Usher is at home in two worlds on 'Here I Stand'
The journey from high-living player to contented husband and father is laid out in all its glitzy and gratifying glory on Usher's new album, "Here I Stand," out today.
The honesty on display in the songwriting and the deft, diverse production are both startling and satisfying. The 29-year-old R&B superstar welcomes the responsibilities of adulthood - little Usher Raymond V makes his fussy debut on a sweet lullaby - while still feeling the phantom tingles of his lothario rep. Exhibit A: first single "Love in This Club."
Luckily, those twin pulls mean that the man who gave us the hit single "Yeah!" hasn't forgotten to keep the dance floor hopping while he's on diaper duty. While Usher picks up designer beats and vocal assistance from contributors like Stargate, Jermaine Dupri, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z, nothing on "Stand" lays down the whammy of that still instantly energizing call to boogie. But a wealth of pleasures at varied tempos compensate for that deficiency.
The bouncer "This Ain't Sex" comes the closest to "Confessions"-era dance nirvana. Backed by breezy synths and falsetto coos, Usher and producer Tricky delight in getting their "Off the Wall"-era jollies on musically. Lyrically, Usher describes a transcendent physical connection that signifies nothing less than "making moments that will outlast the world."
His commitment runs even deeper on the Prince-ly ode to gender-role reversal, "Trading Places." Offering to serve breakfast in bed, mow the lawn, take out the trash, iron his own shirts - this is like aural R&B porn for women, complete with a climactic moan that puts to shame Meg Ryan's notorious moment in "When Harry Met Sally. . ." Just ignore the urge to sigh that, in 2008, a 29-year-old man views performing these tasks as "trading places." Instead revel, as Usher does, in the luxurious soundscape brought to you by newcomer L.O.S. Da Maestro.
Vocally, Usher pushes himself perhaps harder than ever. The fact that he borders on straining only enhances the melancholy of several great, yet still rhythmically fidgety, ballads. "His Mistakes" gently but pointedly finds Usher refusing to apologize for the damage done by someone else. On the flipside, "Before I Met You" and the sizzling Jay-Z duet "Best Thing" offer examinations, clarifications, and atonement for a history littered with broken hearts.
Because the bylaws governing current hip-hop soul music clearly state that one must use every second of disc capacity available, "Stand" overstays its welcome. There's fuzzy filler from will.i.am ("What's Your Name") and a few too many slow jams. Among the weaker tracks is "Club." With its quivery groove and exhibitionist (not to mention unsanitary) come-on, it fails to ignite as either dance track or sensual fantasy.
But the even mellower remix, "Love in This Club Pt. II," featuring a sleepy rap from Lil Wayne and a vocal from Beyoncé, must be heard for the lyrics alone. At one point, Beyoncé hilariously trills, "I strongly doubt this velvet rope would hold me up."
We'd prefer not to speculate on that matter. But with one foot in the glittering nighttime world and another in his lifetime pledge to home and hearth, Usher has found solid ground on which to stand.
