Alright guys for our album review of Mac Miller’s debut album Blue Slide Park, I chose to ask a correspondent from Uptown Soldier and close friend Sam Rinderfrat to do the honors. He is an educated Mac Miller fan with allegiance dating back to his very early rap days. This guy was the first I knew to have K.I.D.S. and considers Mac to have a shitload of potential. That being said, he took a very objective approach with his review thus trying to remove his bias as much as possible. Without further ado, I present to you Sam Rinderfrat’s Mac Miller Blue Slide Park Album Review. Hit the jump….Now!!!!

Uptown Soldier Album Review: Mac Miller – Blue Slide Park

Production: B  –  (I think Mac’s mixtape, K.I.D.S. had better production value than his first album.  There were certainly more hits like “Knock, Knock” and “Senior Skip Day,” and my personal favorite, “Outside.” I don’t see very many big hits on this album; however, the rock-influenced “Up All Night” may well indeed blow-up.)

Lyrics: B  -  (His lyrics are on point as always. Very relatable messages and stories for his youth fan base)

Completeness: C+  –  (Mac definitely could have added more tracks to this album.  And I thought I understood his theme with the paying homage to Pittsburgh, but seemingly it doesn’t completely cross over in his music.)

Extras (Collabs, Artwork, Etc.):  C  - (There were no guest artists on this album.  Not even Wiz made an appearance.)

Overall: B-  –  (There was a lot of good stuff on this album.  Innovative beats, catchy lyrics, but Blue Slide Park was missing the “wow” factor that makes Miller’s work the music of choice for your smoke sesh.)

Mac Miller and independent record label Rostrum Records struck gold with his recently released first album Blue Slide Park.  It has now topped the charts and is the number one selling album in the country.

Mac Miller’s rise to fame has been impressive to say the least; however, as a long time listener of Miller’s music, his debut album Blue Slide Park does not live up to my expectations. Despite several successful mixtapes and endorsements from the likes of Bun B, DJ Premier, and THE Pittsburgh emcee Wiz Khalifa, Mac still doesn’t “wow” me with his first album.

You definitely can’t knock Mac’s hustle.  He has been a champion of self-promotion via Twitter and various social medias.  With a loyal fan-base and over one million Twitter followers, its no surprise Miller’s album is number one on the charts after being on the shelves for just over a week. Some of his best promotion ideas were debuting the singles off the album as videos. I believe making people watch the video to hear the track for the first time creates a different effect on his audience and allows for a better connection to the music. Visuals make everything better, and Mac used that to his advantage. He is also the first independent artist to debut at #1 in 16 years. Wow…let that sink in…150k units in his first week…a 19 year old Jewish kid….Wow!

There is no questioning Miller’s upside.  His career has a chance to flourish, but Blue Slide Park does not contain the musical content I thought would have brought him to the next level.  I have listened to Miller’s work since he released the mix-tape The High Life a few years back, and I feel like a lot of Miller’s best work is behind him.   After developing a strong fan-base on Twitter and through several mixtapes, Miller’s debut album release came highly anticipated.

I’m not saying Blue Slide Park is bad by any means; it just doesn’t live up to what many Mac Miller fans were probably expecting.  It’s filled with innovative beats similar to what Miller and ID Labs have put out in previous mixtapes, but the album lacks the “punch” many of Miller’s faithful listeners have anticipated.

The album gets off to a strong start with tracks two and three, “Blue Slide Park” and “Party on Fifth Ave.”  These two songs have the catchy lyrics and beats Mac has shown in his previous work.  Track four, “PA Nights“, is a good song, but after two tracks with solid flow and sound, this track has an awkward beat with an unconventional hook and is really the only mediocre song in the first half of the album.

The next four songs deliver what Miller’s fans know and love.  “Frick Park Market” sounds great, but the beat and hook sound eerily familiar to “Donald Trump“, the hit single from Miller’s Best Day Ever mixtape.  In “Smile Back” Miller shows some range in his flow while delivering the album’s first aggressive, up-beat song with his “most confident” lyrics.

“Under the Weather” offers an interesting hook with a strong beat.  After this track the album takes a turn toward mediocrity. “Up All Night” has a chance to blow up on the radio with its up beat, rock influenced sound, but the latter half of the album does not impress me.  “Up All Night” honestly sounds like the offspring of a Blink 182 and Asher Roth song, but it is very catchy and will certainly sell in today’s music market.

Beginning with “My Team”, the last half of the album doesn’t really have much to offer.  “Diamonds and Gold”,  “Missed Calls”, and “Loitering” are worthy listens, but the remaining tracks on the album are worth skipping until you get back to “English Lane”.  The first half of the album is a much better.  Mac could have put out a better product with a few more songs.

Blue Slide Park is a good purchase and listen, but it doesn’t live up to the quality of Miller’s previous work.  The mixtapes K.I.D.S and Best Day Ever left Mac Miller’s fans in anticipation of his first album for months.  Blue Slide Park does not demonstrate the best of Mac Miller’s capabilities, but hey, he’s selling the number one album in the country right now, so he’s obviously doing something right. As a die-hard Mac Miller fan, having the hype not equal the end result is very disappointing.

- Sam Rinderfrat

Album Tracklist:

1. “English Lane” produced by Ritz Reynolds
2. “Blue Slide Park” produced by I.D. Labs
3. “Party on Fifth Avenue produced by I.D. Labs
4. “PA Nights” produced by Mansions On the Moon
5. “Frick Park Market” produced by I.D. Labs
6. “Smile Back” produced by I.D. Labs
7. “Under the Weather” produced by I.D. Labs
8. “Of the Soul” produced by I.D. Labs
9. “My Team” produced by Clams Casino
10. “Up All Night” produced by I.D. Labs
11. “Loitering” produced by I.D. Labs, Young L
12. “Hole in My Pocket” produced by Ritz Reynolds
13. “Diamonds & Gold” produced by I.D. Labs, D-True
14. “Missed Calls” produced by Ritz Reynolds
15. “Man in the Hat” produced by I.D. Labs, Ritz Reynolds
16. “One Last Thing” produced by Clams Casino

Stay tuned for more from Mac Miller on UptownSoldier.com. Also please feel free to comment, criticize or agree by clicking “Fire Away” below!! Thanks again to Sam Rinderfrat for his time reviewing this album. #BlueSlidePark