Customer Reviews

Sex Therapy: The Experience

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an incredible CD and well worth the extra couple of dollars for the full experience. Robin Thicke has become so well known for his baby-makers that you can forget that his first single from "Cherry Blue Skies" ("Beautiful World") was an up-tempo hit. This album is laced with a nice mix of slow jams and danceable grinders. This is a wonderfully conceptualized CD with flow that is more than just a compilation of singles like a lot of released recently. Even the extra tracks on "The Experience" are laced throughout instead of tacted on at the end. I haven't been able to stop listening to it since I opened it. Way to go, Robin!!

This is a great CD. If you loved the Evolution of RT then you will LOVE Sex Therapy: The Experience. Very much an R & B CD with splashes of hip-hop via guest stars like Jay-Z, Nicki Manaj, Kid CuDi, etc. I would say worth the couple extra dollars for the full experience and extra tracks. Be careful with the CD, you might end up with a bundle of joy 9 months after listening to this! If you are unsure then listen to the samples a couple times- you should be sold after that.

Robin Thicke definitely 'loses his cool' on his Fourth studio release, Sex Therapy: The Experience (or the slimmer Sex Therapy: The Session). While it isn't all a complete departure from Thicke's neo-soul/blue-eyed soul releases, Thicke makes more concessions toward more modern R&B and even some overtures towards hip-hop with guest spots from Jay-Z ("Meiplé"), Snoop Dogg ("It's In The Mornin'"), Lil Wayne protegé Nicki Minaj ("Shakin' It 4 Daddy") and Kid Cudi ("Elevatas") among others. Sure some of the disc does feel like Thicke tries to hard ("Meiplé" is good, though corny), but it does show a different, sexier facet of the singer and his potential. As always, Thicke is in good voice in his rich, wide falsetto, his strongest asset. The material doesn't necessarily supersede the material from Thicke's excellent last album Something Else, though it does stand out more, just because the singer is trying something different. All in all, 'Sex Therapy: The Experience' proves to be an enjoyable, unique set.

After the cornily titled intro "911" ("Please hold for the doctor/the doctor will be right with you), the album opens brilliantly with the throwback soul-joint "Mrs. Sexy", arguably the valedictory track of 'Sex Therapy'. Here, the only concessions that Thicke makes is by 'sexing up' the lyrical content as he maintains the understated, soul-leaning production of previous albums. "Mrs. Sexy" may be neo-/blue-eyed soul at its best, but it feels as relevant as anything else in today's musical industry, a compliment toward's Mr. Thicke's artistry. On "Sex Therapy", Thicke maintains the erotic lyrics, though in favor of more modern production, ala the twenty-first century. The production work surprising stays in the hands of Thicke and Pro Jay (same producers of 'Mrs. Sexy'), though an Al Green sample that should date the production makes it feel even fresher than it should. Vocally, Thicke is exceptional.

"Meiplé", featuring Jay-Z, is fun, if utterly ridiculous; the literal translation is "Me I play". Catchy, corny all in one, you can't help but laugh as the line "I know you wanna..." is repeated constantly by Thicke with a sample of a woman finishing the statement and simulating love sounds. As silly as it maybe, it still allures the listener, even if "Mrs. Sexy" and "Sex Therapy" are slightly better representations of Thicke's talent as a writer and performer. "Make U Love Me" adds Rich Skillz in the production seat next to Thicke aside from Pro Jay. With an understated feel, "Make U Love Me" proves to be as great as everything that has come before it, making Thicke bat 1000. "It's In The Morning" is as sensual as anything else, produced by New Jack Swing innovator Teddy Riley. Thicke sounds polished, conveying a natural sensuality within his understated performance. The track seems a bit briefer than it is, making the listener desire more. Guess that's what the repeat button is for.

"Shakin' It 4 Daddy" featuring Lil Wayne protegé Nicki Minaj is completely out of character for Thicke, but it turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Gone are all traces of neo-soul in favor for outright contemporary R&B/hip-hop influences. While it probably shouldn't work, Thicke kills it and Minaj nearly outperforms Thicke. Produced by hip-hop super-producer Polow Da Don, it is definitely a hot track! Memorable lyrics alongside the great production make this track 'sick'. "Elevatas" features new hip-hop standout Kid Cudi in another interesting listen. Cudi cleverly puts his left-of-center influence on the track, making another out of character, though worthwhile Thicke performance. Thicke, similarly, sounds great and the production work by Jeff Bhasker and Thicke himself is great and well thought out. The one complaint, it is a bit long.

Following another corny interlude "Start With A Kiss" which explicitly details what a woman wants Thicke to 'do to her', "Rollercoasta" featuring Grammy-winning artist Estelle, produced by Bhasker once again, find Thicke against a Euro-pop/Techno themed production background that also hints at 1980s production work. Not my favorite, but interesting and solid, nonetheless. "Million Dolla Baby" featuring R&B standout Jazmine Sullivan overtly samples Marvin Gaye's classic "Trouble Man" and finds Thicke's production partner Pro Jay back in the production seat. The results are another very soothing, capable vocal performance by Thicke.

"2 Luv Birds" lowers the energy level with a slightly slower, mellower ballad. The doused down energy is appreciated, after the high energy, sex-laden numbers the precede "2 Luv Birds". This track definitely exemplifies the typical Robin Thicke song. "I Got U" plays on the interludes that have preceded it ("911" and "Start With A Kiss, finally bringing together the pieces. Overt as everything else, Thicke asks his potential mate to "F*** with me". Moving on to "Jus Right", Thicke sounds as smooth and as sensual as ever, explicitness or not. Tracks like "Jus Right" do make skeptics argue whether more overt tracks like "Shakin' It 4 Daddy" were necessary to make Thicke sound younger. "Mona Lisa" proves solid, though average, though "Brand New Luv" proves more worthwhile, even if it isn't quite the caliber of say "Mrs. Sexy." "Diamonds", featuring The Game, closes the album, again slightly out of Thicke's character. Produced by Polow Da Don, Polow does a fine job of making the production understated enough to suit Thicke's strengths.

Overall, 'Sex Therapy' proves to be a sound album. There are a few flaws, but overall, it is well put together and a worthwhile listen that exceeds expectations. 4 stars.

Such a good cd with great guest stars who really help add to the Thicke sound. You have to get Sex Therapy: The Experience [EXTRA TRACKS], I mean for $2-$3 more you get 5 extra songs put in the cd, that go with the flow of the cd so they were placed in the body of the album not at the end. My personal favorite are "Sex Therapy", "Meiplé" (f. Jay-Z), "It's In the Mornin'" (f. Snoop Dogg)& "Diamonds" (f. Game).

I bought the single for Sex Therapy and was instantly thinking this is the slow jam of the year but after hearing Mrs. Sexy this is a must buy because for Robin to take a relatively overlooked rap song [Mahogany by Eric B & Rakim] and maintain most of it's elements and instead or rapping it... singing it was genius by itself and sold me on buying this album. It was one of my all time favorite songs by Rakim and to hear it with this twist just makes my weekend. Robin is really putting his competition to shame with this kind of material and innovation.

While I did enjoy Robin's second CD and I enjoy looking at and listening to Robin, for some reason this album was inconsistent much like his last album. It pretty much falls apart halfway through the album and the songs are either throwaway or run together.
The interludes and the spoken word intros do add some fun to the album. I just don't understand the point of featuring Estelle & Jazmine Sullivan when you cant hear them and it isn't a duet. It would've been nice if he utilized them both, especially Jazmine Sullivan. It would've been nice if the flow of the album was in the vein of the first single
Robin needs to stay away from the Elevator music and make more R&B/Urban music since he has the voice for it.

This is a GREAT album. His voice is like velvet. Sex therapy is one of my favorite songs. I believe that Thicke is a very talented artist. When it comed to this type of music, I'm fan of 90's. I don't really like 00's music. But I strongly believe that Thicke (along with Kem) is the most talented artist in soul.
(I apologize for my poor english)

With his fourth album, Sex Therapy Robin seemed to lose a little bit of his signature fan base and while I will admit that an artist as talented as Robin doesn't need a guest filled album, I still thought this was a worthy addition to his catalog. The lead single Sex Therapy was always a mood setter for my wife and I, while 2 Luv Birds with the production from Dre & Vidal was a heartfelt ballad. Thicke also turned one of my favorite Eric B.& Rakim songs, Mahogany into a smooth R&B jam with Ms. Sexy. As for the guest appearances the Niki Minaj assisted "Shakin' It 4 Daddy" & Jay-Z collabo "Meiplé" were both sure fire party starters. However the strongest collaboration on the album in my opinion was the grown & sexy "It's in the Mornin" featuring Snoop Dogg with production from the legendary Teddy Riley. The only missteps on the album were Elevatas" (featuring Kid Cudi) and "Diamonds" (featuring Game) but all in all this is still a fine album.

But this album ain't all that. Some of the songs were good, some were entertaining and others were downright bad. The latter you didn't get to experience on his second album 2006's The Evolution of Robin Thicke which was fine and dandy. Some good songs on this album (in no order) are "Mrs. Sexy", "It's In The Mornin'", "Million Dollar Baby", "Sex Therapy", "2 Luv Birds", "Jus Right" and "Brand New Luv". Maybe another song or two were alright, but the rest was crap. Sorry, Robin. This album did NOT work. I've heard his first two albums and this one in full and I like this one least. His other records get no less than 4 stars from me each (with "The Evolution..." getting about 4.5).

3.5 stars for (wasted) effort. The skits are just about all crap.

DOWNLOAD:
"Jus Right"
"Sex Therapy" &
"It's In The Mornin'"

This is my first purchase of a Robin Thicke CD. The music and lyrics are "exciting!!!" I will purchase more of his music.