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Loud (Album Cover)

Roughly a year since the release of her previous album, “Rated R“, Rihanna is back with her 5th studio album, “Loud“. Recording sessions began in February 2010 and continued over a period of six months, concluding in August 2010. The album was released in the US on 16th Nov 2010. Rihanna stated that the album would be named Loud, saying to “get Loud everybody, get crazy and get excited.” Really, RiRi?? *raises eyebrows*

First Impressions
While “Good Girl Gone Bad“, is one of the best pop albums of its decade, and “Rated R“, which is considered as one of the most fascinating pop albums due to the fact it reflects the period that Rihanna has gone through. Though quite a dark and deep record, “Rated R” still churned out hits, all of the singles are in the Top 10 and “Rude Boy” was a #1 hit!

With GGGB, it only takes 2 full listen to understand and grasp the concept and vibe. Subsequently, “Rated R” with 5 listens. But with “Loud“, I need at least 10 times of playback to get it’s meaning. That doesn’t mean the album’s bad, I feel that it’s in pieces with a certain cohesiveness. The overall sound of this record is between “A Girl Like Me” and GGGB. I’m quite surprised she embraced her roots with the carribean sound and making it sound modern. The album is primarily produced by Stargate (mostly), Polow Da Don and Tricky Stewart. While there’s nothing groundbreaking with this album, it’s still an enjoyable album to listen to. Just good, not great; Like, not Love. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart at number 3 and critics seems to react positively to this album. Hmmmm….

Track by Track Review

• S&M
  Unmistakably a Stargate tune, the album opener paves a decent tune to the rest of the record. At least she doesn’t go an overkill in the whorish lyrical department. Potentially a 3rd single, as it’s well-liked by fans. I wouldn’t mind. =)
• What’s My Name? (Feat. Drake)
  Penned by Stargate and Ester Dean too, the 2nd single is already a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart! If you listen to the song carefully, there’s a hit of ska and reggae influence in addition to the hip-hop/R&B beats layered on top. I just prefer the lone version by Rihanna!
• Cheers (Drink to That)
  The song interpolates Avril Lavigne’s annoying yelp from “I’m With You“. Weird choice for a sample indeed. As cited by most critics, it’s a feel-good-chugging-drinks kinda track.
• Fading
  Sampling “One By One“, a track by Enya from “A Day Without Rain“, the beginning of this track does have an ethereal vibe to it. What makes this song listenable is the massive sing-a-long pop-ish hook!! “It’s too late, you’re fading away“!!! =D
• Only Girl (In The World)
  There’s much to talk about for this track (which is also personally one of my faves from the album)! Lead single, a #1 hit on Billboard! She made chart history by topping it after her 2nd single got the tops! Going with the Eurodance/Trance-pop sound, the throbbing bassline and strong chorus makes this a top-notch track. Definitely club-ready, this song is on par or even surpasses “Don’t Stop The Music“!
• California King Bed
  Another track produced by The Runners, Rihanna beautifully delivered the heart-wrenching ballad, which is about the waking death of a relationship; the stage of limbo before the final crash.
• Man Down
  Exploring her Carribean roots, the playful reggae bounce on this track is catchy! Co-written by fellow Barbadan, Shontelle, this dancehall number is convincing enough that she’s confident in handle such tracks with ease with sounding forced. It’s basically about a woman who shoots a man, and she narrates/sings about it!
• Raining Men (Feat. Nicki Minaj)
  Another one of my fave tracks from the album (highlight!!), the spotlight-stealing Nicki Minaj takes control of this track instead while RiRi feels like an accompliment. It can’t be help as Nicki literally steals the scene whenever she has guest verses! Dubbed as the Lady Gaga of hip-hop, Nicki’s the one to watch (would be reviewing her album too!). The air-sirens are addictive in this MIA-sounding track. Loving it!!
• Complicated
  A HUGE power-ballad written and produced by Tricky Stewart and Ester Dean. You literally can feel the echo-effect of RiRi’s voice on the chorus. The difficulty of trying to love someone but he/she doesn’t appreciates. Sigh….
• Skin
  With a hint of dubstep, she sounds sexy on this track! The effortless delivery makes it believable. =)
• Love the Way You Lie (Part II) (Feat. Eminem)
  My take on it is that even though Rihanna’s verse is definitely memorable to everyone, the lyrics are rather a little overrated! No doubt it’s catchy and has the famous hook that makes it a hit, you won’t find me chanting to this one though. Nobody likes it when they’re being lied to!! Makes no cow-sense to me. =X A love/hate on this track as RiRi still delivers beautifully!

Final Verdict

Being compared to Beyonce seems unfair, as Bee shakes her tush real well (that’s about it!!). What makes RiRi successful is that she worked really hard to get to where she is now. She sounds comfortable on each track, confident as ever. Even though she didn’t have a hand in writing this record (she did with “Rated R”), it’s undeniably a Rihanna album! While there isn’t a song that’ll be as EPIC as “Umbrella” (believe me, that song’s a colossal classic now), this record displays Rihanna’s maturity in terms of her vocal delivery and the input of a massive effort. Having 2 number 1 singles from this album proves that point! With 5 albums in her belt, Rihanna’s here to stay and is definitely part of our pop culture!

I just wished she would pushed it a little and based the album on “Who’s That Chick“!! (A collab that she did with David Guetta) That would be funtastic!

The album scores a 3.5 out of 5.