Joel & Benji Madden are both members of the group Good Charlotte.

N.E.R.D.: Pharrell, Chad, Shay.

Additional personnel includes: Joel Madden, Benji Madden (vocals); Lenny Kravitz, Andrew Coleman (guitar); Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums).

Recorded at Hovercraft Recording Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia and The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

For some strange reason, EMI decided to pair N.E.R.D.'s first two albums -- 2002's In Search Of... and 2004's Fly or Die -- into one package and retail the set at a price slightly less than what you'd pay if you picked them up individually. It's worth noting that the version of In Search Of... included here is the inferior re-recorded version (featuring competent backing by Spymob) that is more rock-oriented and less reliant on Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's expert beat-making and keyboard work. What's most bizarre about this package is that it follows so closely after the release of Fly or Die. Thankfully, EMI does not add any bonus material, in some lame attempt to bait hardcore fans. ~ Andy Kellman

Unlike In Search Of..., originally made primarily on N.E.R.D.'s various machines and then reconfigured with assistance from funk-rock band Spymob, Fly or Die is kept almost entirely in-house. The ridiculous cover, along with first single "She Wants to Move" -- and its accompanying video, including a literal translation of the line "Her ass is a spaceship I want to ride" -- thankfully provide little indication of the album's true makeup. And the moments where the Star Trak hand sign gets flipped to a set of devil horns are mercifully fleeting, though "Backseat Love" is undoubtedly problematic -- it plays Dumberer to "She Wants to Move"'s Dumber. ("Lapdance" was Dumb.) The rest of the album isn't just noteworthy for subject matter that skips through child-parent relationship sketches, ecological reveries, and protest songs; the bright, bold Neptunes glaze that normally coats their chart-aimed singles of all stripes is applied to material that will leave many people baffled. The album sees N.E.R.D. rummaging through parts of their record collection that don't normally bubble to the surface in their production work. Most disarming of all is "Wonderful Place," a seven-minute trip divided into halves. The first shows a chipper Pharrell striding through a sunny meadow, marveling at the natural wonders of the planet in spite of its troubles; with a horn-punched chorus ("My soul's in my smile/Don't frown, just get up get up") and other subtle splashes of Baroque pop elements, it owes equally to Burt Bacharach and the Left Banke. This dissolves into a fading whistle, only to give rise to a dramatic, synthetically orchestral and acoustic-folk tale about a near-fatal family fishing trip. Any parent of the past, present, or near future will be stirred, especially once Pharrell goes falsetto to emphasize the relief of the nearly drowned baby being rescued by his mother. Instead of pausing for effect, the album goosesteps into "Drill Sergeant," yet another two-parter. Half power pop bounce and half tumbling, doomsday pummel, the song pulls no punches with antiwar sentiments that target the government and media, and when a teeth-clenched Pharrell talks about his fear of blowing up, you know he's not talking about fame. Despite the heavy subject matter in a third of the songs, the album nonetheless carries a lighthearted, fun-loving lilt. At face value, Fly or Die is a rather straightforward rock record. To N.E.R.D.'s credit, no one else could've made this particular rock record. Ideas come by the bushel, hooks arrive when least expected, embedded jokes get discovered like Easter eggs. Nobody can tie all of these things together and make them glow quite like this. Apart from a ploy to get some rotation at your local mall's Hot Topic (Good Charlotte's Madden brothers make an appearance), they didn't appear to make this record for anyone but themselves. So while Fly or Die is one of the most creative and ambitious moments of the Neptunes' career, it might also be their least understood. ~ Andy Kellman

While often boundary-expanding, the ubiquitous beats of the Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) are supremely radio-friendly. However, when Williams and Hugo are two-thirds of N.E.R.D. (alongside Shay), the genie is out of the bottle, and previously unimagined, genre-busting concoctions are unfurled. The second N.E.R.D. album is the product of gloriously schizophrenic genius, with acutely honed pop sensibilities. Leadoff single "She Wants to Move" features the most traditional Neptunes beat surrounded by a hyperactive rhythm section and never lets up. From there, the music wanders down a million paths, from Love-styled hippie balladry to Temptations/Sly funk-rock immediacy to dizzying Fishbone funk-punk.

N.E.R.D. also displays wry, observational lyricism. On "Wonderful Place," they forge a hallucinogenic landscape where "cartoons are turning into real life," weaving three or four stories into a parable about the troubled world. The more direct "Drill Sergeant" mixes in references to Orson Welles and Barnes & Noble into the chorus chant "I'm not going to war." Building upon the frenzied funk/rock/soul/punk/psychedelia of N.E.R.D.'s debut, FLY OR DIE should solidify the group as one of the most refreshing, intelligent, rising voices in pop music.