Rihanna is someone I never expected would make it. She's a decent singer and pop package, but doesn't have the looks of Beyonce or the pipes of Christina. Yet, at this moment, the woman is sitting on the biggest hit in the world right now, topping charts all across North America and Europe. How she got to this point is a good study in perseverance and the success of a "give them what they want" mentality.
The Barbadian singer arrived in the summer of 2005 with "Pon Da Replay," a stomping Caribbean-flavored pop song that lit up the charts that August. The album's second single though, "If It's Lovin' That You Want," wasn't nearly as interesting and didn't chart as well, so it would have surprised no one if she had vanished at that point, but no. She returned mere months later with a second album and a fantastic first single, the "Tainted Love" sampling "SOS," a fantastic unrelenting workout of a pop song. Follow-up Ne-Yo penned "Unfaithful" also was a big hit, although the belting balladry revealed she lacked the voice to keep pulling that off. Later singles weren't as successful, but two big hits wasn't bad.
Again, less than a year later, Rihanna returns for round three. This time she's armed with the first solid album of her career, steeped in the lessons of her previous two. '80s-flavored dance pop? Check! Ne-Yo balladry? Check! Hot producer? (Timbaland--ain't none hotter) Check! Dancehall? Gone, as the craze has passed. The results are surprisingly good, and Good Girl Gone Bad ranks as one of the year's best pop albums yet.
"Umbrella," which features Jay-Z, is the aforementioned megahit, having settled in for long runs at #1 in the US, Britain, and many other countries. As conventional as it sounds, it's actually, counter-intuitively unconventional for 1) eschewing recent beat-driven R&B for the more melodic sound from the '80s/'90s, 2) isn't a stomping dance track like her previous biggest hit "SOS," and 3) is about friendship, not sex or romance. Whether you like the song or not, and I'll admit it's grown on me, you have to give it credit for being just the right thing at the right time.
The next four songs comprise the album's core of hard-hitting, '80s-influenced dance pop, and what a set! "Push Up on It" is my favorite, which borrow from Lionel Richie's "Running with the Night," souped up '80s styled drum machines and "hand claps." "Shut Up and Drive," the second single, draws its inspiration from New Order's "Blue Monday," punching up the electric guitars. "Don't Stop the Music" pulses with a simple insistent beat and a sample of the "mama-say-mama-saw-mama-who-saw" from Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something." Even "Breaking Dishes," the least interesting of the foursome, is not bad, sounding a lot like Nelly Furtado's "Maneater," although it's not one of the Timbaland contributions.
Ne-Yo wrote three of the album's tracks, the best being the one he also guests on, "I Hate that I love You." Further cementing his play for the title of "New Michael Jackson," this mid-tempo duet has a similar appeal to his recent hit "Because of You," and Rihanna, not asked to hold long high notes, sounds so much better here than she did on "Unfaithful." I'd be completely shocked if this doesn't end up being a single. His other two songs are not as good, but still interesting. "Question Existing" is downright weird; a slow-burning track delivered in an almost chant-like manner, while the album's final track, "Good Girl Gone Bad" is fine, but sounds like a re-do of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable."
"Say It" ends up being a pretty bland mid-tempo number. And the three Timbaland contributions aren't as good as they perhaps should be, although they do lend the album its only hint of Caribbean flavor. "Sell Me Candy" is a raucous mixture of sounds. "Lemme Get That" is a decent chant of a song, although it wears out its welcome. "Rehab," co-written by Justin Timberlake, might be the best song of the album's second half.
The album's first half is definitely stronger than its second. Too bad, because if she'd kept up I'd have easily given this a higher rating. Still, it potentially could give Rihanna her first long string of hits, as their are plenty of possible singles here. That is, unless she decides she wants to move on to something else in a couple of months--maybe even greater.
Best: Umbrella, Push Up on It, Don't Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive, I Hate that I Love You, Rehab
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