Amerie - Gotta Work

duck rock? which track is that? and which duck rock track?

"Some Like It," "World's Famous."

'hate2loveu' is the highlight for me.

it must be a great album if there's been all this talk and no mention of Make Me Believe. Some Like It is great too, with the spoken/sung parts and the "...make it take it easy, won't be sorry boy believe me..." where it matches the melody.

The horns on "Make Me Believe" are great but my favourite is "Crazy Wonderful". Laidback Amerie is just as good or maybe even better than 1Thing Amerie, which explains why Siik Remix was so sick. But it seems everyone has a different favourite on this album.

Not out until August 21 in the US? Jeezum crow.

By far the best song on this is the accusatory ballad "Paint Me Over".

I like the rest of it but I share some of rtc's renovations.

Nice to see Marcello giddy.

Also "All Roads" is much better than you probably think it is.

"Crazy Wonderful" is so great

why did i ignore this thread till now?

this is so good.

Some Like It is the one I feel most inclined to skip, apart from Somebody Up There and whatever the slow jam is called, as both of those are outright terrible.

Paint Me Over took a while to click with me but it's great.

Also worst sequenced album of the year - mix the ballads and bangers up, don't cynically front-load everything uptempo.

"Some Like It" is pretty dire, actually. I casts quite a shadow over the rest of the hyper-eighties tracks.

renovations! ur too kind old boy.

at least no one really reps for 'some like it'... i could take a cricket bat to 'gotta work' and its fans quite frankly

that 'streets alone' is probly the track i still listen to most after 'take control' is probably a measure of how far i've copped out of thinking about this album since.

Ha ha did I write "renovations". of course I meant "reservations". Weird.

Yeah I'm not really into "Gotta Work" either. Its hyper-ecstatic desire to impress is perversely boring.

the Sam & Dave lift is boring and i don't think it's a patch on '1 Thing' but it's OK.

So does this actually come out today, or has it been delayed again?

I thought it did (and posted so on the rolling R&B thread), but I guess Wikipedia faked me out as no other websites are confirming it. I went to pick up some new releases yesterday (at a store that puts out the Tuesday releases on the shelves on Monday) and it was nowhere to be found. Damn! Even if the album is as flawed as people here are saying, I could really use a halfway decent female R&B album this year.

Good Girl Gone Bad is halfway decent, but not R&B enough I guess.

Yeah, I think Rihanna officially turned in her R&B card when she got an Aeon Flux haircut and recorded the Republica b-side that is "Shut Up And Drive."

Album of the year.

I love "Crush" and "Take Control" but I just can't get into the "1 More Thing"s, at least when she's chirping those high notes. Not sure why I find it so grating when it defines the pleasure principle for some many others.

Tim F OTM re: "Some Like It"

"Shut Up & Drive" is great, either in spite or because of it's Republica b-side sounding-ness. Rihanna's album is exactly halfway decent, although I'm not sure exactly what would improve it. I think it's perhaps a bit less than the sum of its parts.

xp: If anything on the album is "1 More Thing", it's "Take Control". As far as the chirpy high notes go, Amerie doesn't have the greatest chops, per se, but she knows how and when to force beyond her comfort zone for maximum impact. It's very thrilling, as Lex put it, when she goes all out. These moments never seem forced, though. They seem to happen as she gets caught up in the moment. This isn't to say that there isn't any artifice behind that phenomenon, but just to say that she's very good at hiding/selling it.

Also, OMG the harmonies & vocal production on this record. I love cool vocal production.

You all love "Some Like It".

More seriously, does it really matter whether "Some Like It" is "pj-approved Adventurous Pop"? Does that have any bearing whatsoever on how good or bad the song is? Worrying about something like that seems pointlessly self-conscious to me.

If anything on the album is "1 More Thing", it's "Take Control".

Are you actually saying "Take Control" sounds more like "1 Thing" than "Gotta Work"?

I went to pick up some new releases yesterday (at a store that puts out the Tuesday releases on the shelves on Monday) and it was nowhere to be found.

OK, I really wanted to buy this album, but this is ridiculous. Someone Sendspace it to me already.

At least as much so. When I first heard "Take Control", my first thought was that she was trying to remake "1 Thing". By the time I heard "Gotta Work", I just kinda expected it. (xp)

At any rate, I like "Take Control" (the idiosyncrasies of which eventually made themselves clear) more than "Gotta Work". On second thought, you're probably correct (assuming your thesis is that "Gotta Work" sounds more like "1 Thing" than "Take Control" does; you haven't explicitly stated that).

It's implied by my disbelief in your rather adamant "if <i>anything</i> on the album...," (italics mine) though. You seemed to be ignoring the drums, horns and vocals on "Gotta Work."

haha but then I forgot there weren't horns on "1 Thing," so I'll shut up now.

My problem with Some Like It is it's a bit disjointed and therefore doesn't quite take off.

Yeah, the drums and vocals are similar (horns? um... {xp nm}). The guitar hook on "Take Control" is a big part of what made me think of it as a retread.

The disjointed feel of "Some Like It" is a large part of its appeal for me. I love how it just shoots off on random tangents, barely bothering to patch them together.

"1 Thing" is so shrill and splashy that I think I just assumed there was a brass section blowing out my eardrum as well.

I was disappointed by how soon I lost interest in "Gotta Work" – it's too damn relentless, like Sparkle Motion or something.

I didn't put that very well, but I don't know how to state it better at the moment. (xxp)

"1 Thing" is so shrill and splashy that I think I just assumed there was a brass section blowing out my eardrum as well.

Completely understandable.

I dunno. The whole first half is pretty damn relentless, but that's a positive in my book.

Actually, "Gotta Work" is probably my least favorite song of the first half.

"Crush" & "Crazy Wonderful" prove that Cassie album tracks are much better with someone capable of displaying emotion.

OMG the remix of "Take Control". Mr. K-Pop singer is way ott.

The album comes out here in November, with a *new and improved* tracklist. "That's What U R RMX" with Fabolous and Slim Thug is the firts single, new version of "Crush" that samples the Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love will be single after that I think...

Is "here" Amurrica? If so, I'm glad I got my import copy before they fucked up a good thing.

Yeah, America.

Holy shit -- the first half is unstoppable.

TS: Amerie's "Crush" vs Ciara's "C.R.U.S.H."

Um, Ciara no contest. This album is really OVERRATED by you folks...

Anyway, UPDATE: The US has been scrapped and she's recording a brand new album...

rong, and rong ;_;