2LP – Vinyl
Late Registration is the second album from Kanye West and is co-produced by Jon Brion – known principally as a soundtrack composer (magnolia, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind). The standout cuts are Addiction, which flicks an acoustic guitar loop round a sample from Etta James’s My Funny Valentine, Hey Mama which has a folk-rock vocal that could net butterflies and is classic Kanye and single Diamonds from Sierre Leone which has a heavy groove and sped-up soul sample, courtesy of Shirley Bassey’s classic Diamonds are Forever with Kanye’s unusual conversational flow. The producer-rapper is aiming for the heights of Motown’s greatest icon and this album proves that everything he touches turns to gold.