Last Train To Paris - Reception - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon its release, Last Train to Paris received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 13 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Simon Vozick-Levinson from Entertainment Weekly said "Last Train to Paris's glittery grooves feel authentically his own." He called Last Train a throwback to Diddy's 2007 hit single "Last Night". Its the "electro-laced torch duet blown out to full album length". He concluded by saying "the sheer number of cameos overwhelms the narrative conceit after a while... But who really cares? By that time, you just might be enjoying yourself way too much to notice." Jim Farber of New York Daily News was impressed with Dirty Money's contribution to the album. He said "their input gives the CD a cohesion otherwise disrupted by Diddy's usual conga line of guest stars." He pointed out that the album takes on a Eurodance sound and although people might see it as "leaping on that bandwagon but as it turns out, the milieu proves a much better fit for his, er, talents, than any CD he has released so far." Farber concluded by saying "The Euro edge gives the music a leg up on the more conservative (read: American) dance music favored by the most mainstream club act of now -- those ever mushy Peas." Andy Gill of The Independent noted Dirty Money's "emphasis on emotion over purely dance imperatives" and dubbed the album "easily the best work Diddy's been involved with in his entire career." Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars and stated, "The album is a mess, but a hook-heavy, likable one."

David Jeffries from Allmusic noted Diddy's "unfiltered self" and "unique attitude", stating "This hook-filled, vibrant effort is that rare heartbreak album that can speak on a lovelorn level and then put a little strut back in your step." Matt Sayles from The Boston Globe complimented its concept and praised the mixture of R&B vocals from Dirty Money and the guest features from the range of A-list friends, particularly Grace Jones stating that "There’s no telling why she turns up but she sounds right at home on the thumping club anthem. cameo is just one more pleasant surprise on an album full of them." Brandon Soderberg from The Village Voice was also impressed with the artistic creation. He said "Once you hear Paris's mish-mash (Diddy’s word) of sounds, all that producer-genius experimentalism makes some sense. Every song is full of swift change-ups and jarring musical detours; Diddy often interrupts these jagged dance tracks to emote... It’s lots of fun, and though confessional in parts, it’s overall far from the self-serious, petulant complaint-raps of say, Drake or Kanye. Paris looks back to dance music as soulful catharsis and emotionalism, not the cold thump that’s taken over as of late." Nitsuh Abebe from New York magazine said "Last Train to Paris is one of the first records that's really made me feel like sounds clever. makes what seems to me to be an aesthetic error, which is that if you want to put sleek, rainy-sounding synths everywhere ... this album hits its mood right, though — gray skies, Eurorail, and drama — it's excellent stuff. The hectic format fades away, and the music actually becomes the hypnotic cruise it aspires to be."