Confessions

Usher | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: La Face
• ASIN: B0001F7UHA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (586 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,310 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Yeah!

3. Throwback

4. Confessions

5. Confessions, Pt. 2

6. Burn

7. Caught Up

8. Superstar

9. Superstar

10. Truth Hurts

11. Simple Things

12. Bad Girl

13. That's What It's Made For

14. Can U Handle It?

15. Do It to Me

16. Take Your Hand

17. Follow Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True "Confessions.", March 23, 2004

By 

The Groove (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

"Confessions," the fifth long-player from ATL's Usher Raymond, is more than a new album. It's also a mature step forward and an exercise in self-examination. Here, Usher unloads some serious baggage, ranging from infidelity (the title track and "Truth Hurts"), materialism ("Simple Things"), unwanted pregnancy (the title track again), and failed relationships, particularly his breakup with TLC's Chili. But that's not to say "Confessions" is all drama and no fun. The album is neatly divided between uptempo jams and smooth ballads, and Usher doesn't disappoint on either front. At first listen, I wasn't a huge fan of the kickoff single "Yeah!" (featuring Ludacris and Lil' Jon), but over time, this catchy hip hop-flavored number caught onto me very quickly. Other decent cuts are "Superstar," the Jam & Lewis-produced "That's What It's Made For," and the downtempo groove of the killer closer, "Follow Me." Well produced and with minimal filler (I could have done without the messy "Do it To Me"), "Confessions" lives up to its title thanks to its honest lyrics and its tight production. Grade: B.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Half "Bad", But Inconsistent and Typical, June 9, 2004

By 

Andrew Jacob (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

I have to confess: the only reason why I bought the album was because I wanted to know more about his breakup with Chili from TLC. Usher has always remained to me to be one of those artists you "acknowledge but don't really care for", and after listening to "Confessions", Usher's fourth studio album, I can't say my opinion of him, as an artist has changed much. The album splits between two types of songs: mid-tempo/slow jams about bad relationships and miscellaneous mid-tempo/upbeat "club" songs. Many of the upbeat songs tend to be typical choices for singles (meaning they're guilty pleasures) including the lead single "Yeah" (which by the way, has a stale, played out beat, courtesy of Lil' Jon). There are those surprisingly catchy "club songs", including "Caught Up" and "Take Your Hand". Many of miscellaneous songs lean towards mediocre, including the boring "Truth Hurts", the sappy "Superstar", and the semi-preachy "Simple Things". Usher fares better with the slow jams, like "Throwback", "Confessions Pt. II", "Do It To Me", the second single "Burn", and the best track on the album, "Can U Handle It". There are however, those songs that are just incorrigibly dumb, like "Bad Girl" and "That's What It's Made For". Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good. Many tracks on the album are those types of songs that you like for now, but don't have high-replay value. In the end, "Confessions" remains ordinary, at best.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect all "Yeah", July 10, 2004

By 

Bonnie "Bonnie" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

I originally wasn't going to get it because I didn't like "Yeah" at all and didn't want one of those 'crunk' CDs. My fiance gave it to me, though, and I did listen to it...I was not disappointed. Anyone who's looking for the CD to be more of what you hear in "Yeah" and even "Confessions Pt. II" (another song I dislike) is going to be disappointed...most of the CD has more of Usher's soulful, ballad-turned voice rather than club hits. Although his ego has definitely skyrocketed and some of the subject matter isn't exactly the deepest, using little hip-hop catch phrases a lot of misguided teenagers use nowadays (to his discredit), I more so enjoyed Usher's exploration of his own voice. Sometimes I have to kind of tune out the lyrics to enjoy the songs, but Usher's voice is really great on this CD; he has a more mature and stronger sound, and the music he chooses really plays off of that. The best songs I would say (musically, that is) are "Burn" (my favorite!), "Caught Up" (bad lyrics, good beat/music), "Superstar", "Truth Hurts" (interesting subject), "Simple Things", "That's What It's Made For" (questionable lyrics, good song), and "Do It To Me".