Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman

Three years ago, Ne-Yo was an absolute nobody – just another teen pop singer in a market overflowing with them. But ever since his 2005 single “So Sick” topped charts worldwide, the diminutive R&B crooner has steadily been working his way towards pop music domination.

First, he penned Beyonce’s uber-hit “Irreplaceable,” perhaps the most obscenely catchy song to have hit airwaves this decade. Then he collaborated with Rihanna on the massive ballad “Hate That I Love You” and with Janet Jackson on her comeback single “Rock With U.” And as if that wasn’t enough, his breakthrough smash “Because of You” — an utterly shameless imitation of late-seventies Michael Jackson, and all the better for it —was one of the best pop albums of 2007. It’s lucky that year saw Justin Timberlake move on to imitating Prince on “Futuresex/Lovesounds,” because Ne-Yo’s album made for a much more convincing reincarnation of MJ than Timberlake’s “Justified.” The sighs, the cooing, the falsetto, laced masterfully over twelve brilliant pop songs… If it weren’t for Jay-Z rapping on one of the tracks, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled upon some lost masterpiece of MJ’s that never saw the light of day.

On his third album “Year of the Gentlemen,” Ne-Yo reigns in his Michael Jackson complex, aiming for a more “mature” sound. The result is his most accomplished work, but also his most boring. From the tastefully restrained album cover, all subtle creams and stylish browns, to the CD sleeve, filled with pictures of Ne-Yo in a suit and tie, “Year of the Gentlemen” clearly marks the singer’s move from young man to adult. It’s just a shame he’s lost some of his sense of fun in the process. See, to me, maturity doesn’t mean excessive ballads. To Ne-Yo, though, being an adult seems to equal being sad a lot of the time, and a quick look at the track-list confirms that this is almost a concept album about heartbreak: “Lie to Me,” “So You Can Cry,” “Fade into the Background”…I could go on.

Out of the album’s twelve songs, only two could fairly be called “upbeat,” and even for the most hardcore R&B fans, I’d say that’s pretty tough going. Luckily, “Irreplaceable” was no fluke; writing catchy songs seems to have been cemented into Ne-Yo’s genes, so that even the slushiest tracks have infectious melodies. “Part of the List,” despite being about as soppy as Celine Dion on a bad day, has an instantly memorable chorus, and the same goes for the simpering, cringe-worthy “Stop This World.”

On the whole, though, it’s not that the downbeat tracks are bad, per se; it’s just that there are far too many of them one after the other. Taken separately, most of them are brilliantly composed and arranged songs, from the crystalline melodic perfection of “Mad” to the falsetto-laced sympathy of “So You Can Cry.” But placing the album’s two upbeat tracks right at the front of the album is really a very silly idea, and after the adrenaline rush of the already-massive single “Closer” and the MJ-channelling “Nobody” have died down, the album quickly settles into a somewhat repetitive rut of melodious moaning.

I don’t want to sound too damning though. Certainly, of the new wave of R&B crooners swamping airwaves these days, there’s little doubt that Ne-Yo is the most talented, and not just because he seems physically incapable of writing a song that’s not catchy. Two tracks in particular prove that Ne-Yo has the originality and ambition to keep going for years to come. First up is the slinking, seedy funk of “Fade Into the Background,” in which Ne-Yo drunkenly raves at the marriage of an ex-girlfriend against a backdrop of popping bass-lines and muted pianos. Even better is “Lie to Me,” which with its simmering synths and edgy lyrics is convincing proof that Ne-Yo really can be mature and interesting at the same time. And of course it helps that the chorus is as about as contagious as the flu.

In the end, that’s what’s so reassuring about an album like “Year of the Gentleman.” Sure, it may be a bit syrupy, and sure, it may not be as upbeat and danceable as the lead single suggests – but Ne-Yo’s refusal to succumb to contemporary pop music’s obsession with production over melody is a refreshing change from the norm. No Timbaland single here, folks; no guest spot from will.i.am. The closest Ne-Yo comes to satisfying mainstream pop’s obsession with flashy production is on the second single “Miss Independent,” and I think it’s no coincidence that the song is one of the weakest on the album. Maybe, in the end, the album artwork did get something right: It shows Ne-Yo as a forties man, bringing back the “Rat Pack” vibe of pin-striped suits, fancy ties and stylish hats. Well, his music may hardly sound like Frank Sinatra, but there is something nice and old-fashioned about his steadfast commitment to solid songwriting.


"Year of the Gentleman" released 16 September, 2009 by Def Jam Records.
Images courtesy of Def Jam Records and Empire Online.
Published in the Daily Princetonian.