Not only is Unapologetic just as varied as Rihanna's past albums - it's another timely refresh of contemporary pop music - but it's a little more exploratory and a whole lot deeper, too. Even with that change of pace, the possibility of it signaling an overall change in direction was slight. She didn't go with a dramatic ballad like "Russian Roulette" or a big dance number like "Only Girl (In the World)" and "We Found Love." Instead, the nod went to a midtempo pop ballad, "Diamonds" - as in "We're like diamonds in the sky" (rather than stars in a mine), a simple and effective, light in meaning yet massive in sonics, quasi-processional. The singer took a different route with the lead single. Album DescriptionIn 2012, right on schedule, Rihanna delivered her fourth annual November album. See More Your browser does not support the audio element. ℗ 2010 Def Jam Recordings, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Brad Shea, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff "Supa Jeff" Villanueva, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robert Campbell, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Dane Liska, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Inaam Haq, Asst.
Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Runners, Producer - Jermaine Jackson, ComposerLyricist - Marcos Tovar, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ben O'Neil, Asst. Makeba Riddick, Producer - Scott Spock, ComposerLyricist - Graham Edwards, ComposerLyricist - Lauren Christy, ComposerLyricist - Andrew Harr, ComposerLyricist - Laura Pergolizzi, ComposerLyricist - Stacy Barthe, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Robyn Fenty, ComposerLyricist - Rihanna, MainArtist - Corey Gibson, ComposerLyricist - LP, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Avril Lavigne, ComposerLyricist - Antonio Resendiz, Asst. There’s just enough quality content to maintain her visibility. One song that sounds nothing like anything else in Rihanna’s past is “Skin,” a contender for anti-gravity slow jam of 2010 - a match for Trey Songz's “Red Lipstick” and Usher’s “Mars vs Venus.” The low points - the cluttered “Complicated,” the unfinished-sounding Nicki Minaj collaboration “Raining Men,” the overwrought rock weeper “California King Bed” - weigh the album down, making it resemble a fourth-quarter stopgap as Rihanna prepares her next truly eventful release. Though neither one can touch “Rude Boy,” they do efficiently balance Rihanna’s playful and sinister sides. The predatory StarGate/Sandy Vee-produced dance-pop (“S&M,” “Only Girl ”) is what works best here. It’s more an unfocused assortment of poor-to-solid songs than a unified set. Even without considering the weight of what it follows, there’s no getting past the notion that Loud is as uneven as Rihanna’s first two albums. This album, released less than a year after the latter, also has the misfortune of arriving with no fanfare a dramatic intro proclaiming “The wait is ova,” à la Rated R's opening track, would be silly. Loud would not sound quite so slapdash if it did not follow Good Girl Gone Bad, one of the best pop albums of its decade, and Rated R, one of the most fascinating pop albums of the same time frame.