnel: David Guetta plus guests as indicated

Producer: David Guetta, Afrojack, Avicii, Mike Caren, Silvio Ecomo, Daddy’s Groove, Fabian Lenseen, Frédéric Riesterer, Giorgio Tuinfort, Sandy Vee

Recording Location: Gum Prod (Paris), Catfield (Paris), Piano Music (Amsterdam), Can Rocas (Ibiza), Color Sound Mastering (Paris)

Record Label: EMI/Virgin Records

Art Direction: N/A

Best Tracks: Titanium, Without You, I Can Only Imagine

Quick Verdict: A divided EDM album release that could have been better

French DJ and sound producer David Guetta unleashed this album back in 2011. Although critically it received mixed reviews, it was a major commercial success, selling millions of copies after release. Most notably, this album release featured a ton of guests, which was the key to its success. This is really where the whole postmodern “celebrity with a laptop” phenomenon in music got underway. By mixing in EDM tracks with prominent guests who added their vocals, the age of postmodern Electronic Music was here. Seven singles were released from this album as well. This is the Ultimate Edition of the main album, which will be written about here. Let’s dive in and take a listen, and hopefully it will be a promising listen.

1. Titanium (feat. Sia) is the most popular and key track from this album. It begins with some muted guitar parts that are treated, and launches into a different and deep-sounding tune at hand. This is a great listen about relationship issues, and is absolutely magical listening at hand. A really cool EDM-based tune with some awesome vocals. The chorus is absolutely glorious to listen to, and has some of the best sounds and structure in EDM from this time. This gorgeous and wonderful song powers along. This is vocal House Music that is very, very good. It is euphoric and fantastic, although the lyrical matter is about relationship issues. The chorus, in particular, is danceable and fantastic to listen to. A wonderfully glorious song that has some magic and energy to it all. The singing by Sia is magical, as is the song at hand. Very excellent and lovably listenable from start to end, and not many EDM styled songs are like this. Wonderful.

2. Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj) begins with some interesting sonic sounds, which are both unique and cool to hear. Nicki Minaj sings with an autotune and processed voice, which actually isn’t bad on this song. This is another anthem for those of you who love the cross between EDM and Pop Music. This is a good song without being overly great. Still, all the nightclubbers and ravers can easily dig this poppy tune. It has many layers of electronic detail and editing throughout as well. This is definitely Pop Music for those of you who were born after 1990. The mixture of super-processed and digitally modified vocals in the chorus is fairly ordinary, even if the rest of this tune is great. A good and straightforward vocal House Music tune overall. Nicki Minaj does some cut-up rapping towards the end. Overall, good but not great.

3. She Wolf (Falling To Pieces) [feat. Sia] begins with some piano and moody instrumentation to match it. Sia sings again here, and her singing voice is monumentally beautiful throughout. This is a deep and moving tune at hand, which is rarely played today, some time on from its release. All the same, David Guetta and Sia make for worlds colliding, at least musically. It quickly launches into a thumping Hard House styled tune, with the powerful and pretty singing from Sia sounding great here. This music is sensationally cool for all its moody, melancholy sounds about it. The beats and progressions throughout are also really amazing to hear. A seriously cool track that has aged very, very well. The EDM section breaks are just as good as the singing by Sia. Another solid listen. The string section at the end is monumental.

4. Without You (feat. Usher) begins with some good electronic melodies, which sound quite melodic. Usher sings nicely over the top of it all. This is a solidly good tune that has some sweet, calm singing throughout. This is very Poppy listening, and it sounds too much like the U2 song With Or Without You. Not totally original in that sense. The song moves into a beat-heavy section, with some interesting cyber melodies. This is a dramatic and fine song in any case, although this isn’t 100% original. Nonetheless, a lovely and interesting listen throughout. Good and nice music for the masses, with sugary sweet vocals and 4/4 EDM beats and sonic textures. Wonderful for what it all is. It wraps up nicely with the sonic progressions and Usher singing nicely over it all, plus piano.

5. I Can Only Imagine (feat. Chris Brown & Lil Wayne) sounds fascinatingly digital and beautiful to begin with. Chris Brown sings smoothly and well over a really good House Music-style backing track. Again, the quality of music so far on this album is very, very good. Chugging pianos, basslines and cool, calm singing sound excellent on this tune. It quickly launches into an EDM-style tune that sounds catchy, danceable and top-notch. This music sounds as good today as it did on the original release back in 2011. The distorted and digitised vocals do sound very futuristic, especially listening back to it today. Nonetheless, a very good listen that sounds dynamic and interesting. A seriously good tune at hand, which does not disappoint. Eventually, this wraps up to a neat conclusion with Lil Wayne rapping over neat beats and textures.

6. Play Hard (feat. Ne-Yo & Akon) samples Alice Deejay’s hit Better Off Alone. This is not a really intelligent idea by David Guetta, but this is a good song, nonetheless, about working hard and playing hard. The two guests rap brilliantly on this tune and bring more tasty and interesting singing to it. The only disappointing thing is that this is a blatant rip-off, which is extremely disappointing to the original artist mentioned. In any case, there are many sonic changes and progressions throughout that make this tune interesting to listen to. This is typical Rap stuff of blowing all your cash out at the bar and being young and carefree. Still, it is difficult to rate this song, given its obvious plagiarism. Towards the end are some progressions leading into 4/4 beats and singing to conclude with. It’s listenable, warts and all.

7. Wild One Two (feat. David Guetta, Nicky Romero & Sia) – Compilation Edit begins with melodic dual-tracked piano playing, and launches into a song that later appeared on Flo Rida’s 2012 album Wild Ones, which is an interesting point. The only difference is that this is the original song, and the Flo Rida tune was essentially a remix of it. It mutates into a beat-heavy tune which sounds really danceable and interesting to listen to. If you like having a crazy weekend with your BFFs on various misadventures, then this is for you. There is a brief halt before the main section of music returns at hand. It seems that David Guetta has, for the most part, a great ear for sonic construction, and credit must go where it is due on this album. This continues into a party-hard danceable tune that sounds really cool. Many layers of sound and sections fluctuate on this, but in a good and cohesive way. Nice tune.

8. Just One Last Time (feat. Taped Rai) has some moody electronic keyboard-style sounds and some melancholy vocals from the guest. This is a bittersweet listening experience with some good singing and some breakup relationship issues in the lyrics. This tune again is very, very good. It progresses into a pounding and powerful tune with some unusual melodic loops and pounding 4/4 House Music styled beats to match it. There is a breakdown with some muted and processed guitar harmonies, alongside some rather autotuned vocals at hand. This is a beautiful and different song that made perfect sense, as much to listen to it back in 2011 as it does today. A very sweet and interesting song, with a progressive build-up to an epic finale in this song. David Guetta truly understands how to mix Pop with straightforward EDM very well. Good, but a sad song to listen to.

9. In My Head (feat. Nervo) begins with some treated piano, and launches into a good song with processed guitars and sweet singing by the guest. This is a sad and moody listen, once again, which is beautiful and hopeful lyrically. If it is clear, this song is about visualising a better experience with a lover that is totally different from reality. There is a neat edit before this launches into a thumping track at hand. If you need a Pop EDM tune to cry to, this is the one. David Guetta obviously is a great crafter of songs and textures that sound extremely good. This tune is a close-to-the-bone listen for many, especially if you are single. This is, nonetheless, a very monumental and moving listen. The music throughout is solidly good. Divorces are extremely common these days, so if you have ever experienced that, this song is for you. Towards the end is a pitch-shifted climax and progression, before the main melodic section plays until the end. Another solid song to listen to.

10. Where Them Girls At (feat. Nicki Minaj & Flo Rida) begins with a neat fade in, and has Flo Rida singing some vocals about womanising, which seems in tune with Flo Rida’s own music works. This has some nice harmonies and launches into a loud, bombastic and interesting song which is a crossover piece between EDM House Music and Pop Music. Nicki Minaj also has a good part on this tune, which is really cool. The rapping by both guests is full on and makes a good impression to hear. This is a good listen that sounds very interesting, with many layers of instrumentation at hand. The section towards the end is quirky and different. A good song to listen to, even at the time of writing.

11. Little Bad Girl (feat. Taio Cruz & Ludacris) begins with some Atari 2600-like sounds, and enters into a cool and impressive tune that the likes of the Far East Movement would make. The guests are fantastic on this song, even if they are lusting after a lady in the club. This music is inventive, clever and decent enough to be catchy and good quality. The retro sounds made to postmodern standards present are extremely cool. If you love fun and interesting music that bangs, look no further. In the second half is some rapid-fire rapping, which is very fast and interesting. A seriously cool tune. Towards the end is some melodic singing and warm sounds that sound nicely detailed. Another awesome song to listen to, the quality on this album, against the odds, is really up there. Good tune.

12. Sweat (Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta) – David Guetta Remix begins with some electrifying sounds, and has Snoop Dogg singing nicely on this one. This one seems a little lacklustre, that is, until the main melody kicks in. This is a straight-ahead 4/4 Electro House tune that has a minimal yet interesting listen at hand. The music, singing and rapping by Snoop Dogg are great, but the amount of autotune on his voice is ridiculously high. Despite this, this is a solidly thumping and impressive listen at hand. A very enjoyable and memorable tune with catchy melodies and fine musicianship at hand. Snoop Dogg puts his ego into this one, with no traces of the stoner persona that he has. A good listen, although a bit flawed here.

13. Crank It Up (feat. Akon) launches right into a memorable and listenable tune about male lust for a lady at a club. This isn’t exactly original music lyrically, but it does sound very good. The music, melodies and samples are all fantastic. David Guetta really deserves more credit than he gets for this album. In any case, this simple and somewhat repetitive tune is enjoyable enough to listen to. This very consistent album was a breath of fresh air back in the day, and set the scene for 2010s Pop Music. This song is a bit lacklustre compared to earlier efforts on this album, but nonetheless, one does not need to skip ahead at this time. An awesome and forward-thinking song that is really smooth listening. Nice for what it is.

14. Nothing Really Matters (feat. will.i.am) begins with some U2-style clean and delayed electric guitars. This is not a good fusion of will.i.am and David Guetta. To be fair, will.i.am’s voice does not suit the song at hand. This is yet another song about clubbing and being hedonistic as heck. The Acid House-style sound loop throughout this tune is quirky and different to listen to. The music sounds very selfish and stereotypical, and the bizarre combination of processed string sections, will.i.am’s autotuned vocals and beats galore are definitely odd. A good listen, but fairly forgettable nonetheless. It is a shame that autotune is everywhere on everyone’s vocals on this album. It is not needed. This is a good listen, but could have been less cheesy and repetitive overall. A bit of an awkward-sounding song.

15. I Just Wanna F. (feat. Timbaland & Dev) is pretty out there in terms of sex and sexual appeal. It begins with cut-up sounds galore and launches into a really poor-sounding tune at hand. Quite apart from the fact that this is egotistical and macho music that will have very little listening appeal or enjoyment for those hearing this. The sexually based lyrics are really not impressive. This tune sounds like a disastrous effort. These people are supposed to be adults, yet they have such derogatory lyrics about sex on this tune? If you want, you can skip ahead on this tune. A pathetic and dumbed-down song that spoils the quality of this album as we conclude the first half of the journey overall. Deeply disappointing and unnecessary to listen to.

16. Night Of Your Life (feat. Jennifer Hudson) begins with some better cyber melody loops, which sound interesting and are mainly minor key melodies. Jennifer Hudson launches into a good song that is deep and moody to listen to. This is a sad-sounding tune about being desperate for eternal love at hand, finding the right guy in a social situation. Indeed, this is different but a sad listen from the female perspective of wanting to be deeply in love with a potential partner. The album does seem to run a little out of steam by this point. However, having said that, this is okay to listen to, just not phenomenal. There is a brief halt towards the end, before the sonic progressions return at hand. An okay but not great listen.

17. Repeat (feat. Jessie J) begins with some processed electric guitar playing, digitally modified vocals and launches into a good song that is very deep and emotionally moving. This is a good tune that has more promise than you’d expect. It is a song about a failed relationship with some unusual sounds and music progressions about it. A pleasantly interesting and fantastic song that is again, close to the bone. The midsection deals with some raw and emotional experiences in a person’s love life by Jessie J, leading back into thumping beats and the repeated guitar progression. A good listen to finish off the first half of this mega album, even if this song feels underwhelming at times.

DISC TWO

1. Every Chance We Get We Run (feat. Tegan & Sara) begins with some looped guitar parts and electronics. It sounds very good. The guests sing nicely on this tune, and indeed, it is a deep and interesting listen throughout. A good listen, but not really a great listen at hand. Still, a good tune to hear. It launches into a quite frankly awful-sounding climax with some ordinary sounds and pounding beats. This returns back into the guitar section with some smooth vocals and handclaps. Of course, as you can tell, this is very computerised and processed. Nonetheless, this is okay to listen to, even today. It launches back into the awful chorus near the end of it all, and has a pitch-shifted climax. Not the best, to be frank. Good but definitely not great.

2. Sunshine is a six-minute-long piece by David Guetta and Avicii. It begins with basic 4/4 beats and hi-hats and has a cool electronic melody that eventually enters. This is very, very good to hear, considering the track before this one wasn’t the best. The melodies and mixing are absolutely fantastic. Soon enough, most of it fades out, and another major melody enters, which is really great to hear. The music and sounds on this particular tune are really superb. This is an instrumental EDM tune that has many sounds and surprises up its sleeve. There are peaks and troughs in terms of sound progression throughout as well. A very forward-thinking and interesting EDM tune that has quality and flavour to it all. Avicii’s input on this tune is not to be underestimated, either. A breakdown occurs in the middle, which sounds great and different. This neatly progresses into the second half with a variety of melodic sounds and textures to make your mouth water. A genuinely good listen, even if there are no lyrics on this one. It progresses very nicely back into the main section of sound, just sounding top. Seriously cool for an instrumental track. Yes, it does go on for six minutes in total, but it is refreshing and different enough to enjoy. It concludes with some more minimal melodies and subtle progressions, before leaving just the beats there. Neat.

3. Lunar is a tune by David Guetta and AFROJACK. It has some colourful and glorious melodies to begin with, which sound very different to much else in EDM. Some build up of sounds occur, and this comes alive. A very good listen, sounding like the soundtrack to a retro Super Nintendo game. A quirky listen that fans of EDM will enjoy, but others will not so much do so. A good listen, if you want to hear something digitally different at hand. It does sound good for what it is, although this is the sort of piece in your average throwaway DJ mixtape. Nonetheless, it is very good and interesting throughout. David Guetta obviously knew the EDM side of things as well as Pop Music itself. A bit repetitive, but that is okay, given the context of this music. This would make sense as a live cut, not really so much as an album cut here. The repetitive melodies throughout are a bit mindless. It does sound like a video game sort of piece to listen to all the same. If you can close your eyes and imagine playing Final Fantasy or whatever you fancy as a video game, this tune makes sense. Out of that context, it is incredibly repetitive, however. A good listen overall regardless.

4. What The Fuck begins with some simple and straightforward EDM beats and textures. It quickly has some laser like textures and drumrolls enter. Soon enough, it launches into a melodic and energised piece of music that sounds very different overall. This gradually and neatly builds up in its beauty and finesse, and does sound very good for a minimal EDM track. However, this is only really suitable listening for hardcore fans of David Guetta or mixtape lovers, to be fair. This does sound good, but is too minimal to be truly appreciated. The second half of this track builds up nicely into a big crescendo of sound and textures, and it is a sonically monumental and interesting listen throughout. It gradually builds up in progressions towards the end, and sounds very much like Calvin Harris. This concludes with a quick vocal sample of the song title, and beats and textures galore.

5. Metropolis features Nicky Romero. It launches into pounding beats and textures throughout, which are decent but lacking. It eventually leads into a relatively good DJ set styled piece that is only really good for a Calvin Harris live show purpose, rather than listening to it at home. Again, this is very good but fairly repetitive and predictable in its nature. Even so, it is definitely listenable. The breakdown in the first half is really out there. It is followed by a minor key melody patch that sounds very good. All in all, a seriously good tune is present. This flows and changes very nicely, with some whooshing sounds and other melodies to match it all. A good listen, although merely a mixtape sort of addition at hand. The second half of the tune morphs and changes nicely along the way, just sounding anthemic and good for what it is. This second half of this album is a bit boring, to be fair. These DJ flavoured tracks definitely could have been shortened as such. The outro has some good basslines and beats to conclude. Overall, good but not really great to listen to. Kind of dull overall, really.

6. The Alphabeat begins with vinyl hiss and some random, moody piano playing. This is not very good to listen to, to be frank. The second half of the album is derelict and dull by this point. Some differently processed styles of the main melody at hand emerge, before beats enter. Again, this is a bit draining to listen to at this point. It’s not really memorable nor passable in the longterm, which is disappointing to hear. This utilises much DJ trickery, but is very lacking otherwise. This is just plain experimentation with sound, rather than being a sonically wonderful piece of music. Deeply disappointing to listen to, and something that only David Guetta fans will truly appreciate. A very detailed listen, but difficult to get through due to the nature of this music. All in all, a seriously weird tune that doesn’t need to be here. Skip ahead, you are not missing much on this tune. A disappointing listen overall. It ends with the sad piano and vinyl from the intro to conclude.

7. Metro Music begins with some interesting melodic textures and sounds, which are good but unfortunately fairly repetitive and more of the same as before. This launches into a beat driven and straightforward EDM tune at hand. Unfortunately, this is really more of the same at this point. This is okay to listen to, and it sounds a lot like Daft Punk, but this second half of the album is fairly pointless listening overall. Nothing outright bad is present, but nothing spectacular, either. The sounds and sonic production on this tune are very interesting to listen to, even if the progressions all sound the same. The second half has a moody and melodic progression at hand, before launching back into the beats and sonic textures for the main part. All in all, this is barely okay music to hear. A bit boring, all the same.

8. Toy Story begins with some NES old school styled sounds. It sounds very digital, and moves into a piece of music that is quite interesting, in actual fact. Some cut up sonic sounds and beats emerge, and this tune progresses into a weird and odd listen. This has nothing really to do with the Disney Pixar film series of the same name. Instead, this is a weird and off sounding tune that really isn’t necessary at this point to listen to. Fairly predictably repetitive by this point in time as well. It has some interesting editing and changes into the second half, but this sounds like a waste of time to listen to it all. A passable listen, although this second half of the album really isn’t worth it overall. The sonic sounds to conclude with are repetitive and unnecessary. A dull listen.

9. The Future has AFROJACK collaborating on it. It begins with some interesting 4/4 beats and enters into a sonically detailed tune at hand. Very, very cool, and a lot better than the track before it. This is more music for those of you who have tried Ecstasy and want to dance to some straightforward DJ styled music. The music sweetly progresses very well on this one, and it builds up to a neat climax at hand. This is a strange sounding DJ set flavoured tune that has quite a few twists and turns throughout it all. Indeed, this sort of music does look ahead to the future of music as such, which is Electronic in nature. The second half has an unusual set of beats and symphonic melodies to match it all. Loops occur at this one builds up nicely throughout. An okay listen, but nothing special or important on this second half of the album. It gradually wraps up after four rather tedious minutes. Again, good, but not great to hear. It does seem to outstay its welcome.

10. Dreams begins with some more interesting textures and a kick drum beat sampled directly from New Order’s Blue Monday tune. This is more of the same, although it is a good listen, once again. This is the sort of music thrown into your average DJ set. A breakdown occurs that sounds different melodically, but does little to impress the listener at hand. The 8 Bit melodies that come through are rather annoying as well. In any case, this launches back into the main melodic and beat heavy tune at hand. This is good music for driving to the club with. There is a breakdown in the midsection, followed by some rather ordinary piano sampling. Again, this is nothing necessary nor special to listen to at this point. Anyone can hear this sort of music at your average nightclub on a Friday or Saturday night each weekend. This tune also seems to drag on quite past its welcome. Towards the end are some looped melodies, before launching back into the main section of music at hand. It’s okay, but nothing phenomenal is here. The outro has the beats from the intro.

11. Paris begins with some looped cyber melodies and straightforward beats to match it. Again, this is much more of the same as earlier. Even so, this does sound interesting for what it is. The music builds up to a neat progression with some euphoric sounds about it all. A good listen that sounds more lively and bouncy than some of the tracks before it all. It is a pounding and melodic tune at hand, with some static sounding melodies that are very good. This is a slight improvement on everything before it. The midsection breaks down into a cool and subdued listen at hand, with some fairly average melodies to listen to. Again, this is not the sort of music that legends are really made of. Even so, this is not outright bad, just ordinary to listen to. It changes back into the main melody at hand in the second half, before this slowly and surely reaches the end point of this tune. Again, fairly boring and not that good to hear. A bit of a disappointment.

12. Glasgow is the very last song on this album release. It begins with some hard Acid House styled melodies, and launches into another fairly worthless EDM track. There is very little that is worth mentioning or special on this tune. It launches into a 4/4 beat structure that has hi-hats, thumping beats and predictable drum rolls throughout. It builds up further into a frenzied and chaotic sounding tune with drum rolls and other melodic build ups and permeates into a straightforward but dull EDM approach. Near the middle, this enters into a thumping EDM piece that should be good for those of you who enjoy EDM bangers, but alienate other music fans. The second half of the track continues along the journey, just sound overly repetitive. Really, one does not need to hear the second half of this album. There is neither nothing special nor fantastic to listen to here. Eventually, another climax builds up in the second half of this track, leading into some treated Roland TB-303 sounds. This crawls towards the end with some simple beats and Hard Acid House textures. It’s barely okay, and we conclude here.

There is no doubt that this is a good album release. However, having said that, only the first half of the album is really worth listening to. The junk DJ styled tracks on the second half are purely throwaway listens and should be avoided as such. However, if you want to hear exactly what the world of music was excited about back in 2012, then this is one of the essential listens for you. Just bear in mind that the second half of the album is very much worthless. Should you listen to this album? If you like EDM bangers then go for it, but otherwise, you can forget about listening to this one.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.