Ready

Performer: Trey Songz
Artist: Drake; Soulja Boy Tell'em; Gucci Mane
Engineer: Mikkel S. Eriksen; Tor Erik Hermansen; Miles Walker; Scott Naughton; Noah Shebib; Sam Thomas; Troy Taylor
Producer: Christopher Henderson; Bryan Michael Cox; Eric Hudson; Patrick Hayes; L.O.S. Da Maestro; Chris Hines; John McGee; Noah Shebib; Don Corell; Troy Taylor; Sean Garrett; Bei Maejor
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Trey Songz (vocals, background vocals); Craig Love, Dwayne Cotton (guitar); Christopher "Deep" Henderson (keyboards, drum programming, background vocals); Jack Manning (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Dave Pensado; Noah Shebib; Jaycen Fowler; Jean-Marie Horvat; Phil Tan. Liner Note Authors: Paul Gregory Senior; Paul Gregory. Recording information: 11th Street Studios, Atlanta, GA; D2 Music Studios, Atlanta, GA; Doppler Studios, Atlanta, GA; Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Patchwerk Studios, Atlanta, GA; PMCK Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Roc The Mic Studios, New York, NY; The Black Room, Atlanta, GA. Photographers: Ben Watts; Ben Watts. Arranger: L.O.S. DaMaestro. Nobody could accuse R&B torch singer Trey Songz of ADD. From the intro of his third record, READY, Trey is focused on seduction, sometimes sensual to the level of sex-crazed, sometimes vulnerable, but always swaggering. Songs like "I Invented Sex" and "Neighbors Know My Name" are as straightforward and brash as their titles, but he also proves he is not too proud to beg as on "Does He Do It" (although even that narrows to a list of his many charms). Luckily, his silken voice backs it up, as he (mostly) eschews the auto-tune fad and wraps his early-`90s new jack style around the slick, soulful sounds. Three albums in and Trey Songz still sounds like he was raised in a bizzaro land where all music was based on the teachings of R. Kelly. From his cool delivery to his unashamed lyrics -- first line on the album: "This one here's a panty dropper" -- he's a time-warp version of Kelly, one just entering his mid-twenties with a more excusable, though just as excessive, horniness. To call it anything less, like "lust", wouldn't be fair to the lines about pillow-biting on "Neighbors Know My Name" -- because "she's a screamer" -- or all the other moments that get a bit too graphic for an album that doesn't carry a Parental Advisory sticker (especially dangerous since Songz still has teen appeal at his age). An odd mashing of his mentor's styles result in amusing numbers like "Jupiter Love" which packages its "do you right" message in an arrangement that's "I Believe I Can Fly" big, as if Disney commissioned a softcore porno soundtrack. Even at a whopping 17 like-minded tracks, all-night lovers wouldn't be caught dead complaining about how overly long it all is, and if you can't get down with an album featuring the key track "I Invented Sex," then you just don't understand the difference between ridiculous and delicious. Trey Songz might, or he might not, it's hard to tell, but either way, this is as entertaining and frivolous as a one-night stand should be. If those played-out R. Kelly albums aren't doing the trick anymore, Ready is just what it says it is. ~ David Jeffries

Rolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The 'Purple Rain'-like power ballad 'Yo Side of the Bed' shows that Songz can be awfully good when he plays it straight."

Although R&B star Trey Songz has had his fair share of requisite guest spots on various hardcore rap songs, he is cut from a more traditional cloth, which harks back to the classic days of R&B and soul, than many of his contemporaries. He signed to the venerable Atlantic Records and was heralded by its legendary founder, Ahmet Ertegun, as the next legend in the label's long line of soul and R&B performers. He released his debut, I GOTTA MAKE IT, in 2005 and quickly accomplished the goal of the album's title.

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