Ne-Yo - Year Of The Gentleman
[Mercury]

'Year Of The Gentleman' is the third offering from smooth R&B star Ne-Yo, and while his velvety voice and charming beats won everyone over with 'Closer', the rest of the album sadly failed to deliver the same perfection.

'Closer' is the opening track and sets the scene to an amazing album... Unfortunately what follows, lacks the same style and passion. Second song 'Nobody' - a weird Michael Jackson type number, should have been left in 1989 - even New Kids On The Block sound more modern.

'Single' is a very wet track - a sloppy ballad and easily forgettable, and while Miss Independent (one of the better songs) is following the same path as 'Closer', it still doesn't manage to deliver. It's probably more the producers of the track that manage to save it than the singer.

Ne-Yo claims to have been influenced by the Rat Pack on this album, and although the singer upholds the same sexy style of the 60's members, his music fails to follow in this perfection. Songs such as 'So You Can Cry' sound like dated R&B, but more lively songs such as 'Back To What You Know' (again produced by Stargate) will get your attention.

Nobody could criticize the production of this album. Stargate, who have worked on countless classic tracks, have helped piece 'Year Of The Gentleman' together (although Ne-Yo himself has produced many of the songs). However, despite the singer's vocal talents, some of the songs manage to fall flat.