Ne-Yo - Libra Scale

Ne-Yo is easily one of my favourite artists, over the years he has produced a number of fine albums as well as writing some of the biggest hits of the noughties so when he released his 4th studio album I was certainly excited, everything this guy touches is golden.

He's back with Libra Scale which attempts to tell a story by linking together each of the 10 songs that were recorded, a bold move in many people's eyes but by no means a stupid one in my view. Any great album will follow a set path, playing different songs with a similar mood, one after the other before moving on the next theme, something seen in his last album in fact, Year of the Gentleman was definitely varied but each song flowed perfectly on to the next one and that's very much the case with Libra Scale as well. However attempting to tell the story of "The Gentlemen," a group of binmen turned super heroes and Ne-Yo's complicated relationship with a women that eventually becomes his nemesis helps the overall sturucture.

We start with the upbeat hits, "Champagne Life" and "Makin' a Movie" all about living the good life thanks to the Gentlemen's new found powers. Both songs are the kind of tunes that will get you bopping your head when listening through headphones regardless of whether you may be in public or not. The tempo then slows with "Know your Name," "Telekinesis" and "Crazy Love," all songs about the budding relationship between Ne-Yo and this girl, they're songs that paint a picture of an instant connection.

The story moves on with "One in a Million" and "Genuine Only", lifting the tempo a little bit to give the impression a happy relationship between the pair. The 2 songs are perhaps my favourites on the album, for me they stand out the most, being some of the more original sounding songs on the album. I use the word original as the next two songs "Cause I said So" and "Beautiful Monster" sound a lot less fresh, I recall describing Beautiful Monster as a poor man's "Closer" back when the single was released, by no means a bad song just a little too similar and not as strong. None the less they're both songs that'll get you dancing with the excellent beats and lyrics. These two songs tell the story of how Ne-Yo begins to see the girl for what she really is and how hard it is to come to terms with this new attitude. Finally the album comes to a bit of an anti climax with "What Have I Done?" A song that slows the tempo right back down once again but with no real substance, the lyrics tie up the story well but it's the type of song you may still find yourself skipping when it comes uo on shuffle.

On comparison to previous albums Libra Scale is certainly worthy of the Ne-Yo brand but as a follow up to Year of the Gentleman it's slightly dissapointed, a statement that may be a little unfair as his 3rd album was of an incredibly high quality with more variation and memorable songs. Libra Scale is certainly worth a purchase as it is an enjoyable album that tells a story well but it never manages to reach the heights of his previous efforts, but still compared to many other R&B singers best efforts it's a cut above.