Customer Reviews

Something Else

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

From start to finish this is a Classic! Very Grown n Sexy mixed in with Political messages serves up an awesome cd. I really liked the cd's that Thicke released prior to this one, however "Somthing Else" is best by far! Music,lyrics,and delivery that parellel Stevie and Marvin! I honestly think that music is starting to go in a better direction in 08' and Robin's "Something Else" is helping lead the way..

Some songs that stood out were...
Cry no More
Sidestep
Magic
Ms.Harmony
Loverman
and my absolute favorite..The Sweetest love(classic Robin)

Robin does it once again! Something Else is a perfect fusion of Beautiful World and Evolution which are BOTH world class albums. Of all the new music I have purchased recently, Robin has bullied his way into the number one spot with constant repeats.
The opening track "You're My Baby" is like a sweet lullaby, lulling us into his world. "Magic" drew me in on the radio with its old school intro that makes you want to get up and dance. "Side Step" follows its lead and will have the steppers and swingers spinning on the dance floor. "Dreamworld" reminds me of "Beautiful World" from his first album. It is a hopeful song for all of the believers and definitely matters for what we are experiencing in the states today. "Loverman" is definitely for the Grown & Sexy and I agree with the previous reviewer, Robin has created a genre of his own. "Hard on My Love" immediately made me think of his debut, Robin is a great storyteller and even those who may not like the track are forced to listen in order to find out what happens. On "The Sweetest Love" serenades us with his piano and its just what the song says: sweet! "Something Else" gives us something else, its funky, mellow, and sweet. "Shadow of Doubt" is my least favorite so far, which means it will most likely be my favorite next week. "Cry No More" is my anthem, listen to it and you will see why. And last is "Tie My Hands" with Lil Wayne, this track is one of my favorites for Tha Carter III, the song is important and Lil Wayne definitely "puts on" for his city. Robin's falsetto is perfect for the grit that Wayne paints with his words.

This is a wonderful follow up from Robin. If you don't have, GO GET IT!

I wasn't even aware that Robin Thicke had a new CD coming out until I saw the catchy fun filled video for "Magic" a few months ago. The horn peppered disco-tinged "Magic" is the lead-off single from his third CD "Something else", which follows up the Platinum "The evolution of Robin Thicke".

Since then, Thicke has gotten more confident in his singing and it shows. He sounds very soulful on this album. The falsetto sung ballad "Loverman" could have come off Marvin Gaye's "Let's get it on" album.

Keeping the tempo up are "Sidestep", "Hard on my love" (which reminds me of the psychedelic Soul songs by The Temptations), the gritty funky "Shadow of doubt", and the horn peppered Disco tinged groovy title track "Something else" (like something out of Jamiroquai's songbook).

The rest of the album comprises ballads, even the closing track "Tie my hands" which features Lil Wayne rapping, and Thicke doing some dramatic narrating and singing.

Opening is the lilting falsetto sung "You're my baby", the Jazzy guitar festooned "Ms. Harmony", the beautiful horn-sprinkled "The sweetest love", and my favourite, the retro soulful "Dreamworld" (nice piano/organ and harmonies) which finds Thicke fantasizing about a world free of racism, where he and his black wife can move around without getting stared at, one in which Marvin Gaye wouldn't have been shot by his father, a world where there's no global warming or energy crisis.

This album should see the continued ascent of Robin Thicke.

Just to make it simple and short, this is a great follow up. While most probably thought like i did i when i heard the evolution of robin thicke, i kinda thought one hit wonder. Then i heard Magic and loved it. So i downloaded rest and there are actually several tracks on here thats better than the evolution cd. I like the Sweetest Thing, Ms Harmony, Side Step, Magic..not really a totally bad song in the bunch except one or two ok tracks. Pick it up! Its decent!

As a huge fan of "Evolution" I went ahead and pre-purchased the entire "Something Else - Deluxe" album on I-tunes based primarily on having heard "Magic" on my local jazz radio station. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect and questioned the possibility that I'd made a mistake of purchasing before hearing anything else to it (something I NEVER do). Boy oh boy, was I ever absolutely blown away when my downloads came through and I listened to the album for the first time!

Outstanding!

Great retro grooves, passion and that smooth falsetto all came through in full-force, it is great de-compressing music particularly in today's stressed-out world in that it really helps your mind and spirit run free, even if only for a while. I've had this music only for a day and have already listened to the entire album three times, it certainly makes the daily commute a lot more worthwhile. I can honestly say that it was undoubtedly the best music purchase I have made this year, possibly longer. I don't see myself getting bored with this compilation anytime soon, and am already anticipating RT's next breakthrough!

It's no question that Robin Thicke is one of the most talented people in music. On his third CD, Mr.Thicke displays a charisma and charm that only few artists come close to matching. The lead singles from the CD Magic & The Sweetest Love are still in heavy rotation on numerous stations; however the CD is full of equally worthy songs. One on the standout songs is Dreamworld which I could easily see serving as the background for an art house movie. I also enjoy Your My Baby and the Curtis Mayfield esque Sidestep. All in all this is an excellent album and I can't wait to see Mr. Thicke headline his own tour.

When I first heard the song "Wanna Love U Girl", I knew that Robin Thicke was on to something. The Neptunes provided a nice beat and Robin Thicke was along for the ride to create one of the best r&b tracks that I had heard at that time. After waiting impatiently, especially after seeing multiple release dates that never came to be, Robin Thicke finally released his 2nd CD, Evolution of Robin Thicke. The CD got off to a nice start with the Faith Evans assisted "Got To Be Down" and my other favorites included "2 The Sky", "I Need Love", "Complicated", "Cocaine" and "Would That Make U Love Me". The CD went virtually unnoticed until "Lost Without You" was released to radio and from there Robin was able to hit the platinum mark as far as sales were concerned.

His 1st CD, A Beautiful World had more of a mixture of songs, but "The Evolution..." contained more of a R&B sound to it. When I heard that Robin was releasing another CD, I anxiously awaited to hear anything from the release. The 1st single "Magic" will be a track that you can enjoy for years to come like R Kelly's "Step In The Name Of Love", as far as r&b songs are concerned. There is an alternate version of the track entitled "Magic Touch" that features Mary J. Blige as well.

"Something Else" starts off with the silky, smooth "You're My Baby". This midtempo track should be in heavy rotation as we speak. That's how good it is. "Sidestep" will have you going back in time to a place where some of us weren't even born yet. The track definitely has a 60s/70s sound to it and "Hard On My Love" and "Shadow Of Doubt" fall right in line with "Sidestep". The best moments of this CD appear on back to back tracks in "Ms. Harmony" and "Dreamworld". As soon as you hear the congas you will be hooked, especially after you hear the sweet, sensual vocals of the song. Although, some people may say that "The Sweetest Love" is the closest thing to "Lost Without You" on this CD, I would personally say it's "Ms. Harmony". On "Dreamworld", Robin is able to take us to a place where if he had the final say so, this is how things would be going on in the world. He sets the tone early in the song as he states "I would be you, you would be me, we would be one, we would be just fine." He just wants a simple place where people that are black, white, yellow, red or brown can be equal without passing judgement on one another. Robin wants to teach the ladies another lesson with "Loverman". Anyone that was a fan of "Teach U A Lesson" or "I Need Love" from "...Evolution" will be a fan of this song as "Loverman" follows along the same lines of the aforementioned tracks. The title track is an uptempo jam that will take you back to the disco ball days of the infamous Studio 54. As long as you don't mind Robin's travel back into the r&b time machine, I am pretty sure that you will be a fan of this track. "Cry No More" is a nice slow jam that ends the 11 track CD on a nice note. Some people would even say that it reminds them of a Sade song. Track 12 is "Tie My Hands", which is basically Lil Wayne featuring Robin Thicke, which is why I don't include the track with the 11 new songs on this CD. "Tie My Hands" was already released on Lil Wayne's "Carter 3" CD. This is their 3rd collaboration together as they previously collaborated on "Shooter" from "Carter 2" and "All Night Long" from "...Evolution".

If you purchased the deluxe edition from Itunes then there were 3 additional tracks on the CD: "Everybody's A Star", "Ebb & Flow" and "I'm Coming Home". "Ebb & Flow" definitely should have made the final cut. Sometimes, I'm at a lost to why artists leave nice songs off of their CD and leave less attractive tracks as filler on the same project.

I don't have too many problems with this CD. Out of the 11 new tracks all of them are tracks worth listening to, with some being better than others. In my opinion, I think Robin played things too safe this time around. I can appreciate the fact that he wanted to pay homage to an earlier r&b sound, but some of his fans like when he takes chances like he did on "Oh Shooter", "Everything I Can't Have" and "Cocaine".

However, it seems that Robin wanted to try "Something Else" this time around. If you liked Evolution of Robin Thicke, I think there is more of a chance of you liking "Something Else". However, if you liked the versatility of A Beautiful World then this may not be the CD for you, in my opinion.

James' Top 5

1) Dreamworld
2) Ms. Harmony
3) You're My Baby
4) Cry No More
5) The Sweetest Love

Honorable Mention:

Loverman
Sidestep
Magic
Something Else
Tie My Hands w/Lil Wayne

You're My Baby - too much Marvin Gaye influence on this one. but maybe you're into that.

Sidestep - He says 'Sidestep' like 100 times, but the beat works.

Magic - the radio jam. i dig it.

Ms. Harmony - smoothed out, romantic.

Dreamworld - Robin speaks on the environment, racism and Marvin Gaye's
death all on one song.

Loverman - great love song.

Hard on My Love - Robin repeats the chorus alot, but you won't care
because of the production.

The Sweetest Love - if he doesn't stop singing the chorus over and
over!!!

Something Else - the disco song!

Shadow of Doubt - i liked the concept/message.

Cry No More - a graceful ballad.

Tie My Hands - Lil Wayne speaks on New Orleans/Katrina. great song.

I'll admit: I'm biased. Unlike a lot of fans who slept on Robin Thicke when he released his first CD, I've been vibing to his music from day one. So while a lot of people became hip to Mr. Thicke on his critically acclaimed "The Evolution of Robin Thicke", I wasn't surprised by his "overnight" success. If anything, I was saying to myself, "About time he's getting the recognition he deserves!"

"Something Else" really is...well, something else. It's unlike anything else out today. In a world dominated right now by the likes of Lil' Wayne (who makes another well-played guest appearance on this disc as he did the last), this is a breath of fresh air. Robin's buttery falsetto and sincerity is refreshing. Even when he vocally pushes himself to the limit and there is a hint of strain, he still sounds strong and sexy without being overtly so. Robin doesn't compromise modesty for sexuality. Forget R&B or blue-eyed soul. He is the king of the G&S genre: Grown & Sexy.

"Magic" has garnered enough air play that one should be bored with it by now. However, once you unwrap the CD and pop it in, it's like hearing it for the first time all over again. But he doesn't stop there. "You're My Baby" opens the CD, softly singing in your ear promises of better things to come. And come they do. "Sidestep" was probably the only track he could have left off the CD. The melodic undertones reminded me too much of "Magic", which follows right behind it at track three, and maybe that was his intention. "Ms. Harmony" is one of my favorites. The intro takes you by the hand and eases you into the lyrics ("...you light up the world with your energy").

My three favorite tracks are "Dreamworld", "Cry No More", and "Tie My Hands" featuring Lil Wayne. It's hard to narrow it down to just those three, because overall "Something Else" is a solid effort, if not a classic. So once again I ask the question: Robin Thicke, can you do no wrong?!

Fantastic CD. I am anxious to get everything else Robin Thicke has ever recorded. Highly recommend this R&B CD.