Member Since: 4/13/2011
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Not Metacritic but DM gave it a 4/5 (and claims she "wins the battle" against Xtina )
Quote:
Rihanna is unapologetic as she wins the battle of the divas
RIHANNA: Unapologetic (Island Def Jam)
Rating: 4 Star Rating
Another year, another Rihanna record. Whatever else you think of Robyn Rihanna Fenty, you could never accuse the Caribbean superstar of taking it easy.
This is the 24-year-old’s seventh album in as many years. And, when she isn’t in the studio, she seems to be either touring or shaking her booty at a street carnival in her native Barbados.
Unapologetic is very much her party, too. Despite the usual array of guests — David Guetta, Emeli Sande, Eminem and Chris Brown all feature — Rihanna is not the sort to cater to the whims of her collaborators. She imposes herself with vim and vigour here.
The album is a game of two halves. The first is dominated by booming electronic dance music, while the second (and far more interesting) finds the singer lowering her guard in the most soul-searching songs of her career.
First, the dance numbers. In embracing shuddering techno and dubstep, Rihanna sometimes submerges her powerful, Bajan-tinged voice under a barrage of rhythmic effects.
That is certainly true of Fresh Off The Runway and Right Now, two rattling club tracks produced by French maestro Guetta. With both enlivened by subtle hooks, though, Rihanna still deserves credit for pushing boundaries.
She does so again on Jump, a liaison with British dance duo Chase And Status marred only by a laughable lyric: ‘My saddle is ready / Darling, jump on it.’ Another early highlight is single Diamonds, a melodramatic ballad that recalls Princess Of China, last year’s single with Coldplay.
The tone changes dramatically around the halfway mark. Attention will inevitably be paid to Nobody’s Business, a disco romp that features a musical reunion with former boyfriend Chris Brown, the American singer convicted of assaulting her after the 2009 Grammys.
The mood darkens appreciably on the album’s two-song centrepiece, Love Without Tragedy and Mother Mary, which give a glimpse of the lonely girl at the centre of a celebrity whirlwind.
Stay is a McCartney-esque piano ballad that showcases Rihanna’s stunning voice. And bonus track Half Of It, written by Emeli Sande, strikes a forlorn final note: ‘This is the life I lead,’ sings Rihanna. ‘And that’s just the half of it.’
It’s a brief wallow in self- pity, before getting back to business. The seemingly inexhaustible star is already promoting Unapologetic with a world tour taking in seven countries in seven days.
Given her desire to keep moving, it’s no surprise Skyfall hero Daniel Craig is tipping her as a future Bond girl.
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