“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. The singer laments the bad things he did in “Pro Lover”-flip-flopping from regular to double time flow-in this candid and tender version of the sentiments expressed in “Confessions.” “Let me start by saying that the way I feel for you has never once changed/And the games I’ve played, mistakes I’ve made leave me sorrier than you’ll ever know.There are three important things one must recognize in order to properly understand why Usher’s latest album, Raymond vs. Over a Caribbean-inspired rhythm, Ursh brags about his Rolodex of ladies and tells one in particular to fall back: “Lovin’ me baby that’s a no-no/I’m better when I touch and go/I’m tryna add your name to my hall of fame/Not just a player I’m a pro.” Jay-Z wants his song title back! All whispers and coos, this moody falsetto-laden groove finds Usher taking it nice and slow between the sheets. Nicki accepts the application and even tries to lure Cassie along for the ride. Haven’t already downloaded this? What are you waiting for? Usher is at his most seductively crass while looking to assemble a ménage in this Polow Da Don-produced track with the elephant-sounding bass.