-
8.0
46468
8.0 |
The Guardian
While the ear-catching moments belong to the guests, West's touch is detectable everywhere and in the refrain, "Mitt Romney don't pay no tax", he may have the best line on the album
Read Review
-
7.5
46864
7.5 |
Beats Per Minute
If this album signifies the beginning of Kanye’s descent into the “too rich to care, too big to fail” space occupied by many of his peers, well, it was a good run
Read Review
-
7.0
46599
7.0 |
NME
After the twin peaks of ‘Watch The Throne’ and ‘My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy’’s rap-pop grandeur, ‘Cruel Summer’ feels slight in comparison. Still, as a cross section of the most brilliant, solipsistic mind in rap, it’s an essential purchase
Read Review
-
7.0
46339
7.0 |
No Ripcord
It says something about Kanye West’s ability that it’s a disappointment that this album doesn’t change music in some way like the triptych of The College Dropout, Late Registration and MBDTF did. But don’t get me wrong, it’s a good album
Read Review
-
6.7
46434
6.7 |
Pretty Much Amazing
It delivers some blistering singles but it is ultimately uneven. The artists featured all have something to offer on their own, but as they scramble a top one another a sense of any group dynamic is lost in the fray
Read Review
-
6.5
46336
6.5 |
Pitchfork
A handful of guests aside, none of G.O.O.D. Music's personalities do much to justify their newfound prominence. If Cruel Summer is meant to be an argument for the label's other talent, it makes a weak case
Read Review
-
6.0
46435
6.0 |
Spin
A runway show of small, costly, uncomfortable missteps
Read Review
-
6.0
46501
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
The first real creative vacation West has taken in his illustrious career
Read Review
-
6.0
46520
6.0 |
The Independent
The music Kanye West reserves for his own albums is so much more ambitious than that apportioned to the collaborations on this compilation... Which isn't to say it's not effective
Read Review
-
6.0
46338
6.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
If we ever get a Cruel Summer sequel, let’s hope it’ll be a little tighter in focus and a lot more exclusive about what and whom it allows in
Read Review
-
6.0
46774
6.0 |
PopMatters
Every track on this album has a flaw worth pointing out, but they all make an argument why they’re worth listening to as well
Read Review
-
6.0
47085
6.0 |
The Irish Times
You’ll find his name attached to very few duds, and this collection, featuring acts signed to his Good Music label, packs a tough punch
Read Review
-
6.0
47332
6.0 |
Prefix
These sidekicks all fail for the same reason: for them, the high life is the object, but for Kanye, it's the subject
Read Review
-
5.8
46626
5.8 |
A.V. Club
The problem is that on this album, West, who raps on most of the its 12 tracks, often seems disconnected from anything beyond his ego
Read Review
-
5.0
46551
5.0 |
Slant Magazine
Even as a high-pedigree compilation, it still falls flat
Read Review
-
5.0
46337
5.0 |
BBC
Maybe fatigue is a factor on Cruel Summer, a thin and largely unfocused effort
Read Review
-