Rihanna has released her 6th studio album and it is called 'Talk That Talk'. Released back in November 2011 this was an album that I received for Christmas along with a nice little stack of others and I must see I was eagerly awaiting it as I love quite a few of Rihanna's songs and have become quite a fan of her music in the past few years. This album is a plethora of different track styles which is not unusual for Rihanna as she plays on a number of different musical influences when creating her next album. Rihanna looks a little intimidating in this album cover and it is interesting to see another variety of pose from Rihanna on one of her albums. The running time of this album comes in at just over 36 minutes which makes it another short and sweet album which unfortunately has become the norm in the past few years as artists strive to release albums yearly, or even more frequently than that, to maximise the sales and appeal to their fan base.

Track listing

1. You Da One
2. Where Have You Been
3. We Found Love
4. Talk That Talk
5. Cockiness (Love It)
6. Birthday Cake
7. We All Want Love
8. Drunk On Love
9. Roc Me Out
10. Watch n' Learn
11. Farewell

You Da One

This is your typical, slightly reggae inspired, song from Rihanna. It has a fairly catchy chorus and the lyrics allow for a slightly raunchy attention grabbing video. Rihanna is singing about being in love 'you da one that I dream of' etc etc. The song feels a little bit samey and repetitive. Rihanna does not showcase her vocals to the best of her ability and this feels like it could have appeared on any of her albums really as it just makes me think of something that I have already heard before. The song does have a catchy chart hit kind of appeal to it and this song is sure to continue to be a chart hit as it has already. This is quite a pop style track with some reggae hints to it.

Where Have You Been

You Da One ends and this song begins literally instantly. This feels like a slightly difference pace of song. There is a funky beat building up and Rihanna is back on form more with this song. The chorus is quite catchy and the song feels like it is building up throughout, there is a good beat throughout that leads me to think that this could be a real club favourite in the Summer! There is some fantastic funkiness in this song, particularly just after the chorus, and there is a clapping style beat that really draws me in and I liked this song from the first time I listened to it.

We Found Love

This song is the real smash hit of this album - by far! It is so simple to hear why this has been a worldwide smash hit from the first few opening bars. The beat kicks in and Rihanna is singing high, enthusiastically and the song, and lyrics, are incredibly catchy. This is one of the best songs I have heard from Rihanna in a couple of years now and even after months of hearing it in clubs, pubs, bars and on music channels & the radio I have not tired of it at all and still enjoy listening to it as much today as I did at the beginning!

Talk That Talk

The song starts up quite quickly and Rihanna sounds a little edgy in this song. Jay Z is a fantastic addition and with some slightly filthy lyrics this song is sure to be a hit! This goes in a different direction from the other songs on the album but it is catchy, funky, fun, fresh and yet feels like it could have been something Rihanna recorded on a few years ago as it returns back to some of the best kind of sounds she ever produced really.

Cockiness (I love It)

This song is distinctly average and it almost pains me to say it! The lyrics are a little weird in some places and frankly bizarre in others. The song feels like it stops and starts in places and there skips in to a different genre altogether. I feel like the song has been thrown together and it really shows for me. This is my least favourite song on the album. The lyrics are quite juvenile and some of them make absolutely no sense at all, not even as euphemisms!

Birthday Cake

This song is another one that just does not bode well with me. The song is ridiculously short at just 1 minute 18 seconds and it feels like it has not even been completed. The lyrics are basically just about the word 'birthday' one million times and this is another song on this album that I skip through when listening to it.

We All Want Love

This song sounds amazing from the start, possibly more so because of the two distinctly average songs that it follows up from! Rihanna sings some wonderful lyrics and it sounds like she is singing them from the heart. She is singing lyrics about being lonely, wanting love, being alone and generally how that makes her feel and what it is like. It is a slightly faster paced take on a love ballad and it works very well, it shows something else to Rihanna and is the kind of song that teenage girls around the world could easily sing along to and feel that they can relate to while perhaps not really understanding what love is all about at all!

Drunk On Love

This song continues on the feel of We All Want Love and it features a sample from The XX's 'Intro' which is absolutely fantastic! This works so well with this song in my opinion and brings a real smooth almost romantic edge to the wonderful instrumental piece. This song works so well and is one of my favourites on the whole album.

Roc Me Out

This is a fairly funky song from the start and Rihanna's voice matches this song very well and it sounds like it truly was made just with her in mind. There is an edge vibe to this song it is along the lines of the song 'Rude Boy' that she had a year or two ago. The lyrics are great, funky, fresh and enjoyable to sing along to. This is a fantastic song really and another one of my favourites on this album.

Watch n' Learn

This is your average 'dirty' sounding kind of song but it feels a little like it is trying too hard to be what it already is and it just ends up being something of a disappointment. The lyrics go over the top really and this just brings a cringeworthy edge to this song and makes me want to turn it off to be totally honest. This is just another average song that is trying just that little bit too hard to be edgy and raunchy.

Farewell

This is the end of the album and fortunately the last song takes a sharp turn from the likes of 'Watch n'Learn' 'Birthday Cake' and 'Cockiness (I Love It)' and moves on to a quite pretty finish. This is a wonderful ballad style song, with a little edginess to it still, and Rihanna sounds wonderful on this track. This song completes the album wonderfully and helps to make up for some of the poor songs that I have heard while listening to this album.

Well frankly I am disappointed with this album. It was nowhere near as good as the hype lead me to believe and it is the first album in a long time that I actually regret having in my collection. I feel like if I could have returned this after the first listen I definitely would have done. There are some real poor songs on this album and while there are some that are quite pleasant to listen to I personally felt like the album was trying a little too hard to be edgy, raunchy and racy and it just failed on all three counts.

This album felt rushed to me and there are several songs that I actively get out of my chair to skip and for someone who is known for producing high quality pop/rock/rnb/reggae/dancehall tunes like Rihanna I feel disappointed and like my husband has wasted his money in buying this for me.