Post Malone’s ‘F-1 Trillion’ Is A Triumph, But His Best Songs Are When He Goes Solo

It's F-1 Trillion release weekend. After teasing a country project for years, Post Malone finally dropped his long anticipated, full-length country album . Chalk full of features and catchy choruses, the early reviews that are pouring in online are calling F-1 Trillion exceptional, with one media personality describing it as "BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER." https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1824460021096173831 And I'd have to say that I agree. Post Malone tapping into his country music abilities - something he's long had and seldom utilized -  and pairing him with some of the biggest names in the country genre worked wonders. The featured artists list is a real who's who, and speaks to the respect that Post Malone draws from other music makers. I mean... just look at all of the big names that helped out Posty with F-1 Trillion : -Dolly Parton -Hank Williams Jr. -Chris Stapleton -Luke Combs -Lainey Wilson -Brad Paisley -Tim McGraw -Morgan Wallen -Blake Shelton -Sierra Ferrell -Jelly Roll -HARDY -ERNEST -Billy Strings Sorry that you had to scroll so far to get to the rest of the story, but I thought it would be a good visual representation of just how many high-profile features Post Malone had on the project. And don't get me wrong, all of the featured artists did a tremendous job in their respective songs, and Post incredibly weaved them into his own stylings. But I think I liked his solo songs more than any of his duets. That might be a hot take, and I'll happily take the criticism if there's any to throw my way. However, in my mind, if Post Malone was going to crossover into country... I kind of want to hear Post Malone presenting his version of the genre? You know what I'm saying? Again, all of the tracks that include features are great in their own right. "Guy For That" with Luke Combs could be the song of the late summer, and the chorus of "I Had Some Help" with Morgan Wallen has been stuck in all of our heads ever since it was dropped as a single. However, as I listened through the album, I couldn't help but think that the songs that didn't have features really stood out. Not only did they allow for Post to really flex his vocals and his country-pop-southern-rock-rap-bluegrass fusion (a lot of genres, I know), they also happened to be some of his most heartfelt and vulnerable out of the track list. Like the first solo song that's featured on F-1 Trillion, "What Don't Belong To Me," where a vulnerable Post Malone lists off all the things he could do for the person he loves the most, but says he couldn't give up his heart - seemingly because it's not there anymore, or at the very least doesn't belong to him. "What Don't Belong To Me" https://youtu.be/qvfssW5U_Ig?si=cgN4KyBZnID6Nxyw Then you've got "Right About You," which undoubtedly cues up and leans on more of a traditional country music sound. This track provides another moments of emotional exploration, where Post Malone thinks back on his past (and even references his existing music) and gives thanks for finding the right person to bring him out of his old ways. "Right About You" https://youtu.be/HjPAPdseMGU?si=ol6CTqLJU879bJcO And finally, you've got the song that will be the anthem for sentimental moments between fathers and daughters on wedding days for the rest of time - "Yours." I'd like to see some sort of internet challenge where dads try to listen to this one without crying, because this one pulls at the heartstrings with immense specificity and imagery. "Yours" https://youtu.be/hrAeuPqYnRQ?si=yAym4KhVYrYDbdI2 In my mind, and for my money, those are my favorites from F-1 Trillion. I might be alone in thinking that, though considering what Post Malone just announced on top of the album's release, something tells me the artist expected that people would like his solo songs. If you are like me and loved the non-feature tracks from Posty's country debut, there's more where that came from. He posted a surprise announcement of an extended version of the album - cleverly named F-1 Trillion: Long Bed - that's also out now. And it features nine more solo songs: https://twitter.com/PostMalone/status/1824476386460946667 "Back To Texas" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehAXq8n7gY0 "Fallin' In Love" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh6WAYt9zbs