Review: Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad [R'n'B/Hip Hop]

Rihanna is the stunning sensation that is currently pursuing her 15 minutes of fame, as America's sweetheart. Her new album, 'Good Girl Gone Bad' shows a mature and sexier sound, featuring such well know names as Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.

The album opens with the insanely catchy first single, 'Umbrella', with guest rapper Jay Z on board, the track struts through over 4 minutes of developed beats, accompanied by the soulful tones of Rihanna herself.


The album continues with the destined-to-be-a-single 'Push Up On Me'. The song is a clever mainstream track that fails to be generic in the slightest. So far so good.

However, GGGB takes a halt at third track 'Don't Stop The Music', a song that has been done, thousands of times before. The highlight of Rihanna's music, for me, is her originality and ability to stand out from the crowd, sadly this song fails to do anything for her. Disappointing.

However, the next track 'Breakin' Dishes' is another class act of sexy beats layered on top of a slick production, the song sounds like an insane mix of Gwen Stefani's solo material, and Nelly Furtado [Loose-era].

Second single, 'Shut Up And Drive' begins with a grungy guitar sound that is soon tied in with R'n'B beats, and the mature touch of Rihanna's fragile voice. The song is a pleasant change from Rihanna's usual material, and a very original track.

Now, there has been a lot of excitement over Rihanna's duet with Ne-Yo, 'Hate That I Love You' however i fail to see why. The song is less than memorable, and sounds like most hip-hop ballads. The only thing that rescues this song from being dreadful, is the intelligent lyrics, that are nothing less than beautiful.

'Say It' reminds me of such skillful artists as Beyonce and Mary J Blige, a chilled out tune that isn't Rihanna's best work, but is enough to put a smile on a fans face, the polite vocals and tame sounds make great background music, but on an album like GGGB is that really needed?

'Sell Me Candy' seems to be a very "Marmite" song, you either love it or hate it. The summer beats, reminds me of 'Wait A Minute' by The Pussycat Dolls, but as the chorus rolls around, the sound develops a layered feel, with many different instruments and effects. Perhaps, the hardest song to get into from the album, but definitely one of the most delightful tracks!


'Lemme Get That' is lyrically pathetic. So cliche, and even going as far as using the dreadful line '...why spend mine, when i can spend yours?'. The music itself is very interesting, and flirtatious, as we've come to expect from the talented Timbaland. 'Lemme Get That' is very appealing, and embeds into your mind subconciously, however, anyone looking for meaning in their music, steer well clear from this track.

The album continues with the mellow 'Rehab'. Co-written by Justin Timberlake, the song promises a lot, and thankfully delivers, especially in the beautiful opening, with piano, and serene strings. Rihanna provides a stunning vocal performance, whilst the song manages to be accessible, yet heartfelt. One of the stand out tracks, indeed, let's hope Rihanna can pull it off on the live scene as well.

The penultimate track is 'Question Existing'. I'm torn on this song, as to whether i like it or not The positive points are the sexy effects, complimenting Rihanna's steamy voice, the song is a charming flirt away from reality. However around the 2.5 minute mark, Rihanna does what no singer should ever do. She mentions the over-used and ever-boring flaws of being a celebrity. Oh woe, it sucks to be me. What makes this song worse is the fact that she doesn't sing these lines, she speaks them and also uses the line "Dear Diary...".Perhaps hidden beneath her sultry tones, i could have forgiven her, but in her over-acting, unpleasent speaking voice, i'm afraid she ruined what could have been a good song. Such a shame.

The album concludes with the intimate, soothing title track, with more stunning lyrics and divine instrumentation. The vocals are pitch perfect, and the thick vocals, allow Rihanna to sound strong, as opposed to the weak voice she often attempts. A perfect way to end an accomplished piece of art.

In general, 'Good Girl Gone Bad' is a mature, interesting and thought provoking release, with complex melodies and meaningful lyrics. Many artists should take note from this release, as it's not often an over hyped muscian lives up to their reputation and expectations, but Rihanna does just that, making sure that her 15 minutes last as long as possible.

Rihanna Official
Rihanna @ Myspace