Not quite as extravagant as the preceding
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
,
Chris Brown
's tenth album is merely two hours in length. That still allows more than enough space for the singer to sufficiently cover each one of his modes. Pleasure-seeking club tracks, entitled slow jams, tormented ballads, and yearning pop-R&B love songs -- the last of which still match up best with his voice, virtually unchanged during the last decade -- are all plentiful. The length also enables
Brown
to take numerous competitive digs at the lacking intelligence and sexual ability of various men as they relate to his object of affection. "He was dumb as fuck" and "I can do what your man just can't do" are two of the less extreme examples. One of them is from "Side N*gga," where the protagonist sounds happiest. Across the two discs,
keeps much of the same co-songwriting and production company --
Scott Storch
Eric Bellinger
, and
Boi-1da
among it -- and adds some new faces to the mix. What truly sets the album apart is the large carousel of featured artists. It seats well over a dozen, including veterans such as
Juicy J
and
Tank
, the emergent likes of
Gunna
Ink
, and much of the
Young Money
family, whose
Nicki Minaj
is on the New Orleans bounce-indebted "Wobble." Most welcomed of all is
H.E.R.
, who outclasses everybody on the glowing "Come Together." On his own,
delivers a career highlight with "Back to Love," a sweetly remorseful number with hints of
Off the Wall
/
Thriller
-era
Michael Jackson
. ~ Andy Kellman