Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Rihanna, Barwise, B
Selfish Girl - Rihanna, Rogers, E.
P.S. (I'm Still Not Over You) - Rihanna, Rogers, E.
A Girl Like Me - Rihanna, Fenty, R.
A Million Miles Away [*] - Rihanna, Rogers, E.
If It's Lovin' That You Want, Pt. 2 [*] - Rihanna, Barnes, Samuel
With A Girl Like Me, the Barbadian teen-queen Rihanna is looking to transfer all claims of royalty to the summertime pop charts. If anybody's going to rule them, she pretty much proclaims by way of "SOS," a song no less ir... more »resistible, intoxicating, and all-out cool than 2005's "Pon de Replay," off her debut, she's it. That's not to say this new disc is anything like its predecessor overall. Where Music of the Sun was mostly what its title suggests--a romp through an anglo-friendly island with no sunscreen required--A Girl Like Me is more reflective and a little rueful; you get the sense it was crafted in part to show her range, with executive producer Jay-Z guiding her through it gracefully. "Unfaithful" is a noir-ish testing of the R&B waters, and it goes so well that Rihanna wastes no time skinny-dipping her way into the deep end--"Final Goodbye," "P.S. (I'm Still Not Over You)," and "A Million Miles Away" all betray juicy bits of Beyonce. Back in barefoot bikini-girl land, though--a territory that covers roughly half this disc--the party's still going strong. Rihanna gives dancehall legend Sean Paul a run for his money with the bouncing "Break It Off," and "We Ride" makes you want to roll down the windows and stick your head out the passenger side. Crank it up and keep the sunglasses handy. --Tammy La Gorce« less
With A Girl Like Me, the Barbadian teen-queen Rihanna is looking to transfer all claims of royalty to the summertime pop charts. If anybody's going to rule them, she pretty much proclaims by way of "SOS," a song no less irresistible, intoxicating, and all-out cool than 2005's "Pon de Replay," off her debut, she's it. That's not to say this new disc is anything like its predecessor overall. Where Music of the Sun was mostly what its title suggests--a romp through an anglo-friendly island with no sunscreen required--A Girl Like Me is more reflective and a little rueful; you get the sense it was crafted in part to show her range, with executive producer Jay-Z guiding her through it gracefully. "Unfaithful" is a noir-ish testing of the R&B waters, and it goes so well that Rihanna wastes no time skinny-dipping her way into the deep end--"Final Goodbye," "P.S. (I'm Still Not Over You)," and "A Million Miles Away" all betray juicy bits of Beyonce. Back in barefoot bikini-girl land, though--a territory that covers roughly half this disc--the party's still going strong. Rihanna gives dancehall legend Sean Paul a run for his money with the bouncing "Break It Off," and "We Ride" makes you want to roll down the windows and stick your head out the passenger side. Crank it up and keep the sunglasses handy. --Tammy La Gorce
Akasha A. (GirlieGirl) from GLEN ALLAN, MS Reviewed on 3/7/2007...
This is a banging cd a good soundtrack for your summer
1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
CD Reviews
S.O.S. - More dancehall please
Amanda Richards | Georgetown, Guyana | 04/25/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As can be seen from the album jackets, there are a couple of things that Rihanna has improved since her debut album "Music of the Sun". One of these things is that she has expanded her range from reggae/dancehall and lovers' rock to include pop and R&B.
Hit single "S.O.S." is an extremely catchy track, deservedly getting lots of radio play, and the best track to set the tone for the rest of the album. Second single "Unfaithful" is the opposite - a slow pop ballad with a lot of piano in the background, similar to another track, "A Million Miles Away". "We Ride" is another slow song, but more on the R&B side, as is the sad "Final Goodbye", "P.S. (I'm still Not Over You)" and "A Girl Like Me", with its Spanish guitar backing.
Reggae tracks include "Kisses Don't Lie" (a lover's rock beat); "Dem Haters" (again a slow beat); "Break It Off" (an energetic dancehall track with red hot Sean Paul - great track); "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (slow jam, not the Queen song); "Selfish Girl" (another slow one); and a remix of "If It's Lovin' That You Want" from the first album.
A reasonably good follow up to "Music of the Sun", but too heavy on the ballads which I don't think are her strongest area. A few more of her trademark Dancehall tracks would have made this a much better album.
Amanda Richards, April 25, 2006
"
Ahhhhh A Breath Of Fresh Air! Veryyyy Nice Album! Cute!
Deandre | Texas | 03/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rihanna's Sophomore CD, A Girl Like Me, proves her as more of a talented Artist than we thought she was with her first CD, Music of the Sun. On this new set Rihanna showcases more mellow vocals, reminiscent of her Idol Beyonce Knowles, but miles away from her vocally, but still very impressive, Overal this album gets a 9/10 from me, so heres a review of all the songs.
1. SOS (10/10)- First single from the abum, nice pop beat and flavor to it. This song is doing very god on the charts, one of the outstanding songs on the album.
2. Kisses Don't Lie (7/10)- This song has great vocals, but the Rock type feel just doesnt grab my attention, like the other ones, so this is not a favorite of mine.
3. Unfaithful (8.5/10)- Her 2nd single written by Ne-Yo, has a nice pop ballad feel to it. Not Outstanding, but it does have great lyrics and delivers a good vocal performance, not my favorite on the album though.
4. We Ride (10/10)- THIS IS IT!!!!!1 ONE OF THE BEST SONGS ON THE ALBUM...COMPLETELY OUTSTANDING!!!!!! IT SOUNDS LIKE A BRIAN MICHAEL COX PRODUCTION, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN HER NEXT SINGLE, IT HAS A STRAIGHT RADIO FRIENDLY R&B/POP MIXTURE. DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
5. Dem Haters (9/10)- I like this song alot! it has a great reggae beat to it, and she delivers good lyrics in it about her haters and people who said she wasnt gon make it.
6. Final Goodbye (8/10)- Nice mellow ballad...very deep lyrics, didnt grab my attention at first, but as I begin to listen, it grew on me.
7. Break It Off (9/10)- Nice reggae club song, could be a great dance track for those who like to reggae dance.....Rihanna's vocals on here are sooooooo good also. I love this girls voice for some reason
8. Crazy Thing Called Love (6/10)- I dont really like this song. Its nice to listen to cause of the vocals, but it seem like it has the same beat as "Dem Haters", but slowed down a little bit.
9. Selfish Girl (5/10)- I like Reggae and all, but this has another one of those same beats like "Dem Haters" and "Crazy thing called Love", she could have switched up the beats..this has to be my least favorite song..never the less still good vocals though, the reggae beat im just not feeling.
10. P.S. (Im still not over you) (100/10)- THIS IS THE BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM!!!!!! MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL! GREAT LYRICS! VERY CATCHY! THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A SINGLE! IT IS GREAT PURE R&B! I LOVEEEEEEEE THIS SONG! VERY EMOTIONAL IF U LISTEN CLOSELY TO THE LYRICS.
11. A Girl Like Me (9/10)- This is a cool nice laid back song, i can listen to this alot. nothin much to say about it, cause of the title, and im a guy, but never the less a cool mellow r&B song with great lyrics.
12. Million Miles Away (6/10)- Another one of my least favorites from the album, it sounds too much like "Now I Know" from her last album, and thats what makes it not catch my attention, seems like it outta be a remix to that song or somethin.
Overall This CD Gets a:
95- For Vocals
80- For Beats
90- For Production and Arrangement
This CD Provides Alot of Different Genre Flavor, Its a mixture between Pop/Rock/R&B, with mostly R&B, ill say give it a try....you wont be dissapointed at ALL!
"
Pretty Good Album...
Enlightened | Atlanta Georgia | 06/20/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Rihanna is back with her second album in less than a year which is pretty much unheard of in today's industry. Her first album Music of The Sun displayed a lot of potential with songs such as Pon de Replay, You Don't Love Me, The Last Time, and Willing To Wait. Contrary to popular belief, Rihanna really shined on the ballads and midtempos rather than the uptempo tracks. Recognizing this fact, the second album leans heavily on the ballads and midtempos and it really works. Some people don't like Rihanna's voice and compare her to Beyonce ( 0which it seems like everyone that comes out female is somehow a Beyonce clone in some way shape or form)...I don't believe any of that; she doesn't sound like Beyonce and she doesn't make songs like Beyonce. People need to get over it.
Back to the album, A Girl Like Me is a good listen and manages to give a good mix of slow jams (Unfaithful, PS Im Still Not Over You, Million Miles Away, Title song), dance tunes (Break It Off, SOS, If it's Lovin), and grooves (We Ride, Dem Haters, Crazy Thing). I really like the songwriting on this album too especially Unfaithful. The album is just the right length at 13 tracks and enough gems throughout to keep you interested. I would say that this album is a bit of a mood album meaning I can't just sit and listen to it but it's still a good effort especially coming from Rihanna. This album is a step up from her debut album and if she keeps progressing she'll soon be a real force to reckon with. 3.5 stars."
A solid album from Rihanna
Brian Holmes | Illinois | 05/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is incredibly solid, and it deserves alot more attention than her debut. Songs like "Break It Off" f/ Sean Paul and "SOS" have you dancing, while ballads like "Final Goodbye" and "A Million Miles Away" have you thinking. The production on this album is done very well, and I wish Rihanna success.