New Music Review: David Guetta; ‘Nothing But the Beat’ (MUSIC VIDEO)

Nothing But the Beat is a diluted, drawn-out overkill of a good thing, taking the club-thumping beats of French producer David Guetta and saddling them with fun but uninspiring verses from some of hp-hop and R&B’s heaviest hitters. The record has a solid foundation in Guetta’s tunes, which generally fall in the realm of Eurotrash lite; think Lady Gaga gone bubblegum or just listen to “Club Can’t Handle Me” and you’ll have an idea what the guy is all about.

Which isn’t a bad thing, really: Guetta is a go-to guy when rappers want a banger, and there’s a good reason for it. His tracks are never particularly challenging or adventurous, but they are a lot of fun, and they tend to bring the best out in middle-of-the-pack artists (Flo Rida being the most notable). But Nothing But the Beat is kind of an album-wide phone-in, with Lil Wayne sleazing his way through a forgettable verse, will.i.am indulging in more of his master-of-the-obvious nonsense (“club lights/explode at night”) and Timbaland, in an apparent moment of insanity, ripping off his own “Promiscuous” with a duet called “I Just Wanna F” where he trades verses with a slinky, fun Nelly Furtado soundalike called Dev. Oy vey.

There are a few bright spots. “Sweat” is actually an infectious remix of Snoop Dogg’s hit “Wet” from earlier this year; Usher takes Guetta’s wizardry to balladic heights on “Without You”; Nicki Minaj does her signature crack-pop thing on a pair of songs; and Flo Rida does right by his boy on “Where Them Girls At.” But despite Guetta’s best efforts, the material rarely manages to match its potential. Without his beats, this album would literally be nothing.

MUSIC VIDEO: Snoop Dogg feat. David Guetta; “Sweat”: