Sisqo -
Unleash The Dragon Release Date: 30 November 1999 Label: Def Soul Reviewer: Ed Reviewer's Picks: "You Are Everything (remix) (performed by Dru Hill featuring Ja Rule)", "Enchantment Passing Through (performed by Dru Hill)", "Thong Song" Rating: 2.5/5 |
01. Unleash The
Dragon 02. Got To Get It 03. Is Love Enough 04. 2Nite 05. How Can I Love U 2Nite? 06. Your Love Is Incredible 07. So Sexual 08. Thong Song 09. Incomplete 10. Addicted 11. Dru World Order (dedicated to Dru Hill) 12. Enchantment Passing Through (performed by Dru Hill) 13. You Are Everything (remix) (performed by Dru Hill featuring Ja Rule) |
If there's one thing we can be sure of after listening to Sisqo's solo debut, it's that he's still retained the same song content as the Dru Hill albums and most male R&B... gettin' down and makin' love.
The album's intro and title track, "Unleash The Dragon", tries to set the album up as a "tough guy" album, with an unnecessary appearance by Beanie Siegel. Sisqo cries that "I know you don't really wanna / unleash the dragon", but the only thing to be afraid of is that there might be a song without a sexual reference.
The album's tracks alternate between songs of love, cheating, and sex, all backed with smooth traditional slow beats and female orgasm sounds. There's one or two party songs, the most obvious one the album's first single, "Thong Song", but the whole album makes ya wanna freak the night away, and wake up with someone else for breakfast. However, this may be the album's Achilles heel (or blessing, depending on what kind of listener you are).
My main complaints with the album reside in the fact that its very short (goes by way too fast), and the main problem is that, quite simply there isn't much new or interesting in it. Now admittedly, I'm not that big of an R&B listener, but I've listened to the album several times, and yet I don't remember any of the songs other than the "Thong Song". Does this make Sisqo a one-hit wonder for his solo career? Hey, it's better than many other solo careers, but I was expecting more from the front-man of Dru Hill...
Finally, this isn't really a complaint, but this album also continues the bizarre trend of including tracks by other artists on the CD. After an "interlude", which is essentially an advertisement for the upcoming Dru Hill album and solo efforts, there are 2 tracks by Dru Hill. Now why the hell is there filler? Filler belongs on bootlegs, not on albums. The album is short enough, surely Sisqo could've written, or have someone else write something else for the album. At least the filler tracks ("Enchantment Passing Through" and "You Are Everything [remix feat. Ja Rule"]) are great b-sides; in fact, they're probably the best songs on the album :-Þ.