Album Preview: Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange"

Image via Complex Original

This joint's been floating around the Internet for months. First it was an Ocean-penned track for Roc Nation singer Bridget Kelly, which she did justice to. Then Frank posted his own version of the song on his Tumblr page. No contest—this cut about not being able to keep that special someone off your mind sounds better in his falsetto.

This spacy cut, named for the diamond-rich but war-torn African nation, is highlighted by its wild use of organs and tremendous melodies.

On this jazzy song Frank sings about enjoying what's in front of you, as opposed to thinking about what's beyond. “Why see the world when you've got the beach,” he asks, then adds “MY TV ain't HD. That's too real.”

This song might also be titled “Real Love” or “Super Rich,” but whatever you call it, it knocks. Over piano jabs that recall Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," Frank speaks on affluent kids living the high life without their parents' love. “Too many joyrides in Daddy's Jaguar,” he sings on the hook. “Too many white lies and white lines." Odd Future teammate Earl Sweatshirt features on this cut, which sounds like a hit.

Here's an eerie song where Frank sings to a woman, most likely a pilot, who's not flying right. “Why am I trying to keep a grown woman sober,” he asks, then admits “I've always had a pilot jones.”

This 10-minute offering is Frank's first Channel Orange single. It's an epic song, starting out as the tale of a queen being stolen from her land and then transforming into a cut that's fit for a raunchy gentlemen's club. By the way, that's John Mayer on the guitar at the end.

This song would have been perfectly suited for any scene in Jungle Fever featuring Samuel L. Jackson's crackhead character Gator. Over hard drums and organs, Frank sings about “smoking stones in abandoned homes” and fiends “shucking and jiving” for drugs.

This one's all about a girl who lost her way after traveling to a place where she thought her dream would come true. Apparently Frank isn't exactly helping her find her way. “I can't believe I got her out here cooking dope,” he sings.

On this funky cut Frank sings about an Indian woman who's following the Dalai Lama. Frank's with her in the wild and things get real in the field. “Tigers woke us from our slumber,” he sings. Hello kitty!

This piano and string-driven song find Ocean unloading his troubles from the backseat of a cab. “Taxi driver, you're my shrink for the hour,” he starts. As the meter runs, his issues spill out. “I've got three lives balanced on my head like steak knives,” Ocean spits. Sounds painful.

Ocean sounds pensive here, singing, “What if the sky and stars are for show?” Andre 3000 features on this track. “She had a body that would intimidate anyone that wasn't Southern,” he says of a particularly stacked lady in his Georgia drawl. “Not me, cousin.”

The last cut on the album is just a few guitar licks shy of a country song. Ocean sings about a woman who's been running through his mind. The outro that really wraps the albums is where we hear Frank leaving his car and splashing through the rain to his home. Once he unlocks the door to the crib and closes it behind him, Channel Orange is blacked out.