Pop fans rejoice! Another pop album review is here, and I think you might be surprised by this one. As a big hip hop fan, Rihanna seems like she's here to stay with even the most credible rappers doing collaborations with the young lady. She did a great job in Run This Town on the Blueprint 3, and that stemmed from her working with Jay on Umbrella from this record. She even did the recent video for Kanye's Coldest Winter, which she didn't have any part in the album, just was cool enough to do the video. She seems like a bit of an odd duck, but I'm not a person reviewer, just tunes. Anyway, Good Girl Gone Bad surprised me a little bit. I'm not going around and bumping this album in my car or anything, but the catchy tracks are actually not THAT bad here. Any pop music is going to get your toe tapping, but there is a little bit of substance top to bottom if you listen closely. I'm not even sure putting her in the same category as Gaga or Ke$ha is fair to Rihanna, but that's the dangerous game that popular music plays. I dislike pop for the most part, but this one is worth checking out. I'm guessing even the angriest critic would find at least one song on this record they liked. Give it a go, and then never tell anyone you did (except me).
TRACK LISTING:
1. Umbrella - (featuring Jay-Z)
2. Push Up on Me
3. Don't Stop the Music
4. Breakin' Dishes
5. Shut Up and Drive
6. Hate That I Love You - (featuring Ne-Yo)
7. Say It
8. Sell Me Candy
9. Lemme Get That
10. Rehab
11. Question Existing
12. Good Girl Gone Bad
13. Disturbia
14. Take a Bow
15. If I Never See Your Face Again
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Umbrella
2. Disturbia
3. Rehab
FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars
I enjoy the idea of Rihanna more than I actually enjoy her singing. She sounds like she is whining when she sings. It is actually quite annoying once you become aware of this. I started singing along to her part on Jay-Z's track and added a really whiny tone to my voice and it, no joke, sounded just like her. My husband about died laughing. I think she is a great pop figure, but is TOTALLY overrated as far as talent.
ReplyDeleteHmm...interesting. I never really noticed that before, but I'll have to think about that next time it's on.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I give her any real credit, is that she's making pop music that isn't quite as awful lyrically as the rest. Now, I have no clue if she writes her own stuff, but if she does, I feel like she's one of few true pop artists out there that puts forth any effort to be real. For as many catchy tracks she has on records to gain popularity, there are also a couple with actual substance that makes me feel okay about listening.
I would actually disagree on the lyrical content. If you read the lyrics to most of her songs, though the TOPICS might be a little deeper than usual, the actual LYRICS are really simplistic, I don't blame her for this, that is what pop music is. I just have a hard time giving "pop stars" much credit for anything, to be honest. If they don't write their own music, then pretty much all they are are dolls that the music world create. If you give anyone credit for the catchy tracks, it should be the people behind the scenes and not Rihanna herself. It is probably only fair to rate pop albums of people who write their own songs, otherwise you are just rating a figurehead and not really any actual talent.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Great response!
ReplyDeleteIn no way do I want come across as 'defending' either Rihanna or pop music in general. I'm not a fan, and don't feel like any sort of credit is deserved to people that don't do any of the work. I will rant about that soon, as I really don't respect artists that just are the face, and not the songwriter, producer, or anything related to the album they put out.
In my response to THIS particular album, it's not the same to me. I look at what's hot right this second, and it's Ke$ha. Both singles, Blah Blah Blah and Tik Tok, are just bubblegum AWFUL songs. Nothing lyrically worth noting and certainly nothing that's going to stand the test of time in music history. And nothing is really of note like that on this record either, but yeah, the topics are a little beyond 'pop' and even the lyrics in a song like Rehab seemed thought out and contemplated over. I feel like Rihanna is actually telling a story in that song, and maybe it isn't her story (as in she didn't write it), but I actually believe it. And I like that she was willing to take that chance, instead of just making 15 tracks like "Don't Stop the Music"
Yes, but "her" story was written by Hannon Lane, Justin Timberlake, and Timothy Mosle. She is nothing unique or special. I know a lot of great singers who could do everything she does. Not impressed. I will give pop stars A LOT of credit for being great entertainers when they are, but for me, she is boring and just like everyone else in that category as well. She does what she is told to do and wears sexy clothes and walks around the stage. Nothing new. For me, Rihanna is in the same category as Ke$ha. Bland, pretty women who do what, wear what, and look like the industry tells them to in order to sell more records. They were chosen for their "look" not their talent.
ReplyDeleteI see that those fellas got the writing credits for that track...which is a little disappointing. I don't feel as though Rihanna is a beautiful/unique snowflake that her label couldn't reproduce in 30 seconds if need be. I guess the only thing I'll give her credit for, is seemingly willingness to take chances. And I don't know who makes the final decisions on what gets placed on records and not, but the idea she'd read lyrics like those in Rehab, and be okay with that being her face on it is a little nice. I wouldn't expect anything like that from Ke$ha, Gaga, hell, even Michael Jackson or Brittney Spears going a little old school. I feel like those artists were all calculating like any other pop artists who just wanted to make millions and get out.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm officially done saying anything nice about Rihanna going forward. I'll just say that pop in general, any artists who steps out of the box and heaven forbid, writes their own content, will stick out to me. I still may not really enjoy the music, but I'll give extra credit for the effort being put into it.