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The Evolution of Robin Thicke

 
Album Review: The Evolution of Robin Thicke
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Evolution of Robin Thicke

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  • Artist: Robin Thicke
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: October 03, 2006
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

The story goes that the very happening Pharrell Williams asked music mogul and Interscope president Jimmy Iovine about his plans for Robin Thicke and then quickly snatched the artist up for his Star Trak imprint. Pharrell's enthusiasm for Thicke -- suave son of squeaky-clean celebrities Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring -- suggests he's one of the few who purchased his Interscope debut, 2002's Cherry Blue Skies, which was relaunched a year later as Beautiful World before fading into obscurity. While Thicke returned to his successful career as a songwriter and producer -- Christina Aguilera and Usher are just two of his many clients -- a cult formed around his debut. In 2005, there was both the Star Trak announcement and Lil Wayne's reinterpretation of Beautiful World's "Oh Shooter" for his 2005 release Tha Carter, Vol. 2, but the promised Thicke album that would reap the benefits was delayed, then delayed some more, and the cult got worried. Finally landing almost a year after originally promised, The Evolution of Robin Thicke is flawed with too much softness upfront, a lazy flow that takes some getting used to, and a downright awful track called "Cocaine," where style trumps substance, something that nearly happens the whole album through. Still, none of this means Thicke's sophomore effort shouldn't be embraced by those who appreciate his slightly eccentric take on slick blue-eyed neo-soul, because he's still mostly Timberlake for the skeptical set, or Prince for those who pine for the Purple One's over-stylized side project, the Family. Like old-school Prince, Thicke replaces every "you" with a "U," every "for" with a "4," and peppers his dreamy, sensual seduction numbers with brash and horny stingers. The bossa nova noir "Teach U a Lesson" feels comfortable and safe before Thicke's professor character explains how his student can "earn some extra credit," while "All Night Long" with Lil Wayne escalates from "All night long I wait 4 your lovin' babe" to "All night long I wait 2 tear U 2 pieces." Hardcore Southern baller Lil Wayne's two appearances -- the other being the return of his great "Shooter" -- are just one of the oddball genre-jumps the mostly neo-soul album makes, with Latin congas spicing up "Everything I Can't Have" while fingersnaps and jazzy arrangements play a big role in the sophisticated "Complicated." Over-indulgence and whims are all over the album, but perfectly polished pop tracks like "Wanna Love U Girl" and the surprisingly straightforward, empowerment-minded ballad "Can U Believe" succeed without any quirks. There isn't anything as instantly gripping as his debut single, "When I Get You Alone," and this fascinating effort just isn't tight enough to be called a classic, but with a little editing, rearranging, and forgiveness, his rabid following can sure love it like one. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Got 2 Be Down James Gass, Thicke, Faith Evans Faith Evans, Robin Thicke (4:33)
Complicated Thicke Robin Thicke (4:13)
Would That Make U Love Me Thicke Robin Thicke (3:37)
Lost Without U Sean Hurley, Thicke Robin Thicke (4:14)
Ask Myself (Lyrics) Robert Daniels, Bobby Keyes, Thicke Robin Thicke (3:47)
All Night Long Lil Wayne, Thicke, Robert Daniels, James Gass Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke (3:41)
Everything I Can't Have (Lyrics) James Gass, Moisés Vivanco, Thicke Robin Thicke (3:24)
Teach U a Lesson (Lyrics) Thicke, James Gass Thicke (4:28)
I Need Love Thicke Robin Thicke (4:55)
Wanna Love U Girl Thicke, Pharrell Williams Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams (4:24)
Can U Believe (Lyrics) Robert Daniels, Thicke Robin Thicke (4:51)
Shooter Bobby Keyes, James Gass, Robert Daniels, Thicke Robin Thicke, Lil Wayne (4:37)
Cocaine (Lyrics) James Gass, Thicke Robin Thicke (3:30)
2 the Sky Thicke, Justin Derrico Robin Thicke (6:05)
Lonely World Thicke Robin Thicke (4:21)
Angels Thicke Robin Thicke (8:35)

Credits

Thicke (Keyboards), Rea Ann Silva (Make-Up), Richard Travali (Mixing), André Harrell (Executive Producer), Gary Grant (Horn Arrangements), André Harrell (A&R), Bill Malina (Engineer), Bobby Keyes (Guitar), Ronnie "L.B" Breaux, Jr. (Drums), Rea Ann Silva (Hair Stylist), Chad Hugo (Instrumentation), Bill Meyers (String Arrangements), Justin Derrico (Guitar), Thicke (Art Direction), Brian Gardner (Mastering), Pro-Jay (Producer), Thicke (Piano), Rob Walker (Executive Producer), Shawn Barton (Stylist), Sean Hurley (Bass), Thicke (Producer), Pharrell Williams (Instrumentation), Chad Hugo (Executive Producer), Miguel Melendez (Executive Producer), Bill Meyers (Horn Arrangements), Pro-Jay (Drums), Pharrell Williams (Executive Producer), Sean Hurley (Guitar (Acoustic)), Pro-Jay (Instrumentation), Harry King (Piano), Pro-Jay (Engineer), Pro-Jay (Keyboards), Pro-Jay (Bass), Pro-Jay (Guitar), Andrew Coleman (Engineer), The Neptunes (Producer), Thicke (Drums), Drew FitzGerald (Art Direction), Pro-Jay (Piano), Thicke (Guitar), Ben Watts (Photography)
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Wikipedia: The Evolution of Robin Thicke
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
Studio album by Robin Thicke
Released October 3, 2006 (US)
Recorded 2005 - 2006
Genre Soul, R&B
Length 60:13
Label Star Trak, Interscope
Producer Robin Thicke, Pro Jay, The Neptunes
Professional reviews
Robin Thicke chronology
A Beautiful World
(2003)		 The Evolution of Robin Thicke
(2006)		 Something Else
(2008)

The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, released by Star Trak/Interscope records on October 3, 2006 (see 2006 in music). The album was re-released as a Deluxe Edition on February 13, 2007, and included three new bonus tracks.[1] By the time of the album's original release it had spawned two singles, the urban hit "Wanna Love U Girl" and the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one hit "Lost Without U". So far, the album has sold 1.5 million copies in the U.S.[2], and according to the RIAA the album has now reached platinum status.

Contents

History

Chart performance

The album debuted at #45 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in October 2006 selling about 20,000 copies in its first week during the album's original release. The first single, "Wanna Love U Girl", featured producer Pharrell and was released a full year prior to the release of the album on August 9, 2005.[3] The single experienced chart success on urban radio in the United Kingdom and a remix version of the song was recorded with rapper Busta Rhymes.

The album's second single, the ballad "Lost Without U" began getting a lot of radio airplay in Urban & Rhythmic stations in late 2006 and early 2007. The song has reached as high as #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. [4] As a result, Thicke became the first white male artist since George Michael to top the R&B singles chart.

Currently the album has reached a peaked position of #5 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[5] It is the first R&B #1 album of Thicke's career. From February 24, 2007 to March 3, 2007 the single "Lost Without U" and album The Evolution of Robin Thicke simultaneously spent 2 consecutive weeks at #1 on the R&B singles and albums charts respectively. On the March 3, 2007 issue of Billboard magazine, Thicke simultaneously topped 4 Billboard charts; Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and Hot Adult R&B Airplay.

Due to the popularity of "Lost Without U", sales of the album started to increase. By late March of 2007, The Evolution of Robin Thicke was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Thicke and his record label Interscope soon considered potential tracks to be released as the album's next and third single. Thicke's preference was the track "Can U Believe", which has since peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [6] On October 2, 2007 "Got 2 Be Down" was released to radio airplay as the official fourth single.

Television Uses

Three of the album's songs have appeared on General Hospital, including "Angels", used on November 22, 2006 during Luke and Laura's goodbye; "Shooter", which was used during Jason and Sonny's shootout April 12, and April 13, 2007; and "Lost Without U", on October 2, 2007 during a love scene between Sonny and Kate.[7]

Track listing

# Title
1. "Got 2 Be Down" (featuring Faith Evans) 4:35
2. "Complicated" 4:13
3. "Would That Make You Love Me" 3:37
4. "Lost Without U" 4:15
5. "Ask Myself" 3:47
6. "All Night Long" (featuring Lil Wayne) 3:41
7. "Everything I Can't Have" 3:24
8. "Teach U a Lesson" 4:29
9. "I Need Love" 4:55
10. "Wanna Love U Girl" (featuring Pharrell) 4:23
11. "Can U Believe" 4:53
12. "Shooter" (featuring Lil Wayne) 4:37
13. "Cocaine" 3:30
14. "2 the Sky" 6:05
15. "Lonely World" 4:21
16. "Angels" 8:35

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

# Title
17. "Superman" 4:19
18. "U Center Me" 4:15
19. "Look at Me" 4:33

Singles

"Shooter", although featured on the album, is a single from Lil Wayne's fifth studio album Tha Carter II and was not officially released as a single from The Evolution of Robin Thicke.[1]

  1. "Wanna Love U Girl" (featuring Pharrell)
  2. "Lost Without U"
  3. "Can U Believe" [6]
  4. "Got 2 Be Down" (featuring Faith Evans) [8]

Samples

"Everything I Can't Have" contains sample of "Malambo No. 1" by Yma Sumac originally written by Moises Vivanco.

Chart positions

Chart (2006) Peak
position		 Certification
U.S. Billboard 200 5 [5] Platinum
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1 [5]
UK Albums Top 75 30
French Album Chart 184
Dutch Album Chart 60

External links

References

  1. ^ a b "MTV News". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/#/news/articles/1552974/20070221/thicke_robin.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-02-28. 
  2. ^ Concepcion, Mariel. "Thicke Says World Needs 'Something Else'". Billboard. July 2, 2008.
  3. ^ "Artist Chart History - Wanna Love U Girl". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=512247&aid=728926. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 
  4. ^ "Artist Chart History - Lost Without U". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=512247&model.vnuAlbumId=758945. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 
  5. ^ a b c "Artist Chart History - Robin Thicke Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=512247&model.vnuAlbumId=575549. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 
  6. ^ a b "Thicke Penning New Songs As Current Set Sizzles". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003552873. Retrieved 2007-03-04. 
  7. ^ What Song Was That?: Songs Used on General Hospital
  8. ^ "R&R::Going For Adds::Urban", RadioandRecords.com, September 30, 2007.
v • d • e
Robin Thicke
Studio albums
A Beautiful World • The Evolution of Robin Thicke • Something Else • Sex Therapy
Singles
"When I Get You Alone" • "Brand New Jones" • "Wanna Love U Girl" • "Lost Without U" • "Can U Believe" • "Got 2 Be Down" • "Magic"  • The Sweetest Love" • "Sex Therapy"
Featured singles
"Switch (Remix)" • "Shooter" • "Follow My Lead" • "Lay Back" • "Somebody to Love"
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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