Calvin Harris – Ready for the weekend: Album review

The Scottish producer & songwriter Calvin Harris released his new album named “Ready for the weekend” a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been listening to it for a while on my iPhone, in my car, and on some pre-partys. It’s already number #1 on the UK charts, and here’s my thoughts on the new album.

I was a sucker for his last album “I Created Disco” that hit the stores in 2007. The moog-ish, simple, and catchy melodies captured me in to his sound, and it was actually fun listening to. Calvin had a huge success with the track “Acceptable in the 80s” with the infamous lyrics “I got love for you if you were born in the 80s” on the album, and surely the track appealed to many people like me – born in the 80s and got introduced to dance music in the 90s.

He knows his audience, and that’s the genius with Calvins’ album: Remember those catchy (almost meaningless) short vocal phrases, piano stabs and saw chords? Well, it’s time for a re-introduction.

The album got 14 tracks, but I won’t go through them all with you here, but rather tell you about my top 3 picks:

Track 1: The Rain [iTunes link] [Spotify link]

A good-feeling track. Calvins’ vocal says it all really, “This is the good times of your life, so put on a smile and it’ll be alright”. An electro-ish bassline with that old Benassi feel to it together with a sax-solo in the middle, and long driving chords in the “takeoffs”.

Track 3: Stars come out [iTunes link] [Spotify link]

Great funky bassline and squecky synth stabs with really catchy vocal phrases like “Power to your brain…” – oh yeah, the 90s is surely back. Around 3:00 the track takes a nice turn in to something you would think was a funky bridge – but plays out through the rest of the song.

Track 7: Flashback [iTunes link] [Spotify link]

Yet another track with short 90s vocal phrases like “Why can’t I realise, I’m fighting for my life” turning in to sing-along “OOOoooOO”s.  Got a energy-filled 303-bassline and saw chords running in the background of the track as well as piano chords in the breakdowns.

All in all, I think it’s a great album. However, not as great as “I Created Disco”. The main reason for this is that he tries to be more intelligent with his productions. Tracks like “Worst day” and “Blue” got more of a serious sound with serious lyrics, without quite succeeding. That’s not what I want from Calvin. I want him to say “I got my boys and girls, we’re going to Vegas” then go in to a cheesy synth riff.

So, my conclusion is: If you’re too posh about your EDM and hates catchy riffs and meaningless vocals – stay away and go listen to the latest Toolroom Knights compilation. But if you were born in the 80s, and liked the dance music in the 90s. “Ready for the weekend” is an album for you.