- At first, he allegedly created disco. Now, he's all too ready for the weekend. If Calvin Harris' album titles are anything to go by, you'd think he's one sick party animal drenched in poppers and sweat. Yet, that couldn't be further from the truth, as these statements have to be taken in their most generic, vaguely hedonistic sense. The type of disco and partying he refers to is indebted to UK lad culture, with songs about getting wasted at the pub and trying to get laid with some bird on a Saturday night.
Ready for the Weekend capitalizes on the trends Harris set on 2007's I Created Disco while profiting from both his experiences as a producer minion for Kylie Minogue and Róisín Murphy as well as being a convenient remixer for indie dancers Cut Copy, Primal Scream and Passion Pit. Consequently, in terms of pop efficiency, the album has its momentary appeal, but dancing wiv him for more than four drunken minutes? Don't seriously think about it, mate.
The year started pretty well for him, though: Hot on the heels of a UK #1 (that much-feted "Dance Wiv Me" collaboration with Dizzee Rascal, included here in extremis), he somehow anticipated the cheesy mid '90s Euro-dance revival capped by "I'm Not Alone," which has basically become the template for Madonna's current Paul Oakenfold-approved, Botox-sponsored comeback single. With a heartfelt vocal delivery and gentle guitar strumming, the intro playfully delays the trance-like pads from the song's core.
This well-crafted slice of synth-pop is what the album's liner notes are referring to when they say these tracks were all "written, arranged, produced and performed by Calvin Harris"; in other words, "I'm Not Alone" is the same type of song-based electronic pop the likes of Little Boots, Tiga and La Roux have convinced us to enjoy again without shame in 2009. The Ralphi Rosario-referencing "You Used to Hold Me" is even better, with a harder beat and an even more jubilant chorus that is destined to become a live highlight.
That said, the same trick is Xeroxed on other, less successful moments such as "Blue," "Flashback," "Worst Day" and "Relax" and it quickly makes the quiet-intro-followed-by-loud-chorus dynamics formulaic and tiring. Slower, ballad-like interludes like the uninspired "Burns Night" and soporific album-closer "5iliconeator" don't help much in terms of creating, let alone maintaining, interest, which is an obvious major faux pas in the pop album genre Harris is aiming for here.
To put it bluntly, Ready for the Weekend comes across as a failed, blander-than-you'd-expect attempt at blending David Guetta's bombastic floor-filling mainstream talent with Stuart Price's refined sense of pop flair. On a few brief occasions, Harris can achieve his idea of one-size-fits-all, stadium-filling party music. Unfortunately for him, both Guetta and Price (under his Zoot Woman guise) have records out these days, and they are both beating him at his own game, making this second long player very pale in comparison.
Tracklist 01. The Rain
02. Ready for the Weekend feat. Mary Pearce
03. Stars Come Out feat. Ayah
04. You Used to Hold Me
05. Blue
06. I'm Not Alone
07. Flashback
08. Worst Day feat. Izza Kizza
09. Relax
10. Limits feat. Ayah
11. Burns Night
12. Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La
13. Dance wiv Me feat. Dizzee Rascal
14. 5iliconeator