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List Price: $13.98 | | Label: Def Jam
Salesrank: 1343
Released: September 16, 2008 |
| Our Price: $8.55 |
| Used Price: $4.60 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Year of the Gentleman Track Listing:
1. Closer
2. Nobody
3. Single
4. Mad
5. Miss Independent
6. Why Does She Stay
7. Fade Into The Background
8. So You Can Cry
9. Part Of The List
10. Back To What You Know
11. Lie To Me
12. Stop This World
Editorial Review:
"Closer," written by Ne-Yo and produced by Stargate, is the first single from Ne-Yo's upcoming third album, YEAR OF THE GENTLEMAN, set to arrive in stores June 24th. It is the follow-up to Because Of You (released May 2007), which received this year's Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and In My Own Words (February 2006) - both of which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
In addition to his Contemporary R&B Album award, Ne-Yo earned four other Grammy nominations this year, including two for his collaboration with Rihanna, "Hate That I Love You" (which he co-wrote), namely Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance Duo/Group; as well as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his #2 hit "Because Of You"; and Record of the Year for Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" (which he co-produced). Ne-Yo's Grammy recognition followed up the UK's 13th annual MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards in September 2007 - the only televised European Awards Show solely dedicated to urban music and culture - at which he won for Best Song ("Because Of You") and Best R&B Act.
Ne-Yo's RIAA platinum debut album In My Own Words was nominated for a Grammy as Best Contemporary R&B Album. It spun off three chart-topping hits, starting late-2005 with his debut Def Jam single, the #1 Grammy-nominated "So Sick," followed by "When You're Mad" and "Sexy Love." Ne-Yo capped 2006 as Male R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards. At the The 21st Annual Soul Train Music Awards in February 2007, Ne-Yo won the Coca-Cola Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap new Artist for "Sexy Love."
Description of Year of the Gentleman:
If the mark of the skilful Lothario is the one who knows to always tell his lover what she wants to hear, surely Def Jam’s R&B sensation Ne-Yo--aka Los Angeles singer-songwriter Shaffer Chimere Smith--is one of the greatest of them all. On his third album, Year of the Gentleman, Chimere channels his hitmaking talents into a suite of R&B songs that are more respectful than rampant in their approach to the romancing. “Single" is a song that reaches out to all the lonely girls, Ne-Yo promising, “I'll be your boyfriend til the song goes off," while the Stargate-produced “Miss Independent," lit up by neon synthesizers, suggests Smith isn't too concerned with his own machismo to test out flipping the traditional gender roles, serenading a girl who's a player in her own right: “Everything she got, you bet she bought it." The album is at its best with the central, two-song movement of “Why Does She Stay" and “Fade Into the Background"--the former finding Ne-Yo questioning his own neglectful nature over a backdrop of shimmering keys, the latter a sombre piece that finds our narrator accepting the news that his lover has found another with a rare, heart-rending magnanimity. --Louis Pattison
Year of the Gentleman Reviews:
Simply Awesome! 
2009-10-20 - Excellent album, the lyrics are amazing and very well written. I was really impressed with Ne-Yo's vocals. Heard a few songs prior to purchasing the album but I would say it's worth every penny and more. The guy sings from the heart and these days, that's so rare. Great pick!
Love it
2009-09-06 - i love this CD, and I got it for a lower price on Amazon than in the local music stores.
Awesome
2009-08-24 - This album has to be 1 of the hottest R&B cd's I've heard all year. Neyo reminds me of Mike Jackson with some of his lyrics as well as his singing range. I luv it!!!
A Classic Album
2009-07-30 - I'm so in love with this cd! Ne-yo is definitely one of a kind. He has his own style and doesn't try to follow any "Trends". Any major artist who hasn't done a song with T-pain is alright with me lol. I love mostly every song on this cd but my faves would be "Lie To Me", "Miss Independent", "Mad", and "Nobody". This album is timeless. A must have for anyone who loves R&B.
Ne-Yo Year Of The Gentleman is a 4.5/5 Star CD 
2009-07-29 - Coming into this CD Ne-Yo had to follow up big after his first two CD had so much success. While this was not his best CD he certainly did not disappoint. The problem with Ne-Yo on this CD was some of the lyrical content got repetitive. Closer was Ne-Yo first single that was released before the album dropped. While it does not capture the tension that so sick did on his first album its one of my favorite songs on the CD. The beat flows so well with his voice and the chorus is on par for the song. Verses are executed perfectly and a great way to start the CD. Another one that ranks up there for me is the song Mad. This truly is a song made for the ladies. Ne-Yo touches on some key points were he points out that sometimes fighting is pointless and just gets no were in life. A really good song everyone should check out and could help out a lot of people. That's the thing about Ne-Yo that separates himself from others is a lot of his lyrics are respectable to women which is something that you may not always see these days. He goes downhill a little bit with songs such as Fade into the background, so you can cry and part of the list. The songs for me here move way to slow. He is taking 3 second at pints in-between words on fade into the background. To me it was way too slow and once again the lyrical content got repetitive. Overall if you're looking for a good CD this is a good one to pick up. I would get it at best buy for $9.99 but nothing more than that. For a CD with only 12 songs and 4 to 5 of them are not that good it's not worth more than ten. One thing I did like about him only having 12 songs was that the CD did not carry on and to me it ended at the right point. If you're a Ne-Yo fan you must pick this up. If you're not I hesitate you to think about the decision. Finally the nice thing about this CD is it stands out from others today as it does not use explicit lyrics. So it's different in that perspective.
