Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman

Apart from a little more drama, a notion set with the desperate urgency of opening track "Closer," not much makes Year Of The Gentleman, Ne-yo's third album in as many years, all that different from In My Own Words or Because Of You. If there are any real shake-ups in the songwriter/singer's m.o., they are subtle, not glaring, typically evident only in the production wrinkles brought by his collaborators. Had each album been separated by a few years of inactivity, this lack of change might be an issue, but since breaking out with Mario's "Let Me Love You" in 2004, Ne-yo has been nothing if not steady and consistent, a constant presence in the R&B chart who probably could not devise a gimmick if his career depended upon it -- unless you hold those natural and often uncanny Michael Jackson vocalisms, as present as ever throughout highlight "Nobody," against him. Read More