Certainly no more of a surprise than finding he's now completely abandoned the wholesale electro/autotune approach of 808s & Heartbreak in favour of a return to the beats, band'n'samples style of his earlier albums, albeit in a grotesquely magnified manner. Kanye has never been short on ambition or ego, so it's no surprise he should have his guests (including such hip-hop luminaries as Jay-Z, Swizz Beats and RZA) queue up on "So Appalled" to confirm in turn how "this shit is/fucking ridiculous".
Echoes and samples of everything from Gil Scott-Heron to King Crimson are littered amongst these tracks, along with myriad vaunting string and choral arrangements. Recorded in Hawaii at a rumoured cost of some $3 million, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of pop's gaudiest, most grandiose efforts of recent years, a no-holds-barred musical extravaganza in which any notion of good taste is abandoned at the door.