Rated Talk That Talk!

Rihanna closes her 6th studio album with the pounding beat of epic ballad 'Farewell'. If this is a literal, but temporary, goodbye from the Bajan sex nuke then it can only be labeled "well earned". Reaching album number 6 in as many years is an impressive feat, yet it's one which concerned many as the world seemed to go under a Rihanna tidal wave. Thankfully, Talk That Talk doesn't disappoint after its predecessor Loud racked up 7million+ sales world wide, stole heaps of critical acclaim and produced a sold out world tour. This is a feisty r'n'b romp, with lots of cheek and charm and some really satisfying cuts.

Opener 'You Da One' is a West Indian flavoured, mid-tempo number in a similar vein to 'What's My Name?'. It's not quite as brilliant and hypnotic, but it leaves a warm sensation that is certain to prove vital this winter. Teaming up with Calvin Harris on epic floor filler 'We Found Love' proved to be a damn good decision as both are bound to see their bank balances notch up a few more zeros in the coming months. Lending a hand to Cirkuit and Dr. Luke, the Scottish DJ helps birth the wonderful, exhilarating 'Where Have You Been?'. One of the strongest songs on the album, this is more or less the 'Only Girl (In the World)' of Talk That Talk. Not quite as enormous, but packed with a grimey edge that we've not really heard on a Rihanna song before. "Where have you been?/All my life/Where have you been all my L-i-i-i-fe?", belts Ri over dirty electronic synths and a pulsating beat, with top form vocals on show. 

Notorious B.I.G sampler, 'Talk That Talk' is a brilliant song, with Jay Z opening up the classic sounding r'n'b track and Rihanna kicking into a catchy as hell chorus, "One and two and a three and four/Come on let me know if you want some more/You know what I like/Now get right/Boy talk that talk to me all night/...love it when you talk that talk to me yeah". This is the first instance of where the rasp of Rated R shows its welcome face. 

Things get filthy with 'Cockiness (Love it)' and 'Birthday Cake'. Not the best songs of Rihanna's career, these could easily be forgotten in the midst of the larger moments on the album. The former is aggressive and its jungle drum backing is enough to justify cranking it up LOUD. The latter is a 1:18 seconds short interlude, which could have been a fun full length track but instead serves little purpose.

Thankfully, the guitar strings of 'We All Want Love' pull the flow back and we're introduced to the first ballad of the album. Like an evolved song from Good Girl, Gone Bad, this is a moreish track about being lonely. Stargate produced 'Drunk On Love' is a darker sounding ballad and equals 'Where Have You Been' as a potential chart smasher. "Take me away/I wear my heart on my sleeve/Always let love take the lead/I may be a little naive...", Ri exclaims with sumptuous vocals over the haunting, massive beats of the XX's 'Intro'. The ballads of Talk That Talk are the most impressive of Rihanna's career, showing vocal continuity or growth from the pop perfection of 'Russian Roulette', 'California King Bed' and 'Complicated'. 

'Roc Me Out' is the lovechild of 'Rude Boy' and 'Hard'. A future single for sure, this is one of the catchiest songs of Rihanna's career. Caribbean flavoured 'Watch n' Learn' is much easier to digest than 'Cockiness (Love it)'. It's cute and has a 'Man Down' feel to it, but it's much less meaningful. "So farewell/Somebody's gonna miss you/Farewell/Somebody's gonna wish you were here/That somebody's me', Ri explodes in a crescendo of huge vocals on finale 'Farewell'. It's the most impressive sounding ballad on the album (not as interesting as 'Drunk On Love'), because it's the best Rihanna sounds on Talk That Talk. It soon identifies itself as an epic ending just like Rated R's 'The Last Song' and Loud's 'Love The Way You Lie (Part II)'.

So, the biggest question on everyone's lips, "is it better than loud?". This is nigh on impossible to answer. Talk That Talk is what you get when you mix together the best elements of its two predecessors. Rated R gave us a darker, more risque Rihanna and Loud gave us a more mature sounding young woman. Both albums produced some of the best pop singles over the last two years and, regardless of what any pop-snubber says, contained some of the best production in years (Stargate on 'Only Girl' and Sak Pase on 'Man Down'). What Talk That Talk does is illustrate how much Rihanna has grown as a singer. I didn't say song-writer, I said singer. She's manufactured, but she's the most authentic manufactured pop act of our generation. Who can argue when we've got three successively strong albums as evidence? Her vocals have remained strong since their rapid growth on Loud and with songs like 'Drunk On Love' and 'Farewell' no one can deny that this girl can sing. Working like a crazy bitch for the last 3 years, Rihanna has earned the right to Talk That Talk.

4.5/5