♫ ALBUM REVIEW: NE-YO - YEAR OF THE GENTLEMAN ♫

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ne-Yo has been penning hits for artists for a while now. He has the two most played songs with Mario’s “Let Me Love You” and Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” but in 2006, Ne-Yo decided it was time to make himself known with his debut album, In My Own Words, and now, two albums later, he brings us Year of the Gentleman…

LISTEN UP:

♫ NE-YO - NOBODY

♫ NE-YO - FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND

♫ NE-YO - SINGLE

Admittedly, I was a not a fan of Ne-Yo as an artist at first. I wasn’t sold on his first single, “Stay,” but I was in love with, “So Sick,” much like the rest of the world. Ne-Yo really didn’t catch my attention until his second album, Because of You. I think it’s the Michael Jackson-ness of his some of his material that attracted me to his sound. Ne-Yo is undeniably a talented writer, but something about him to me just wasn’t the total package. When I got word that Ne-Yo was working on a third album, I can’t say that I was eagerly anticipating, especially after I started to feel like the tracks he was writing for others were all starting to sound the same. But with the release of “♫ CLOSER,” my attention shifted.

After a couple of performances of the song, Ne-Yo had gained my attention, but the single didn’t take off right away like they thought it would, but it seemed as though Def Jam had found a hit in the album’s second single, the crowd-pleaser “♫ MISS INDEPENDENT.” A flurry of material had leaked before the tracklisting was even solidified, some hits and some misses - it was a little hard to get a definite on the direction of the album.

All in all, Year of the Gentleman boasts some pretty good tracks and his a pretty cohesive effort. Ne-Yo is a writer first, so of course he isn’t going to give himself anything less that stellar as far as wordsmanship and content. The album is full of mid-tempos, which I’ve learned is pretty much home for Ne-Yo, it’s definitely his comfort zone. The album also has some nice ballads. Although it’s not one of those LP’s that I can listen to from start to finish, front to back, I am always impressed with Ne-Yo’s ability to craft a great R&B song.

Stand-out tracks include, of course, “Closer,” “Single,” “Fade Into the Background,” and the Polow Da Don-assisted “Single.”

myspace.com/neyo

Make sure you pick up Ne-Yo’s new album, Year of the Gentleman, in stores and online today!

85 Comments COMMENT?

Posted by: BRIAN

85 Comments

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76.

bebe

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 /

Neyo is definitely talented
i love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the new album
i think that people dont know how to receive neyo sometimes
b/c his so different and continues to be himself whether you like it or not
he says what’s on his mind and he keeps it real
sometimes i do think he talks to much
but he tries to hard to prove himself to people
sometimes you got to continue to be you and do you
and the rest will follow
He is my #1 favorite singer/song writer right now

77.

barbie

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 /

I LOVE NEYO CAUSE HE ALWAYS KEEPS IT REAL
HE HAS A SMOOTH CROONER SOUND TO HIS MUSIC AND HIS VOICE
HE MAKES GROWN FOLK ENTERTAINMENT KEEPS YOU DANCING MAKES YOU FEEL THE WAY THAT HE DOES IN A SONG FEELING
I LOVE THIS ALBUM
THIS ALBUM MADE ME BUY HIS FIRST TO ALBUMS
HE REMAINS YOU UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT
HE REMAINS OPEN MINDED AND TRIES DIVERSITY
I LOVE THAT ABOUT HIM
HIS NOT TRYING TO MAKE HOT AT THE MOMENT MUSIC
HE REMINDS ME OF MARVIN GAYE

78.

HOTMOMMA001

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 /

I LOVE NE-YO….LIPS too! Heeheehee

79.

ChokLitFactory

Thursday, September 18, 2008 /

Brian, I don’t think you like ANY songwriters-turned-singers (ie. Neyo, Sean Garnett, theDream) and I don’t really get what your verdict is… So you didn’t like the album, other than a couple songs and ‘Single’ which u mentioned twice? Well I just bought the album today because I’ve seen Ne-yo perform live twice and I think he’s an AMAZING performer - he always puts on a good show, so I’ll support!

80.

KINGRON

Thursday, September 18, 2008 /

OMG BRIAN I FINALLY AGREE WITH YOU I LOVE NEYO HE IS MY BIG BROTHER BUT…I’M REALLY NOT FEELING THIS C.D ONLY LIKE 2 UP TEM. SONGS…GEESH…BUT MAYBE THIS C.D WILL GROW ON ME

81.

meck-ann

Thursday, September 18, 2008 /

I really don’t agree with what you said. I personally think Ne-Yo is an excellent writer and singer. i dont think has made a bad song yet. i love all three of his albums b/c they were alllll great.

82.

Inspired 1

Thursday, September 18, 2008 /

Single is New Kids on the Block’s “single” featuring NeYo. I guess this version is obviously with just him on it.

83.

Franky

Saturday, September 20, 2008 /

I never really was big on Neyo as an artist but I do give his writing skills credibility. He had a really nice last album but this new album disappointed me. There are only a few songs that I actually like. The best song and stand out track on the album to me is “Single” produced by Polow Da Don. The other songs that I like are “Nobody”, “Why Does She Stay”, “Lie to Me’ and of course “Miss Independent”. I think maybe he needs to explore with different producers rather than his comfort zone with Compound and Stargate.