Music Review

Year of the Gentleman (2008)

Ne-Yo

Reviewed by Leah Greenblatt | Sep 16, 2008

Leah Greenblatt

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Release Date: Jun 10, 2008; Lead Performance: Ne-Yo; Genre: R&B

$SENSITIVE SOUL SINGER Ne-Yo\'s distinguished Year of the Gentleman is an ode to the ladies Ne-Yo$

Image credit: Chris Stanford/Photography Inc.

SENSITIVE SOUL SINGER Ne-Yo's distinguished Year of the Gentleman is an ode to the ladies

Feeling unfulfilled by Usher's musical offer — via summer smash ''Love in This Club'' — to have sex in the nightlife venue of your choosing? Turned off by Chris Brown's slick come-ons? Then girl, Ne-Yo wants to be your Gentleman. On his third disc in as many years, the 28-year-old Southerner with the Michael Jackson falsetto not only wears his heart on his sleeve, he lets it bleed down his (no doubt high-thread-count) cuff. From the let's-hear-it-for-the-girl paean ''Miss Independent'' to Year of the Gentleman's self-deprecating ''Why Does She Stay,'' he clearly worships at the Church of the Lady Superior. But by the time he hits his stirring finale, ''Stop This World,'' you'll be ready to take him home to Mama. B+
DOWNLOAD THIS: Listen to ''Stop This World'' on imeem.com

Originally posted Sep 12, 2008 Published in issue #1012 Sep 19, 2008 Order article reprints

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