I remember this drunken argument I had with an ex-girlfriend. She thought Michael Jackson was a better dancer than Usher and convincing her otherwise was a task of futility; every argument I could come up with was soundly refuted with a, “You’re fuckin’ crazy!” But then I thought of one thing Usher has mastered that Michael hasn’t yet. It’s the thing Usher does with his fingers; you know, when he wiggles them just so (see the “I Need a Girl” video). I did my best imitation of the finger wiggling thing and she couldn’t stop laughing. Thinking back, this was the only argument I ever won with her.
I don’t care the smirks Usher draws from my peers because of his falsetto voice or questionable sexual orientation, when I saw him actually do some genuinely tough breakdancing moves when he performed “My Way” at the Billboard Awards (actually, I’m not sure it wasn’t some other award show), I was convinced Michael Jackson was about to be deposed from the pop-music throne he left his ass-groove in. With 8701, Usher’s music continues to remind me of Michael’s and while both parties' falsettos continue to scare me, Usher continues to make music that’s easy to enjoy.
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1: Introlude 8701 (no rating)
2: U Remind Me (****)
3: I Don’t Know (*)
4: Twork It Out (****)
5: U Got It Bad (*****)
6: If I Want To (****)
7: I Can’t Let U Go (*)
8: U Don’t Have to Call (*****)
9: Without U (interlude, ***)
10: Can U Help Me (***)
11: How Do I Say (****)
12: Hottest Thing (**)
13: Good Ol’ Ghetto (*****)
14: U-Turn (*)
15: U R The One (***)
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Rhythm ‘n’ Blues is characterized by romantic melodies and lyrics and Usher has been doing proverbial R&B for his entire career - 8701 is no different; the album’s major theme is about getting over a past love and moving on. Indeed, the two most enjoyable and recognizable songs on 8701 are about two different stages of breaking up. Even though all of Usher’s songs have relatively trite lyrics, “U Got It Bad” is a song that is done so perfectly that it doesn’t matter. The old-fashioned acoustics and percussion blend perfectly with a thick bassline, a brief interlude with an electric guitar, and Usher’s passionate vocals. Sometimes music is even more powerful than dusty, old pictures when we’re reminiscing of past relationships and “U Got It Bad” would be a good example of that “sometimes”.
While “U Got It Bad” deals with the “She’s gone; what am I going to do now?” phase of breaking up, “U Don’t Have to Call”, my favorite track on 8701, is the inevitable answer to the aforementioned question: ”Any-fuckin-thing.” “U Don’t Have to Call” is just a hell of a fun song and the only party song on this album that truly works. The beat is instantly identifiable as property of the Neptunes but also, at the same time, distinctly different from your everyday Neptunes beat, which is always a good thing. And with lyrics like: ”Cuz I’m obviously too young of a guy / to stay home waiting for love / so tonight I’m going to do what a single man does / and that’s party!” this is one song that has made me feel better on countless occasions. They say that the best and worst feeling in the world is being single. That must mean the converse, being unavailable, is also the best and worst feeling in the world. And that in turn means the last two sentences I wrote are entirely redundant.
Thus, like a sputtering 1982 Ford Shitbox, this review transacts to its next topic: the steamy love songs. On Usher’s previous CD, My Way, “Nice and Slow” was one of my favorites. 8701’s version of “Nice and Slow” is “Twork it Out”. But another song, “How Do I Say”, later outdoes “Twork it Out” and takes the trophy for the mushiest, most sentimental track on the album. These two songs are about gentle whispers, bubble baths, lovemaking until dawn, and the like. Aside from the occasional suggestive moaning in the background, I’m not sure what make Usher’s love songs more appealing than, let’s say, Celine Dion’s other than the fact that Ms. Dion is stupid. And if you were to start an argument saying she is better than Usher I’d call you “fucking crazy” and you wouldn’t be able to wiggle your fingers to win me over.
The truth is Usher appeals to teens. But he has a noticeably larger amount of musical talent and maturity than your typical boy-band garbage. Yet he is still a few JD/P. Diddy guest appearances too many from what you would call respectability. Usher has much better success when helping out on songs like “I Need a Girl” than when P. Diddy comes and “helps out” on one of his tracks. I think it is almost consensus that “I Don’t Know” is the worst song on 8701; the rapping and singing just doesn’t meld, the production sucks, and it’s an obvious attempt at a party song, but it fails. Save “U Don’t Have to Call”, 8701 contains numerous party fiascos. Almost as bad as “I Don’t Know”, is “I Can’t Let You Go”, which is Usher auditioning to become a member of P.O.D., and, expectedly, the track never becomes bearable. “U-Turn”, I admit, might’ve worked as it’s in the spirit of party staples such as “Tootsie Roll” by being based on a dance; but with the violin from Destiny Child’s “Survivor” marking the track’s beginning, I couldn’t really take anything Usher sang in “U-Turn” seriously.
Another problem with 8701 is that Usher tries to appeal to too many different groups; for every “How Do You Say” you have an “If I Want To”. I like any music that moves me, whether it’s my ass or my emotions, but it’s much better to have a focused album. ”If I want to I can take you from your man / I can have you eating from the palm of my hand.” “If I Want To” is a song with a flamboyant beat and lyrics dealing with and lauding the playeristic mentality; it is a very fun song particularly because of the accompanying female vocals in the chorus but it is an example of how Usher tries too much with one CD.
My Way was an album with only ten tracks but they were all great. It was highlighted by the infectious single “You Make Me Wanna”. None of the songs on the 15-track 8701 matches “You Make Me Wanna” and the album as a whole is longer but considerably worse than My Way. Nonetheless, there is still great music on 8701 and the best example of this is in “Good Ol’ Ghetto”. It is a great song to chill to and has a remarkably simple beat with uncharacteristically modest vocals and lyrics. But there are also songs like the final one, “U R the One”, that tries too hard. I gave “U R the One” three stars simply because it is hilarious; it tries to give something new that people can dance to and fails so bad it’s laughable. Steven Hawkins (I’m not talking about MC Steven Hawkins either) should sue because somebody forgot to give the man credit in the song – you’ll know what I’m talking about once you listen to 8701, and it is still recommended that you do.
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