Product Reviews
Robin Thicke's Vegas streak goes back as far as his debut single, When I Get You Alone. Based on Walter Murphy's 1976 disco hit A Fifth of Beethoven, it had the backbone of a flashy and theatrical production, but at that point, Thicke was more of a (likable) snotty brat than a slick showman. Eight years later, after other large-scale songs like Everything I Can t Have, Magic, and Million Dolla Baby, Thicke has settled into a suave, and even more swashbuckling, sound. Throughout the first quarter of Love After War, Thicke might as well be gunning for a Vegas residency. In the bombastic intro An Angel on Each Arm, one can picture Thicke strutting onto a decked-out stage with, well, female dancers beside him, and the song has a grinding riff that could be used as a repeated motif throughout the rest of the performance. On the overloaded I m an Animal, Thicke goes hammier: I m smokin TNT, I m drinkin dyn-o-mite -- can you still love me?! Then, on Never Give Up, Thicke nearly drowns in a tidal wave of sound that comes from a sampled recording of Mexican composer Jos Pablo Moncayo's symphonic Huapango. After the all-together-now anthem The New Generation, Love After War scales back to slow, soft material with a couple exceptions. Full Time Believer is a happy-go-lucky theme for an admired woman, while The Lil Things and What Would I Be? are reflective/thankful songs that would be ideal for the tail end of Thicke s Sin City New Year s Eve blowout. Otherwise, the second half is dominated by ballads made for seduction (with more than a little preening). They don t offer much in the way of development from Thicke s recent past -- shut-eyed falsetto cooing, classy Brazilian touches, and 1976 Marvin Gaye moves in steady supply -- but they should get the job done. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi
Product Notes
2011 release, the fifth album from the R&B/Pop singer, songwriter and performer. The album is the follow-up to his 2009 project Sex Therapy, and was written and produced by Thicke himself, just like his first few albums. Collaborations on the album include Usher, Maxwell, Faith Evans, and Pharrell.