Review by Sandy Wei
When I first sat through Ne-Yo’s fourth album Libra Scale I let it play in the background while I was busy doing some work and when it finished playing I questioned if it was one long ass song. Released on November 22, 2010 in the States, Libra Scale is what you should expect if you are expecting more of the same ol’ Ne-Yo.
With that being said, the album is overall quite safe for Ne-Yo. “You want to know the one thing that really inspired this whole idea? Boredom,” says Ne-Yo. Oh, that explains my feeling exactly. But, then again, maybe being safe works for an R&B artist such as Ne-Yo. Apparently, Ne-Yo wrote and recorded 60 songs in the span of four months with 12 of the songs making it onto the album. What is also impressive is that Ne-Yo throws in some Michael Jackson feel and does so tastefully, especially in “Cause I Said So”. You can definitely hear the influence and sometimes Ne-Yo sounds a tad like MJ himself? Anyway, pretty productive work for being bored if you ask me. Ask me!
Ne-Yo teamed up with StarGate again to produce the lead single, “Beautiful Monster”. Of course this is my favorite track on Libra Scale and it’s no surprise as StarGate has also created some of Ne-Yo’s other classics such as “So Sick” and “Miss Independent”. “Champagne Life” and “One in a Million” follow up as the second and third single. They are aight.
Conversely, what’s not aight is the album cover. Take a good look at it. Album covers are important to criticize because they offer visuals and themes. This one offers giggles and then feelings of embarrassment on behalf of Ne-Yo. The album cover does his songs no justice and is so incomprehensible that it makes his songs at least three times better. Or maybe this was the strategy all along! Ooo, Ne-Yo is a wise-ass.
Rating: 7/10
Label: Def Jam
Favorites: Beautiful Monster, Cause I Said So, Know Your Name, Telekinesis
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