King Baby Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Only 3 stars? Loud ***by Sal Cinquemani on November 12, 2010 Jump to Comments (0) or Add Your Own After comparing last year's Rated R to Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope, Eric Henderson ended his review of the album by expressing hopes that Rihanna wouldn't follow up with something like All for You. At first glance, it appears that his fears were justified: Like Janet's last hit album, Loud is a decided step away from its über-personal, melodrama-drenched predecessor. While that may disappoint critics like Eric and I, however, it's probably smart business. Lead single "Only Girl (In the World)" finds New York production duo Stargate co-opting David Guetta's inexplicably popular Eurotrash sound pretty effectively, but that song eschews the subtle West Indian flavor with which Rihanna and company have smartly imbued the rest of the album. The singer hasn't embraced—or exploited, depending on how you want to look at it—her Caribbean roots this much since her debut, and after hearing the entire album, her "loud" red hair and floral-pattern dresses make that much more sense. That's not to say there aren't traces of the R-rated Rihanna here. The album opens with an ode to S&M that would make various parts of Janet's body perk up, and the inclusion of a new version of "Love the Way You Lie" shows that Rihanna isn't completely ready to put her much-publicized bout with domestic abuse behind her. The album's biggest highlight is "Man Down," a full-fledged reggae tune co-written by fellow Barbadan Shontelle Layne about a woman who shoots a man (her abusive boyfriend? Her abusive pimp? Or maybe she's simply the abuser). Either way, Rihanna sounds surprisingly agile in this genre and it's one of her finest, most confident vocal performances to date. In the end, Loud really isn't Rihanna's All for You, but like Janet, Rihanna has always had trouble fitting into one genre (she has largely flip-flopped between dance, pop, and R&B, crossing over in a big way but meeting resistance in the urban market—a problem Janet would no doubt encounter if she were starting out today too), and for better or worse, Rihanna continues to stylistically branch out on Loud. "California King Bed" is a slushy acoustic ballad whose clever metaphor is all but suffocated beneath the song's cheesy production choices, and the same producers fill "Cheers (Drink to That)" with a sample of Avril Lavigne's yelp, an odd choice consdering Rihanna has contributed at least a couple more famous vocal tics of her own to the pop lexicon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 All For You is a Pop masterpiece. Loud is a true failure when compared to AFY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Y2K Malone™ Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Only 3 stars? Loud ***by Sal Cinquemani on November 12, 2010 Jump to Comments (0) or Add Your Own After comparing last year's Rated R to Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope, Eric Henderson ended his review of the album by expressing hopes that Rihanna wouldn't follow up with something like All for You. At first glance, it appears that his fears were justified: Like Janet's last hit album, Loud is a decided step away from its über-personal, melodrama-drenched predecessor. While that may disappoint critics like Eric and I, however, it's probably smart business. Lead single "Only Girl (In the World)" finds New York production duo Stargate co-opting David Guetta's inexplicably popular Eurotrash sound pretty effectively, but that song eschews the subtle West Indian flavor with which Rihanna and company have smartly imbued the rest of the album. The singer hasn't embraced—or exploited, depending on how you want to look at it—her Caribbean roots this much since her debut, and after hearing the entire album, her "loud" red hair and floral-pattern dresses make that much more sense. That's not to say there aren't traces of the R-rated Rihanna here. The album opens with an ode to S&M that would make various parts of Janet's body perk up, and the inclusion of a new version of "Love the Way You Lie" shows that Rihanna isn't completely ready to put her much-publicized bout with domestic abuse behind her. The album's biggest highlight is "Man Down," a full-fledged reggae tune co-written by fellow Barbadan Shontelle Layne about a woman who shoots a man (her abusive boyfriend? Her abusive pimp? Or maybe she's simply the abuser). Either way, Rihanna sounds surprisingly agile in this genre and it's one of her finest, most confident vocal performances to date. In the end, Loud really isn't Rihanna's All for You, but like Janet, Rihanna has always had trouble fitting into one genre (she has largely flip-flopped between dance, pop, and R&B, crossing over in a big way but meeting resistance in the urban market—a problem Janet would no doubt encounter if she were starting out today too), and for better or worse, Rihanna continues to stylistically branch out on Loud. "California King Bed" is a slushy acoustic ballad whose clever metaphor is all but suffocated beneath the song's cheesy production choices, and the same producers fill "Cheers (Drink to That)" with a sample of Avril Lavigne's yelp, an odd choice consdering Rihanna has contributed at least a couple more famous vocal tics of her own to the pop lexicon. :wub: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Y2K Malone™ Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 this is from Entertainment Weekly Last year was possibly the nadir of Rihanna’s young life, and it showed all over her aptly titled Rated R — a bleak, bullet-cased chronicle of a domestic-violence victim–turned–sonic vigilante. Loud, the 22-year-old Barbados native’s fifth disc, comes almost a year to the day after R, and only scant traces of that wounded warrior remain. In her place is a rebooted pop vixen, a Caribbean-accented kitten with a whip. What begins with late-night-Cinemax naughtiness (see: explicitly carnal opener ''S&M'' and playful Drake collab ''What’s My Name?'') soon yields to the walk-away ballad ''Fading,'' a gorgeously synthesized moment of sweet defiance. The Jameson-swilling, TGIF-toasting ''Cheers (Drink to That)'' folds a left-field Avril Lavigne sample into a crunked party anthem, while the rum-pa-pum ragga ''Man Down'' burrows neck-deep in island rhythms. Lead single ''Only Girl (In the World)'' finds her playing the spiraling dance-floor siren, a role she carries through the airy ''Complicated.'' Even while telling a recalcitrant man how hard he is to love, she sounds almost buoyant, her newly expanded vocals eager to scale the song’s high-altitude house beat. At times the album’s lurid sexuality can feel forced: kink as oversold diva commodity. What Loud showcases best, though, is a star undefeated by her worst circumstances — and finding redemption in exactly the kind of pop nirvana that made her famous in the first place. A– http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20440920,00.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtraordinary Xternal Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Baby Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Her vocals are amazing on ths album... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzebabe Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... I. Cannot. Do. This. Today. Sir. lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock & Roll Hall of Game Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 All For You is a Pop masterpiece. Loud is a true failure when compared to AFY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock & Roll Hall of Game Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... :lmao: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 All For You is a Pop masterpiece. Loud is a true failure when compared to AFY. Basically Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 its not even her whip my hair:coffee: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EphraimAdamz Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 It's on sale at best buy for 4.99 for black friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 at Boi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 It's on sale at best buy for 4.99 for black friday looks like she'll b making all her money on tour since she's a 'touring artist' that and her 'song writeing' are her strong points so the other girls better watch out:whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 at Boi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EphraimAdamz Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 looks like she'll b making all her money on tour since she's a 'touring artist' that and her 'song writeing' are her strong points so the other girls better watch out:whistle: I suppose I could make a megamix out of it for that price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aed05 Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... I missed you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.omner Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 "All for You" is definitely a POP masterpiece. I think "Loud" was more of songs that reminded me of other artists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedElegance™ Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 He has a point. A deeply personal album representing growth and depth, followed by sexified dance-pop fluff that just doesn't compare. Janet will forever be supreme to Rihanna, it's not about measuring the two against each other. But within context, I definitely agree that this is indeed her All For You. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 I just heard her album... This is the new thriller.. her voice is amazing and puts people like prime whitney houston and mariah carey to shame. Loud has now set the standard of what a classic cd should be.... I hate you for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Baby Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 I hate you for this Angela I will be in LA Friday Feb. 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Baby Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 He has a point. A deeply personal album representing growth and depth, followed by sexified dance-pop fluff that just doesn't compare. Janet will forever be supreme to Rihanna, it's not about measuring the two against each other. But within context, I definitely agree that this is indeed her All For You. That would make "Good Girl Gome Bad" her 'janet.' which I agree with as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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