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Confessions

by

Usher

 
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Confessions
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Avg: 4.0 (102 ratings)

  • Date Released: October 5, 2004
  • Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
  • Style: R&B
  • Label: LaFace Records
  • Copyright: (P) 2004 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment

Perhaps the most surprising and accomplished R&B album of the decade

  • We Say...

    Review by Sean Fennessey

    For years, Usher was an R&B vampire, siphoning the best from a previous generation: Michael Jackson's moves, Aaron Hall's purr, Tevin Campbell's smile. Then, he came back to life. After some fun, airy early singles, Usher broke up with his girl (TLC's Chili) and jumped in the booth. The results became perhaps the most surprising and accomplished R&B album of the decade. Confessions initially scored because of "Yeah!" the hyperkinetic crunk hybrid lead single with Lil' Jon and Ludacris. But it's a sore thumb on a bejeweled hand. If Usher rarely gave more than a brief glimpse into his inner life, Confessions seemed like straight turmoil. He details his infidelities and subsequent shame, while agonizing over a pregnant mistress and the end of both relationships. After the album's release, Jermaine Dupri, Confessions' primary architect, claimed many of the songs were his story, not Usher's. No matter. The gut-punch realism makes authenticity mean less. And the warm, expansive productions, from Just Blaze's "Throwback" to Dupri's R. Kelly-esque "Burn," to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' beguiling "That's What It's Made For," allows an elegant transition from docudrama to sonic exploration. In many ways, this is the last mega-album, selling more than 9 million copies and becoming an R&B fixture. And rightfully so.

  • They Say...

    Review by Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

    Confessions' most detracting factor is its length. At an hour in duration, it could be stripped of five songs and be far more powerful, especially since no one would have to do any wading to get to the meaty parts. On the other side of the coin, the smartest move Usher makes here is in allowing the Lil Jon-produced "Yeah!" to take its rightful place as the only club track; any attempt at doing something stylistically similar would've failed miserably in its presence. "Yeah!"'s crunk-meets-R&B foundation, featuring an instantly addictive eight-note keyboard vamp and one of Usher's most muscular turns, is so absorbing that Ludacris' 1,500th guest verse floats by with little notice. The following "Throwback," produced by Just Blaze, sounds like it was made for the sole purpose of trailing Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name." Like that hit, "Throwback"'s sensitively treated soul sample provides a nostalgic tint that complements the wistful, regret-filled tone of the lyrics. A small batch of Jam & Lewis productions, including the effortlessly gliding "Truth Hurts," continue to help raise Usher's loverman stock. Another pair -- the upbeat "Caught Up" and the aptly titled "Burn" -- also rate as some of the vocalist's best moments yet. He's been doing this for ten years now. Numerous chart hits have spun off each of his albums. Needless to say, the time is right for the phrase "just another" to be banned from use when discussing him. [Six months after its initial release, Confessions was re-released with an expanded booklet and four additional tracks, including his duet with Alicia Keys, "My Boo."]

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