Controversial? Without a doubt. It’s the best way you can summarize a lot of the material on Rihanna’s new CD, “Talk That Talk.”
Putting out an album every year is becoming a common occurence for Rihanna, as she is back with her sixth album in seven years. “Talk That Talk” was not really promoted well and came out of the blue. This is quite common around Black Friday, but for Rihanna this was unusual. With that being said, there are ups and downs to “Talk That Talk.”
The CD opens with, “You Da One,” a song that lacked an opening energy feel. The song was not bad verse–wise, but really terrible when it came to the chorus. This is not a good song to open with. The only way you could understand what she was saying was because of the lyrics on YouTube.
The next song, “Where Have You Been” was a bounce back. The chorus was still a problem, but this is a song that will be playing in the clubs.
It has a very up-tempo feel to it and a catchy beat that almost feels techno, but it works for Rihanna.
The most outstanding song from a public point of view is “We Found Love,” featuring Calvin Harris.
The song performed very well, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 in many other countries.
In terms of the lyrics, it really doesn’t stand out at all, and it is rather surprising that a song like this peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100.
The song is catchy, though, and that’s what is radio friendly these days.
The music video is controversial, as numerous drugs are shown throughout the song, but the message was that two people fell in love, but in the long run, it was a lost cause. The video itself is gripping and sheds light into what the world is like if you were addicted to narcotics.
The best song on the CD by far is “Talk that Talk,” featuring Jay Z. Instead of letting Rihanna shine first on the song, Jay takes over and kills the first verse.
His flow went right along with the beat, and for once, Rihanna starts to really shine on the chorus.
Looking at this song from a distance, it would not be surprising if it was released as a single—the song is just really solid. Not too far behind this song is one called “We All Want Love.”
The great positive message in this song says that everyone in the world is looking for the right person; it just might take time to find the right one.
This song is opposite of other songs on the CD, as it really makes you think about life in general. It is clearly one of the best songs on this CD.
There are some disappointments on this album too. Some of the biggest downfalls are “Cockiness (Love It),” “Birthday Cake” and “You Da One.”
The main problem with these songs is the feeling that the artists are generating throw away songs.
It’s understandable to put a song on a mix tape that runs a little over a minute, but on a CD produced for the general public, it is just insulting.
On top of that, the biggest problems with these songs are there is no substance to the songs and the choruses just really lack overall feeling.
One of the things that helps make this CD is that Rihanna really shines without all the guest features on it.
Her previous albums have not had an overwhelming amount of guest features on it, but this CD she really made a point to stand out as only Jay Z and Calvin Harris are on this CD.
At the same time, you get the feel that the CD is a bit short, running only a little more than 37 minutes long, which is rather disappointing.
This CD is very controversial, especially for an R&B artist, but controversy is nothing new for Rihanna.
While there are disappointments on this CD, the overall quality is there and is worth the pickup for the Christmas season.
Without a doubt you will be listening to an artist at the age of 23 who is only going to get better for years to come.
