My Take on The E.N.D (Part 1)

Written by MarsRam on June 21, 2009

Ring-a-Ling:  This song starts off fairly innocuously. Boy talking about his phone ringing at four in the morning. Wondering about who is calling. Off-course it’s the girl calling. He queries, “you don’t want to have sex with me? Then why did you text me!” To which she chides, “. . . . . . . ‘cause if I’m calling at two in the mornin’, it only means one thing, baybeee”. This captures the essential difference between the sexes. The boy is only concerned about sex and is not concerned with subtleties. He got a text message. Is she going to have sex with him or not? He wants a “yes” or “no” answer, right now! She is all about subtleties, and is telling him, in effect, “why would I call you at two in the morning if I did not want to have sex with you, you idiot!”

And therein lies the charm. The roles are sung exquisitely by Fergie and the boys. Her enunciation of “Baby” is vintage Fergie. But what I am curious about is this:  Did the song evolve naturally, or was the effect created on purpose.

Meet Me Halfway:  The song starts with Fergie singing, “oooh oooh I can’t go any further than this” during the first seven seconds of the song, and your brain registers it as an honest to goodness ballad, a la Fergie. Great! And you’re hooked. Then the beat starts, softly at first, and then the auto-tune. By the time 45 seconds have elapsed the thumping beat is well established, and it is clear that although this is still a Fergie ballad, much as “Big Girls Don’t Cry” or “Won’t Let You Fall”, it is also a Boom Boom Pow kind of song, and belongs as much on this album as any of the others. Fergie excels at ballads, and it was essential to showcase this skill on at least one track of the album. So how has Will.i.am managed to weave her formidable balladeer credentials into the fabric of the Boom Boom Pow theme of the E.N.D? All I know is that he has done it in a masterful way.

Out of My Head:  Once again, the E.N.D hits it on all eight. Will.i.am capitalizes on Fergie’s ability at angst. Here she is a “twenty-nothing” girl in the first flush of her first job. The week is done, and it has been hectic as all get out. The week’s pay is burning a hole in her pocket. Time to break loose, and hit the scene! Nobody can play this role like Fergie can. Rumours are rife that she had the boys bring some wine to the studio when this track was being recorded. They might have all been a little tipsy. Drunk? I don’t think so. Not even Fergie could have hit the notes like she did, if she had been drunk. ‘Nough said. This one is a club anthem in the making.