Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 06/02/06
Label: Jive

In broad terms, the great and good of R&B can be split into two camps: those rewriting the rules of modern music, and those doin' it for the ladies. Chris Brown is most definitely the latter. And by all accounts, the ladies can't get enough of him. The 16-year-old from Tappahannock, Virginia, has already claimed the biggest selling debut single on the US Charts in seven years with "Run It", and this his debut long-player went straight to Number One.

That he's done it all without so much as a beat or name check from The Neptunes, Dr.Dre, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins or any of usual super producer suspects, makes his success doubly impressive. But their absence is also telling; innovation isn't required when you're borrowing one of the most successful careers of recent times.

Though repeatedly compared to a young Michael Jackson, the truth of the matter is, he's modelled himself on the world's most successful Jackson tribute act. Chris Brown is, Usher Raymond. Pure and simple. They're one and the same. A bit more nasal and earnest maybe, but if the two of are never seen in the same room at the same time, don't be surprised.

Just as "Run It"'s skeletal club twitch could have been mistaken for Raymond's "Yeah", so it is that the majority of Brown's satiny smooth slow-jams wouldn't be out of place with Usher's textbook lady lovin'. "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" catches an unsuspecting females eye, and smothers her with a sweet, harmonied smoulder and terrible chat-up lines.

"Winner" has him declaring his undying love to the obligatory handclaps and sparkling acoustic arpeggios and by the meticulously buffed sadness of "Say Goodbye", he's dumped the poor girl, yet managed to convince her they can still be friends. Ahhh, so young yet so smooth. If there is a difference between Brown and Raymond - nasal twang aside - it's that his youth lets him get away with murder. Schmaltz and chocolate box as his romance is, it's less practiced than Usher's, and his naive sincerity makes his 'hey baby' lines almost seductive.

Yet after all the hype coming from across the pond, it's difficult not to be slightly disappointed by Brown's debut; frustrated that it isn't a music changing event or an essential masterpiece. And while the brace of genuinely interesting and edgy songs tacked on the end as 'bonus tracks' point to better things to come, if he is the second coming, it's not obvious. Still, he does cod-romance better than most.

    by Dan Gennoe