Album Review: Paula by Robin Thicke

Note: I normally would do a track by track review, but in all honesty I can't do so with this album.

After the massive success of his 2013 #1 hit single "Blurred Lines", Robin Thicke pretty much single handedly secured himself a spot among the greatest R&B/Soul performers of all time. His next single ("Give It 2 U") even became a success, and his appropriately titled (yet still controversial) Blurred Lines album debuted in the United States with 177,000 copies sold in its first week. That was good enough for a #1 bow on the album chart. Unfortunately, Robin Thicke got a little too big for his britches. Pictures and videos of him kissing other females (other than his wife) in public places spread like wild fires, and soon Thicke's conquered empire crumbled. He was left without a wife and got a sour reaction from "fans" and others in the music and entertainment businesses. Less than a year after the release of his highly successful Blurred Lines album, Thicke's thoughts from the past several months since his separation have been recorded, pressed and shipped to all your local stores under the name "Paula", in an attempt to rekindle his romance with his wife (Paula). Unfortunately, lots of people are skipping it (Billboard estimates first week sales to be 25,000 at most) and for good reason too.

Paula starts off with a 6 minute attempt at trying to be Justin Timberlake called "You're My Fantasy". Sadly, Thicke sounds more like a predator with vocals that sound like a poor man's John Legend meets Mariah Carey. It's a waste of time. Up next is "Get Her Back" (the album's lead single) which is a slight improvement... but to be honest its no enough of a fix to feel even halfway decent. The album's 3rd effort ("Still Madly Crazy") feels like a cheesy John Legend impersonation, and lacks much of any structure at all. "Lock the Door" is actually a decent track (I actually enjoy it), filled with '60s style female background singers and tingling beats. It's a little too personal of a display, but its the album's most impressive track so far. "Whatever I Want" feels like a reprise of "Lock the Door", but it doesn't work this time... it's just simply annoying this time around.

Despite the fact that "Living In New York City" has the reverse affect that all the rest of the album's other tracks have, which is odd because it really has nothing to do with Paula in any way, shape or form. It's confusing and mind boggling. Either way, it's still a mixed bag of a song.

The rest of Paula doesn't get much better than that. It's an unfortunate outcome that'll likely ruin his career. Paula feels too sappy, too painful and worst of all, too revealing. If you're trying to get Paula back, this was the wrong way to do it. If I was in Paula's shoes, I'd run even faster than before. What a waste.

Negative