Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 01/05/06
Label: Def Jam

Things have moved fast for Rihanna since the Caribbean club strut of her debut single, "Pon De Replay" became the car window shaking sound of summer 2005. In the space of a year the R&B sensation from Barbados, still only 18, has sold a million copies of her debut album, "Music Of The Sun", landed her first film role in cheerleader comedy sequel "Bring It On Yet Again", fronted a clothing line and been made the face of Barbados, by the tourist board. All this, and she's even managed to find time to record a follow-up album.

However, even before it's made it out of the case, things are not looking good for "A Girl Like Me". The sticker on the front proudly boasts the inclusion of not only stunning new single and R&B anthem of 2006, "S.O.S", but the 'massive singles', "Pon De Replay" and "If It's Lovin' That You Want"'; the same two 'massive singles' which were the main attractions of her debut album. The marketing men will call them 'bonus' tracks. Everyone else will know them to be shameless padding; especially when they've heard the rest of the album.

In every sense of the word, "A Girl Like Me" is a frustrating record. As dubious as the recycling of hits is, it's not the biggest bugbear. More annoying is that fact that, had a just a little more time, care and effort been lavished on it, it could have been a solid, if not life changing, record. The basics are there: she's mixes R&B slink with Caribbean lilt and tropical bounce better than anyone; with a natural man-eating sass in her voice she can pull off cute and sexy; and on the rare occasions she's given an imaginative beat and big enough hook, the hits are there.

First track, "S.O.S" - with its sample of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love", crisp club shimmy and finger wagging attitude - is built to eat drivetime radio. Similarly, the dance-hall slouch of "Kisses Don't Lie" is essential listening and will make all the R&B best-of compilations without even trying. From there on though, it's off the peg clicks, generic slush and reggae bolt-ons all the way.

Rihanna is never going to be an icon. She's there to add glamour to R&B's rank-and-file. But that doesn't excuse going through the motions or padding old hits. Still, maybe she's pioneering some rolling greatest hits system, whereby previous hits are carried forward to the next album until she's accrued enough good songs to make an album worth buying; which by current reckoning will be in about seven albums time.

    by Dan Gennoe