Dark Days, Bright Nights

• Artist: Bubba Sparxxx
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 18, 2001
• Type: Contains explicit content
• Genre: Rap

Review

Bubba Sparxxx is a great idea executed pretty damn well. He's the redneck version of Eminem, a talented bubba sponsored by a great producer (in this case, Timbaland), given a lively soundscape as a background for his semi-autobiographical humorous sketches of life as who he is. Sparxxx is neither as nimble a rapper as Eminem, nor is he as imaginative, so this doesn't have the impact of either the Slim Shady LP or Marshall Mathers LP, but Timbaland is an exceptional producer who can give a gifted, but limited, MC like Bubba Sparxxx a huge boost by simply giving him music that sounds good. And that's the case on Dark Days, Bright Nights, since it has a dexterous, adventurous production that gives the album a real boost. Sparxxx himself is pretty good -- his voice tends to blend into the mix a little too much and he's not as imaginative as, say, Pete Nice, MC Serch, or, yes, Eminem, but he never stumbles, either. So, the album winds up as a solid debut -- nothing is as good as "Ugly" (it'd be hard to top those ethereal wordless backing vocals, regardless of how good the rest of the album was), and it ultimately runs a little too long, but it still is better than most rap debuts of 2001, not just because of the mastermind of Timbaland, but because Bubba Sparxxx is still a strong focal point, even when he tends to repeat himself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Take Off	Tim Mosley	Bubba Sparxxx	(2:32)
Ugly	Tim Mosley	Bubba Sparxxx	(4:25)
Any Porch		Bubba Sparxxx	(1:18)
Bubba Talk	Tim Mosley	Bubba Sparxxx	(3:48)
Lovely	Tim Mosley	Bubba Sparxxx	(3:56)
Betty Betty		Bubba Sparxxx	(3:56)
All the Same	Organized Noize	Bubba Sparxxx, Backbone	(4:24)
Get Right		Bubba Sparxxx	(3:41)
Open Wide	Tim Mosley	Bubba Sparxxx	(4:47)
Infected		Bubba Sparxxx	(4:28)
Twerk a Little	Tim Mosley	Timbaland, Bubba Sparxxx	(4:21)
Take in to the Water		Bubba Sparxxx, Duddy Ken	(4:31)
Well Water		Bubba Sparxxx	(4:45)
The Ist Whutchacallit		Bubba Sparxxx	(4:41)
Bubba Sparxxx	Organized Noize	Bubba Sparxxx	(4:29)
Regardless	W. White	Bubba Sparxxx	(4:36)
If It's Bumpin'		Bubba Sparxxx, Emil Koshan	(4:55)
Dark Days, Bright Nights		Bubba Sparxxx	(3:24)

Credits

Chris Gehringer (Mastering), Larry Gold (Arranger), Larry Gold (Cello), Larry Gold (String Arrangements), Gerald Hall (Vocals), Gerald Hall (Engineer), Aaron Mills (Drum Producer), Organized Noize (Producer), Scott Storch (Keyboards), Tweet (Vocals (Background)), Jimmy Douglas (Mixing), Timbaland (Vocals (Background)), Timbaland (Producer), Timbaland (Mixing), Josh Butler (Mixing), Jarvis Blackshear (Mixing), Billy Odum (Drum Programming), Senator Jimmy D (Engineer), Drew FitzGerald (Art Direction), Michele Michou Robinson (Executive Producer), Bubba Sparxxx (Main Performer), Steve Penny (Engineer), Emil Koshan (Performer)

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