Album Review: R.E.D. by Ne-Yo

On "Cracks in Mr. Perfect," the confessional opener on his fifth LP, Ne-Yo is the sort of beautiful smoothie who fucks you without a condom, then shrugs sheepishly and says, "It's our imperfections that truly make us perfect." Bullshit notwithstanding, his silky phrasing gilds an impressively broad mix: steamy R&B ("Lazy Love"), bighearted dance pop ("Let Me Love You [Until You Learn to Love Yourself]") and hip-hop soul ("Don't Make 'Em Like You," with a sick slow-mo groove and a charming Wiz Khalifa rap), even a country crossover ballad ("She Is"). Still, as peers like Frank Ocean and Miguel boldly reimagine commercial R&B, this often feels less like vision than parsing market research.

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The sleek R&B crooner took a trip to Concept Album Island with 2010’s ambitious Libra Scale, and while that was a nice diversion, it’s good to have him home. His easy charms work even (or especially) when he’s singing about his own shortcomings; the rawer lyrics showcase a man who’s maturing without making a fuss about it. Musically, R.E.D. leans mostly on easy soul-pop grooves, but ”She Is,” a country-tinged collab with Tim McGraw, serves him well.

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After the middling performance of his 2010 concept album, Libra Scale, R.E.D. (Realizing Every Dream) reverts to what Ne-Yo does best: lush soul that eloquently bares his feelings about love, loss and the downside of fame. All three are addressed on the opener, Cracks in Mr Perfect, which twangs with self-disgust: "After this song you're gonna love me for my honesty or you're gonna hate me … 20k on champagne in the club, then 20k more just because, that's 40k in just three hours." He's not boasting, he's recoiling at his lack of self-control.

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Libra Scale was the first Ne-Yo release that failed to go platinum. The quasi-concept album didn't come close to making it halfway there. The singer and songwriter, however, wasn't on the brink of recording covers for Shanachie. The album's "Champagne Life" was long lasting on commercial radio, and featured spots on Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" (number one Hot 100), Young Jeezy's "Leave You Alone" (number three Hot R&B/Hip-Hop), and Calvin Harris' "Let's Go" (number 17, Hot 100) propped him up through the release of this, his first album for Motown -- the label employing him as Senior Vice President of A&R.

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The sweet singing soulman’s fifth disc updates his sound as he adds more dance-oriented pop to augment his superbly arranged and executed love songs. Ne-Yo has specialized in telling three-minute stories that cut deeper than most disposable contemporary R&B, and it continues here. “R.E.D” (Realizing Every Dream) is smart, sophisticated, and built around songs.

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AEROSMITH “Music From Another Dimension!” (Columbia) In a cowbell-thwacking song called “Out Go the Lights,” Steven Tyler, Aerosmith’s lead singer, spits out a phrase — “Déjà booty” — that could easily describe Aerosmith’s new album, “Music From Another Dimension!” It’s the first album of Aerosmith’s own songs since 2001, and with it the band aggressively reclaims every last one of its trademarks through the decades. Jack Douglas, who produced Aerosmith in the 1970s, returned as co-producer alongside Aerosmith’s longtime songwriting team, Mr. Tyler and the guitarist Joe Perry.

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