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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Def Jam Recordings
Salesrank: 107
Released: November 23, 2009 |
| Our Price: $12.78 |
| Used Price: $8.95 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Rated R Track Listing:
1. Mad House
2. Wait Your Turn
3. Hard featuring Jeezy
4. Stupid In Love
5. ROCKSTAR 101 featuring Slash
6. Russian Roulette
7. Fire Bomb
8. Rude Boy
9. Photographs featuring will.i.am
10. G4L
11. Te Amo
12. Cold Case Love
13. The Last Song
Editorial Review:
The wait is ova - for one of the most hotly anticipated new albums in recent history, as multi-platinum, award-winning Def Jam recording artist Rihanna announces the completion of her fourth original studio album, Rated R, scheduled to arrive in the physical and digital marketplace on Monday, November 23rd.The "Russian Roulette" video, directed by Anthony Mandler, will premiere in prime-time on ABC.
"Russian Roulette" was written and produced by fellow Def Jam artist Ne-Yo, whose long track record with Rihanna includes the #1 hit "Unfaithful" (2006, from A Girl Like Me), their Top 10 duet "Hate That I Love You" (2007, from Good Girl Gone Bad), and #1 pop/ #1 R&B "Take A Bow" (2008, from Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded). In addition to Ne-Yo, other producers and writers on Rihanna's new album include the team of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, Chase & Status, Stargate, Justin Timberlake and more.
Rated R is the long-awaited follow-up to Good Girl Gone Bad (May 2007), which contained the non-stop string of hit singles that began with the MTV VMA and Grammy Award-winning global #1 hit "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z), then "Shut Up and Drive," "Hate That I Love You" (featuring Ne-Yo), and "Don't Stop the Music." Good Girl Gone Bad spent 98 total weeks on the Soundscan chart, earned cumulative sales of more than 36-times platinum in at least 20 territories around the world, and spun off the CD+DVD package Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (January 2009) - which continued the string of hits with the #1 "Take A Bow," and the #1 "Disturbia."
Good Girl Gone Bad was the third album release in less than two years by the 21-year old Barbados native Rihanna. It followed-up 2006's RIAA platinum A Girl Like Me, which contained the back-to-back hits, "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful"; and her RIAA gold debut from 2005, Music Of the Sun, featuring the world-wide smash, "Pon De Replay."
Rated R Reviews:
Caribbean Hip Hop meets Industrial Techno Rock 
2009-11-30 - Wow! I bought this CD on a whim after reading a review by Mike Ragogna on the Huffington Post. He said this was the album Rihanna needed to make, not an album the record label would have necessarily chosen for her to make. It almost sounds like it could have been recorded in 1980's Eastern Europe with so many heavy techno beats and crunchy synths and simmering industrial arrangements. Apparently Rihanna's Caribbean accent is more present on this album than her previous work. I'd never been drawn to Rihanna's earlier work so I can't qualify that assertion, but I think her accent works for her and I hope she continues to brandish it in her future work. If you are a fan of blended musical genres and artist experimentation and still enjoy popular music, this CD is a goldmine. Not a single dud track and it flows nicely. It may take a while for people to realize it, but this is going to end up being a landmark CD for Rihanna. It's an amazing piece of work by a young person so early in their career. I can't wait to see where she goes next in her sound. This is a young woman firmly in control of her music and her life.
Solid, Emotional Album
2009-11-29 - After a couple of years, the lovely Rihanna returns with a new album (not just a re-release--THANK GOODNESS!!!). After going through the domestic violence case this past year, she claims in interviews that she has grown a lot, and has transferred it into her work. And how did that turn out? Read on for the Track by Track Review.
1. Mad House - Nice Intro..dark tone and setting for the rest of the album (I'm not going to rate this track, though)
2. Wait Your Turn - Very reggae-feeling with Rihanna's voice. Not the normal RiRi that we all grew to know and love on GGGB. The minute I heard the F bomb I was really shocked (I don't really like vulgarity in music that much). The chorus is the best part for sure. 3.5/5
3. Hard (featuring Jeezy) - The beginning is a little awkward. But after that, it only gets better. The chorus, once again, is probably the most memorable part, along with the verses by Jeezy. Stellar production makes this a solid track that is definitely one of the better of the "new-Rihanna" tracks. At first listen, you may not like it (like I didn't enjoy it when I first heard it), but give it a second listen and you might like it. 4/5
4. Stupid In Love - Whew. Now that the gangsta-tracks are over, we hear a ballad by Rihanna. This track, aided greatly by a piano background, is a stand out track. I believe that this track exemplifies the emotions of Rihanna greatly. 4/5
5. Rockstar 101 (featuring Slash!!) - Back to rocker Rihanna. Something just seems to be missing from this track to make it epic. Oh well. Another example of the edgier Rihanna that everyone is talking about...and I'm not a huge fan. But another good track (where you should probably give it a second chance after you hear it for the first time). 3/5
6. Russian Roulette - Lead Single. Two words--simply spectacular. The dark, scary background piano gives this ballad an edge that truly, in my personal opinion, sums up her experiences from the past year. Oh, and just a SIDENOTE..the vocals are AMAZING. 5/5
7. Fire Bomb - A mid tempo song, the title of the song actually deceived me. I thought that it was going to be yet again another song about being a rocker, bad*ss, blah blah blah. But it's not this way, and this song is all about the lower registers of Rihanna's voice that are rarely heard in her music. "The lovers need to clear the road"...I really liked this song. The sirens and crackling fire at the end of the song topped the cake. 4/5
8. Rude Boy - With significant sexual innuendo throughout the song, the production give it almost a Jamaican vibe, most likely inspired from Rihanna's small island roots. A little repetitive, but still a nice track. 3.5/5
9. Photographs (featuring will.i.am) - A slower paced/mid tempo track, this is one of the better songs of the album. The auto-tuned track contributed by will.i.am truly makes it much more memorable. 4.5/5
10. G4L (Gangsta for Life) - Another "gangsta" track, this one gets very very repetitive. One of the weaker tracks on the album. But still enjoyable! 3/5
11. Te Amo - Just to preface/explain this song first. This song was written by a man from a man's point of view, and Rihanna decided to sing it. So this should clear any confusion...hopefully. The story of the song follows one of Rihanna's friends who has deep feelings for her (loves Rihanna), and Rihanna likes her as a friend, but as nothing more. On to the track. This song was leaked a while back in June, and its Latin influences are apparent. This is one of the best songs on the album. (and one of my personal favorites!!) 5/5
12. Cold Case Love - Starts out with old style, organ-like pipes. This is a rather lengthy song for Rihanna, but then again the whole album is about "breaking the rules" in a way. Very minimal backing track at the beginning of the song gives it a cool feel. At 1:30 or so, the backing leads way to quite gorgeous instrumentals and snaps. At around 3:45 then, production really takes over. A REALLY nice track!!! One of my personal favorites. 4.5/5
13 - Appropriately titles with giant vocals. This really just serves some more emotions from Rihanna. A solid track, but overall just an OK way to end an awesome album. 3.5/5
Overall -
Although not as consistent as GGGB, this album is probably stronger overall. It is really about breaking the status quo and using music as a platform for emotional expression (which i thought was the original purpose of music in the first place!!) A great effort from Rihanna. A MUST buy.
Luv It 
2009-11-29 - I like this CD! I can actually listen to the album all the way through! My favorites are; Rude Boy, Stupid In Love, Rockstar 101, and Cold Case Love. I would definitely buy this album!
It'll Grow On You
2009-11-29 - When I first put the CD in, I'm like "this is garbage" and took it out. Then I read reviews saying that it's a great CD, it's just different than the Rihanna we know. So I gave it another try. Upon listening to it more, I am really starting to like it. Give Rihanna a chance to grow on you and I'm quite sure you will like it too.
Very different, yet still the same Rihanna
2009-11-28 - I must admit, I was very eager to hear what kind of music she would come out with after such a tumultuous year, and all I can do is smile and say "Wow". She is just great here. At first I was very sad to listen to it from start to finish, because she sounded so painfully naked, but that's what music is about sometimes. Her last album (Good Girl Gone Bad) was the first CD I owned of hers (the edginess is what keeps that CD in rotation in my car), but then I listened to her music from before that, and I like the direction she's headed. Bubble Gum Pop is uninteresting to me--she has so much depth to her, to just leave in her one box cheapens her talent. While I am saddened that her life experience gave her this much struggle at such a young age, I applaud her for channeling it in a healthy way and not doing something tragic in response to past events and loss.
So all in all, I give this album 4 stars (hard to get a 5 out of me). My fave songs are "Wait Your Turn", "Stupid in Love", "Hard", "Russian Roulette" and "Rude Boy".
