The only song that comes even remotely close is “Guilty”, which works because Usher’s singing is unadorned. That “Monstar” opens the album and there is nothing to rival it is a real shame. In addition, Ursh’s singing is urgent, present, and flawless. It actually sounds similar to Jimmy and Terry’s early work for Janet, and that’s a very, very good thing. It is monstrous and melodramatic - but it’s also compelling.
“Monstar” is the best of the three, and it’s also the best song on the album, by far. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis basically save the album from complete ruin with their three songs: “Monstar”, “Pro Lover”, and “Mars vs. The most interesting songs work because of great production, since no one seemed to pay much attention to melody or using Usher’s terrific vocal abilities this go-round. There is simply no other reason for its inclusion here. Usher’s eye is so glued to the charts that I wouldn’t even be surprised if “She Don’t Know” is the next single. And “She Don’t Know” is the pretty much the exact same song as Beyonce’s “Diva” (so much so that Ludacris name checks her). The song manages to be both dull and interminable. Then there’s “OMG”, the latest incoherent madness from will.i.am. He just ends up sounding like a dirty old man. Kelly schtick on “Lil Freak”, featuring the latest terrible female rapper, Nicky Minaj. Clearly, aging out of the industry’s targeted demographic has got Usher shook. To be fair, there are some nice moments here - “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” and “Fooling Around” are pleasant, if forgettable, and “There Goes My Baby” features some nice falsetto work from Ursh - but most of this album feels like an artist struggling to hold onto relevance. Before this album dropped, I would have said that Usher was the most consistently brilliant pop star in a generation, able to perfectly marry commercial ambition with superb songcraft. That they are true is what makes listening to this cynically commercial and desperate album such a tremendous disappointment. Raymond is an album that was created as if the three points I raise above are not true. Here I Stand failed commercially for one reason, and one reason only: his fanbase hated his wife. It was a huge artistic leap forward that managed to transform the R&B king into a stone-cold soulman. Here I Stand was a damn near flawless album, with 8 perfect songs (“This Ain’t Sex”, “His Mistakes”, “Lifetime”, “Will Work for Love”, “Trading Places”, and especially “Love You Gently,” “Revolver”, and the title track) and at least another 4 or 5 pretty good songs. But promoting it as such did make it a huge commercial success.Ģ. Confessions really was not all that confessional. Usher – Raymond VS.There are three important things one must recognize in order to properly understand why Usher’s latest album, Raymond vs. We want to give it a proper launch.” And it seems like The Neptunes got 1 track on the album, which is ‘ Certified feat. Issuing a statement in November 2009, Usher’s management told Reuters “This is a solid album that we believe in. Raymond” was originally due for release fall 2009 but was later pushed back. Raymond” is however, a significant leak considering the fact that it was due to be released in either February or March with just a few songs spotted online like the Nicki Minaj featured “ Little Freak“. Usher is not the first artist to suffer a major leak this month, he follows Grammy Award-winner Lil’ Wayne, whose album “ Rebirth” made its way to fans over a month prior to its release. and Pharrell, in addition to the currently in rotation single ‘ Daddy’s Home‘ with Plies, sources say “ Raymond VS. Raymond,” the album the singer spent months in Las Vegas recording, has leaked.
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