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Pharrell Williams · S3 E7
In Search Of...
The debut album that confused everyone and inspired a generation
Somewhere in 2001, Pharrell Williams listens to the finished N*E*R*D debut album. He hates it so much that he pulls it from European shelves and re-records the entire thing from scratch with a live band.
N*E*R*D, Rock Star (2002). The re-recorded, live-instrument version. This is the N*E*R*D that Pharrell wanted the world to hear: guitars, real drums, raw energy.
The Wrong Version
The first version of "In Search Of..." drops in Europe in 2001 on Virgin Records, and it sounds exactly like a Neptunes album with vocals on top. Electronic beats, programmed drums, synthesized everything. Pharrell hears it and knows the problem: this is not a band record.
Rock Star, N*E*R*D (2002)
Compare the European version to the worldwide release and you hear two different philosophies. The original has quantized, grid-locked drums that hit at mathematically precise intervals. The Spymob version has a human drummer who pushes slightly ahead of the beat, creating a feeling of urgency the electronic version never had. The guitar tone was deliberately recorded through cheap amps to sound raw rather than polished.
“The first version sounded like Neptunes beats with us rapping over them. That wasn't the point. We wanted to be a real band, and the only way to do that was to start over.”
— Pharrell Williams, in interviews about re-recording "In Search Of..." (paraphrased)
TAP TO REVEAL: Just how different are the two versions of this album?
Provider, N*E*R*D
One of the deeper cuts from "In Search Of..." The track rides a mellow, jazzy groove that shows N*E*R*D at their most relaxed and soulful. Where "Rock Star" and "Lapdance" are all aggression, "Provider" reveals the band's softer side.
What happened to the original European electronic version of "In Search Of..."?
Pharrell has proven he is more than a producer. But The Neptunes' hit-making machine is only accelerating, and within two years their beats will account for 43% of all songs played on American radio in a single week.
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