Upon listening to Rihanna’s third album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ it is immediately apparent that – as the title suggests – the Bajan star has shed her innocent image and replaced it with a more sexed-up/edgier sound. The resulting tracks, however, are an unevenly balanced collection of great songs and tracks that are average-at-best.The album also suffers from a distinct aura of unoriginality; one of the Timbaland produced tracks ‘Rehab’ sounds too much like Justin Timberlake’s ‘What Goes Around’. Also, the Ne-Yo produced/featured track ‘Hate That I Love You’ appears to be a mesh of the singer-songwriter’s own hit ‘Sexy Love’ and Beyonce’s ‘Irreplaceable’ (also penned by the star). It should be noted that the production on the CD is consistent throughout and certain tracks are only let down by the 19 year old star’s poor delivery or infantile lyrics i.e. ‘Lemme Get That’ and ‘Sell Me Candy’.
With ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’, Rihanna has successfully managed to distance herself from the standard R&B featured on her past efforts. In it’s place are a collection of songs that incorporate Pop/Dance/Rock and R&B elements. Having noted these, the tracks, themselves, are too inconsistent- varying from excellent to filler – and at times the CD feels gimmicky. Rihanna will have to do more than deviate from the genre-norms in future releases if she wants to establish herself as a viable artist. ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ hits stores June 4th in the UK and June 5th in the USA.
Will you be picking up ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’?
good review, i feel the same about this album. .2, maybe 3 tracks are great in production and average in lyrics, the rest is pretty forgettable . .but i guess it will be enough to have a few hit singles.
Good points in your review!
but I think this album is gonna be a hit for rihanna. As a big rihanna fan myself this is totally different to what I expected from her! she done some of the best r&b & rock combo Ive never heard! I a bit sad theres no dancehall or reggae
I think it’s a shame you aren’t feelin’ the Rihanna album, I have been looking forward to it for a wle & am not dissapointed, I would have rather it had been more grown up in approach & had some more meaningful R&B in it. But, this will be a samh for her, & I think it’s got a real dance feel to it, a real summer record…
i have 2 disagree with your review. i think this album is pretty much on point. all the songs on here are extremely catchy and grow on the listeners with every listen. this album will definitly give rihanna credibility and sell well.
i found this cd to be the worse than the other two. It seems rihanna left the r&b reagge behind. These songs in my opinion are very immature sounding. I was expecting more
to a point all neyo’s songs sound similar now and all of timbo’s do too. i wish she wouldnt have worked with them!!
I disagree with the entire review. The album is very solid with NO fillers. The production and lyrics are on point. It also shows versatility with influence from various genres, and all of the songs compliment Rihanna’s voice. I just really think that this is a good if not great album.
I am so sorry but you have it all wrong! This album is pure bliss. From start to finish every song is solid and it’s been quite some time since I have heard a commercial release this brilliant. Let me make it known that I wasn’t a fan of Rihanna’s 2 previous efforts. They each were mediocre at best and lacked the creativty and edge that Good Girl Gone Bad exudes. Every song on this album could easily be a single. “Please Don’t Stop The Music” is an infectious-killer dance track that has the capability of becoming a classic club anthem. “Breakin Dishes” is an undeniable up-tempo that crushes any current “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” concept (i.e. “Ring The Alarm”). “Sell Me Candy” soars, “Lemme Get That” is a giant and “Shut Up and Drive” should have P!nk thinking twice. Every song is a stand out track. Rihanna truly out did herself on this album. Her team of writers and producers should honestly be commended for creating such pop savvy hits. This album places Rihanna on a plateau that allows her to work with producers and writers from any genre. “Question Existing” makes me recall Portis Head and Goldfrapp. Could you imagine Rihanna “Ms. Pon De Replay” experimenting w/ Goldfrapp. WOW! Well this album definitely opens up that possibility. Regardless of what the case may be for her opening week on Billboard, I will be bumping this album for some time. Congrats Rihanna on such a brilliant album. You shocked the hell out of me. I’m impressed.
Well said. The album is outstanding.
sorry but that album is goin to come up all the tracks are diffrent but hve catchy jingle the cd is 100% great
i disagree also i think she’s done very well. i thought it would be pap as she knocked it out so quickly! i love please dont stop the music, and she shouldnt – maybe take a holiday after this 1 no?
sam your an idiot lol !
part of reviewing albums is remaining unbaised so that people can hear a fair description of the album……
all you have done is slag rihanna off throughout the review……..
you have alot of learning to do sam !
nice try with the review though…….possibly more effort with future reviews