Usher

My Way

from performer to producer, an r&b CLASSIC

Review Score:

(10/10)
Despite his lukewarm exposure prior to 1997, Usher essentially burst onto the r&b scene with "My Way." Its been close to six years since and this album keeps sounder better and better. The low number of tracks (9 original ones, 1 remix) helps this album avoid the common pitfall of having numerous mediocre tracks. In fact, every song with the exception of the boring, Blackstreet sounding "I Will" is worth a hard listen.

Usher's exposure was aided by the excellent balance between ballads and uptempo songs. The upbeat "You make me wanna" dominated airplay and created great interest in the album. The popularity of the second single "Nice & Slow" was somewhat puzzling to me (as I would rank it as the sixth best song on the album). However, the popularity that song experienced can't be denied. The real gems on this album, aside from the first single, are "Bedtime", the upbeat "Come Back" featuring Jermaine Dupri, and "One day you'll be mine." Another track worthy of mention is the Dupri-beated "Just like Me" featuring the foul mouthed Lil' Kim.

It wouldn't be appropriate to mention this cd without acknowledging the incredible producers, most notably Jermaine Dupri, who really turn this 10 track album into an r&b classic.

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