“Just Can’t Get Enough” The Black Eyed Peas (#3 Hot 100, Week of April 23, 2011)

The Peas have a very distinctive schtick: slightly wacky (some just say wack) old-school rhymes, poppy Fergie hooks with a dash of soul, and ladles of studio wizardry courtesy of will.i.am.

Since it really is a schtick to some degree, some people get it and some don’t.  It can also translate into a spotty track record.  Go too heavy on the schticky stuff, and it travels from Pea territory into pure corn.  That, in a nutshell, was the problem with the first single off of The Beginning, “The Time.” (And now you’ve had your fiber for the day.)

“Just Can’t Get Enough,” despite its endorsement of excess, strikes just the right balance of schtick and musical substance.  A funky, sophisticated shuffle beat, broken up by video-game synths, dresses up the rap verses, while Fergie’s chorus shines.  The sped-up clubby breakdown, cribbed from “Imma Be,” is executed effectively.

This is just the comeback the Peas needed after a head-scratching first single decision.