EphraimAdamz Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 My faves done better lol. Anyway yea that was a great performance. I think I knew who he was during the My Way Era but I didnt pay ANY attention to him at all, until 8701, thats when I noticed I loved his music, and his moves. 01 was a great year for music......just had big flashback, 01 really slayed musically.....good times..... I was mainly talking about Chris Brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bu. Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I was mainly talking about Chris Brown Shhhhhhhh. Let's not start get folks riled up for another Ush/Bre discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrylf Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 I was mainly talking about Chris Brown Ugh oh.... lol Shhhhhhhh. Let's not start get folks riled up for another Ush/Bre discussion this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotboy06 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I like Usher..I think he's a decent singer and good performer. I picked "My Way" only because it's an era where he was coming into his own as an rnb artist. Usher has never really been "pop" until this decade. His music is rnb and happened to crossover. After the successful "My Way" era, I remember him coming out with a flop as song as a single..I don't forgot what it was, but it was horrible. The best thing for him to do was to regroup and go to some producers who could give him a hit. In steps Jesus Jam and Terrallah Lewis with "U Remind Me"..I loved that song from the moment I heard it..that flute loop is so addicting.."U Got It Bad" was another highlight for me..loved it when I first heard it..everything after that was forgettable..Nice effort. "Confessions" was great, but overrated. Aside from the singles released, the album wasn't all that..He got lucky with this album. A big era for him, but he never matched that success again..and that's because his music started to get boring. "Looking For Myself" is a solid album. I love the way he infused rnb and electro together.."Twisted" is that jam..and "I Care For U" is another standout track. Usher really never had an "outstanding" album..solid, but nothing spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSimba Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I love his debut album! It's kinda underrated mainly since it wasn't a huge blockbuster success. "I'll Make It Right," "Can U Get Wit It," and "Think of You" especially are among of my favorite tracks by him. My Way is on my list of albums to listen to. As usual, I'm very familiar with the singles "U Make Me Wanna," "Nice & Slow," and "My Way" - all great. I also remember hearing his and Monica's remake of "Slow Jam" on "Sister, Sister," and absolutely loved it! Confessions (I saw it for $5 on Amazon so I bought it ) It's the only other album I've heard in full. It's good but doesn't really live up to the hype. It starts off strong but loses its momentum by the middle. And radio killed "Yeah" for me; I can't listen to that song anymore lol. My highlights are "Caught Up," "Throwback," "Bad Girl," "Seduction," and the original "Confessions" interlude (I hate that it's not on the re-release! ). I won't rank the albums until I've given them full listens, but here's my top 10 songs for now... 1. "Think of You" 2. "I Swear I'm In Love" (from the Kazaam soundtrack, I love the "Outstanding" sample) 3. "Slow Jam" 4. "I'll Make It Right" 5. "Monstar" (this reminds me of P.Y.T. ) 6. "U Don't Have To Call" 7. "My Way" 8. "U Make Me Wanna" 9. "Climax" (one of my favorite singles of the year) 10. "Caught Up" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illi Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I skipped to My Way because looking at the amount of tracks I have to listened to on 8701 gave me anxiety. That said: at the song outside of the singles. The album was panned when it was released. I can see why. Now I'm going to do 8701. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedEleganceâ„¢ Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hotboy makes a great point: Usher has solid albums, but nothing outstanding. That speaks to Usher as an artist, imo. He's solid, but he's not outstanding. Consistent, but not consistently great. It goes without saying he's a good performer - but I don't see enough personality in his work to warrant half this praise. I never did get around to checking out his debut - maybe one day. My Way holds some good memories, though - as does 8701. I saw him tour the latter and he was well worth the ticket (I sat in front of his mother! ). I remember not loving the album at the time but it's definitely a favourite these days. 'U Got It Bad' in particular was just a great moment. I remember you couldn't escape that video! Confessions is obviously an amazing era but I will never understand that hype or all that damn filler. I'd like to say at least all his singles were on point but then I'm reminded of the absolute snooze 'Confessions Pt II' and 'My Boo' were. The fact they ever hit #1 baffles me. But you can't tell me shit about 'Yeah!'. That song still knocks and will probably go down as my favourite Usher track of all time. The urgency of those synths and Usher and Luda's delivery was pure dynamite. I couldn't get enough of it. The era was going to be tough to top by anyone's standards, but Here I Stand only greatened the disadvantage. I'll give him props for picking the right singles. 'Love In This Club' was a nice opener, and even though 'Moving Mountains' flopped, I always loved its dramatic overtone. From the bridge onwards is brilliant. Save for the cheesy 'Will Work For Love', I don't use that album for anything. Raymond V. Raymond was a nice surprise. I try not to make my mind up before I dive into a project, but sometimes my expectations get the better of me. Thankfully I stuck with it because I now rate it as one of my favourites from 2010. Past albums had suffered from a distinct lack of melody, but he had it in spades this time around. 'Hey Daddy', 'OMG', 'Guilty', 'There Goes My Baby', and 'Mars Vs. Venus' really stood out to me - not for their lyrical content (obviously), but for their musicality. I found myself revisiting an Usher album like I'd never done before. The era's second wind ('DJ Got Us Falling In Love', 'More') was an unashamed appeal for chart success with all the subtlety of a flying brick, but I won't deny a fleeting obsession with both tracks. That want (no, need) to maintain relevance on the Hot 100 has been executed much more smoothly on Looking 4 Myself, albeit at the expense of the album's flow. As Kelly Rowland showed on Here I Am, there's just no avoiding the disjointed feel of an R&B album peppered with monster dance tracks. Some are tagging it "evolution-pop", but it leaves me with the impression that with the industry changing so dramatically in the last decade he feels this is the only way forward. And for now, maybe it is. But it's not much of an evolution if you ask me. With that said, the album is one of my faves from the year so far. 'Climax' is incredible - I'm still taken aback by how much I genuinely love that song - I really wasn't expecting to. I can easily see it finishing in the Top 10 of my year-end singles list. The title track is very un-Usher (Luke ), 'Euphoria' is amazing, and I'm even loving 'Scream'. It'll be interesting to see how many hits it will generate, but for now it's doing enough to get by in my eyes... as is Usher. My ranking: 1. Raymond V. Raymond 2. 8701 3. Looking 4 Myself 4. Confessions 5. My Way 6. Here I Stand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrylf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 But even so, Confessions a.k.a. the only album that matters >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> thanks twin for contributing, I know how you feel about him lol. I gotta say I AM SHHHHHOCKED that the Usher stans havent really taken advantage yet, this is all about him and I'm waiting both Jansher and Effrem, I want yalls to break down them albums about what you love about them, where yall at?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reyna â™” Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 thanks twin for contributing, I know how you feel about him lol. I honestly don't hate him, I'm just not a fan. What I hate is the over-hyping him lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSimba Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Contributions, Part II: "These are my contributions..." (Okay I'll stop ) * My Way is a great followup to his debut. It's on the short side, but at least that way there's no "filler." Highlights haven't changed... "Slow Jam" is still my favorite. Credit to JD and Babyface too for the solid production. Oh yeah, even though I knew "Think of You," it was around this time I learned his name. * 8701 exceeded my expectations by a little bit; I thought it was really good! Something must've been in the water back in 2001 because a lot of great music came out that year (Janet, Mariah, Aaliyah, Björk, Left Eye, MJ, but I digress lol) Alright, now that I'm fully up to 2005 speed (), my album ranking so far goes... 1. Usher 2. 8701 3. My Way 4. Confessions ------ Will give the last three a listen too, definitely Raymond v. Raymond I've been planning to listen to. (although he kinda sold out by that record but I don't hold it against him lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrylf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Contributions, Part II: "These are my contributions..." (Okay I'll stop ) * My Way is a great followup to his debut. It's on the short side, but at least that way there's no "filler." Highlights haven't changed... "Slow Jam" is still my favorite. Credit to JD and Babyface too for the solid production. Oh yeah, even though I knew "Think of You," it was around this time I learned his name. * 8701 exceeded my expectations by a little bit; I thought it was really good! Something must've been in the water back in 2001 because a lot of great music came out that year (Janet, Mariah, Aaliyah, Björk, Left Eye, MJ, but I digress lol) Alright, now that I'm fully up to 2005 speed (), my album ranking so far goes... 1. Usher 2. 8701 3. My Way 4. Confessions ------ Will give the last three a listen too, definitely Raymond v. Raymond I've been planning to listen to. (although he kinda sold out by that record but I don't hold it against him lol) IM SAYIN :excited: !!! 2001 WAS THE BOMB FOR MUSIC, and even music I thought was shitty back then or flopped now it seems it was all ahead of it's time, I liked MJ's Invinceble but I didnt care about it too much (I was waayyyy into All For You) but that album was just ahead of its time, BIG time, if it came out in 08.....a whole notha story lol. Yea minus the song YEA! & My Boo & Bad Girl, 8701 would be my #1 album of his hands down. I do love his debut too, I been listening to it today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSimba Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 IM SAYIN :excited: !!! 2001 WAS THE BOMB FOR MUSIC, and even music I thought was shitty back then or flopped now it seems it was all ahead of it's time, I liked MJ's Invinceble but I didnt care about it too much (I was waayyyy into All For You) but that album was just ahead of its time, BIG time, if it came out in 08.....a whole notha story lol. Yea minus the song YEA! & My Boo & Bad Girl, 8701 would be my #1 album of his hands down. I do love his debut too, I been listening to it today. Yeah I was totally consumed by AFY that year! I didn't fully listen to Invincible for about 3 years, but even later it still sounded as current as everything else at the time if not moreso. I rank 8701 highly mainly for "If I Want To," "Can U Help Me" and the "U"-songs (It's funny how the main singles all begin with that letter. They had a little theme going lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrylf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yeah I was totally consumed by AFY that year! I didn't fully listen to Invincible for about 3 years, but even later it still sounded as current as everything else at the time if not moreso. I rank 8701 highly mainly for "If I Want To," "Can U Help Me" and the "U"-songs (It's funny how the main singles all begin with that letter. They had a little theme going lol) Yea that theme really worked, all 3 of them U singles were #1 hit's and in my opinion 3 of types of songs he does best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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