“Wait! No.. don’t go!” – Robin Thicke
No seriously, I promise this is, 1) not a review of possibly the worst selling mass produced release in decades, or 2) a play on how this is somehow related to the music industry in general. It’s MUCH more than that.
Robin Thicke has had a rough year. And we’re not about to doggy-pile on the guy who is clearly heartbroken and possibly released some of the worst songs since the Jan Terri’s debut, Losing You. There’s actually a silver-lining here. Paula Patton leaving her man has produced not only an affront to anybody who has operational ear-drums, but some of the most classic critiques I have ever read!
Let’s take a look shall we?
“It is genuinely embarrassing at times, compounded by the intrusive sense that the songs were really written for an audience of one (who, like the rest of the world, has reportedly shown no interest in listening to it).” – The Telegraph (UK)
“Robin Thicke texts his estranged wife, Paula Patton, in the music video for the pointedly titled “Get Her Back,” the lead single from said album, Paula. “I don’t care,” she replies. And it’s likely no one else will either.” – Slant Magazine
“While still frequently predictable lyrically, Thicke also occasionally takes a couple of steps away from his formula. But even cursory knowledge of their split makes this public and emotionally messy and revealing ploy for reconciliation teeter on, and sometimes fall over, the borderline into creepy territory” – Boston Globe
“It’s an odd, disjointed album that, despite scattered high points, leaves one wondering what Thicke was thinking when he put it together. Paula Patton deserves better, and so do listeners.” – DJ Booth
“The album wobbles between Timberlake-style sexy-time R&B, Bublé-light standards and flat attempts at sincere John Legend-type balladry.” – NOW Magazine
“Thicke’s considerable vocal skills can’t wipe away the sneaking feeling that he’s always doing an impersonation of someone else. Listening, you never feel you can entirely trust the guy, which may be the album’s most revealing aspect of all.” – New York Daily News
“His soft falsetto is sumptuous, but too many tracks veer into uncomfortable parody.” – Rolling Stone
“The record is a failure, a virtual what-not-to-do guide for both songwriters and spurned lovers.” – LA Times