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Today IMW brings us an in-depth review of Usher’s new album, Raymond v. Raymond. Click the title to read it!

With Raymond V. Raymond, Usher tries to re-claim his title as the king of R’n’B, a title he gained after Confessions in 2004, the last album to sell over 10 million copies in America. After a major misstep in 2008 with the proper follow-up (and properly amazing) album, Here I Stand, Usher is back and trying to make us forget about that album’s poor reception (and Tameka Foster).

From RvR’s opening track, the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis penned, “Monstar”, it is clear that trouble is on its way, if the song’s spelling weren’t a dead giveaway. There is an over-long intro, which is typical for an intro track on either a concept album or a Janet Jackson album, but the song clocks in at over 5 minutes, with a major melody yet to be found. With all the controversy surrounding him, it would seem that if Usher were to ever to a concept album about “telling his side of the story”, this would be the album to do it, but Usher is a major pop star whose time may be running out, so the whole “concept album” is regulated to three Jam and Lewis songs, which all sadly rank amongst the worst of their career (and that counts Janet’s 20 Y.O.). And it gets worse from there…

Even though Usher has 2010’s dream team working team on this album: Jim Jonsin (who produced the bulk of the album) Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Polow Da Don, etc. Too bad it seems as though no one really came to work during the recording process, giving Usher nothing more than Beyonce out-takes. Songs like “There Goes My Baby” and “Foolin’ Around,” which has recording costs that probably are more than ten years worth of the rent of my apartment, are bad enough to warrant a return on the album. Attempts at welcoming Usher back to clubland such as Will.I.Am’s “OMG” sounds like The Black Eyed Peas song that never was, nor should it have ever been.

But it’s not an entirely lost case for Mr. Raymond. The excellent lead off single, “Daddy’s Home” is pop music for 2010 and beyond, it has a melody that The Dream would be proud of (who is notably absent on this album). And songs like “Guilty” and “Okay,” while aren’t going to give Justin Bieber a chase for the top of the charts, are great additions to Usher’s catalogue. But its Danja’s “So Many Girls” that is (almost) worth the price of admission alone, as it’s Usher’s first major entry back to dance music since the days of “Yeah!” Danja gave Usher’s album the best, and really only, up-tempo dance song. It’s dark, sexy and adult, what this album is very much trying to be. Instead of having Jim Jonsin helm most of this project, “So Many Girls” is proof that Danja should have been paid more to oversee this.

Out of 14 tracks, having only 2 amazing tracks and about 4 others worth keeping on your iPod is not a good thing for a major pop star. What makes this album all the more disappointing is how brilliant Here I Stand was. Filled with hop-hop/pop hooks to fill the clubs for its 2008 release, it also contained some of Usher’s most experimental and endearing work. Here I Stand was the album that showed the man that he has become, whereas RvR shows the man desperate enough to publicly ride Justin Bieber’s coattails (Thankfully someone at LaFace had the decently not to make that duet happen). In the case of Raymond V. Raymond, the verdict on it definitely ends in a mistrial.

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