Wow! I bought this CD on a whim after reading a review by Mike Ragogna on the Huffington Post. He said this was the album Rihanna needed to make, not an album the record label would have necessarily chosen for her to make. It almost sounds like it could have been recorded in 1980's Eastern Europe with so many heavy techno beats and crunchy synths and simmering industrial arrangements. Apparently Rihanna's Caribbean accent is more present on this album than her previous work. I'd never been drawn to Rihanna's earlier work so I can't qualify that assertion, but I think her accent works for her and I hope she continues to brandish it in her future work. If you are a fan of blended musical genres and artist experimentation and still enjoy popular music, this CD is a goldmine. Not a single dud track and it flows nicely. It may take a while for people to realize it, but this is going to end up being a landmark CD for Rihanna. It's an amazing piece of work by a young person so early in their career. I can't wait to see where she goes next in her sound. This is a young woman firmly in control of her music and her life.

With all the negative reviews prior to release, I was expecting to be seriously disappointed. Yes, the album is dark, and rightfully so. As most artists do, Rihanna pulled her life/experiences into this album, as clearly referenced in, among other songs, "Cold Case Love." During my first listen through, I caught myself rocking out to several tracks like "Hard," "Rockstar 101," and "Rude Boy." Rihanna still keeps it sexy and even ventures on the edge of 'curiosity' with the rejection filled track "Te Amo". If your a Rihanna fan, you'll probally still love a few to several tracks on this one. Buy the whole album and find out which ones you love! I definetly recommend getting the EXPLICIT version, otherwise you'll probably be left with a ton of dubbing. Plus, you won't really be getting the true and full vision Rihanna created with this album.

This is an album that grows on you. Upon first listening to it, I definitely felt somewhat let down by 'Rated R'. The music is not as catchy; nothing leaps out as a Billboard hit like her signature songs "S.O.S" or "Umbrella". In fact, Rihanna ditches the pop/dance track and takes on a hip-hop/rock vibe instead. 'Rated R' is a page turner in Rihanna's career; just like the title, this isn't something for kids. There's cursing, there's violence and in many songs it feels as if this is Rihanna's therapy album, featuring moments of the old, sweet, and innocent pop star being hushed and silenced by a vulnerable, angry woman.

The Good: After a few listens, 'Rated R' is definitely not a bad album. I heard (like many) the preview samples and clips. Those did nothing for many of these songs. After being able to slip in this disc and listen to each song in its entirety, I can say there's a lot more depth and personality in this than in

or in

. Considering how much Rihanna has been through over the past year personally, I felt like the 'Rated R' tracks were far more realistic and authentic than her previous hits. There's a lot of variety here and defintely an experimentation with genres and music that hasn't happened before with Rihanna; "Wait Your Turn" felt like Rihanna's first foray into the hip-hop realm; there's cursing, the beat is driven more so by the beat than the singing but still has elements of a good pop song with a catchy chorus; "Hard" was Rihnna's attempt at ditching her pop star image for something more hardcore and coarse; "Fire Bomb" is a violent situation tucked away in a ballad. Not at all what you'd expect from the title. It's very pop and addictive even though it's about revenge. Interesting blend of urban/hip-hop and some hints of 80s music with synths. On many tracks, I could see where life came to influence the music but rather than something whiny and melodramatic, Rihanna dished out some really hard-hitting, unapologetic songs.

The Bad: The only real bad thing about 'Rated R' is how starkly different it is from the Rihanna we've come to know up to this point. The album is heavy; it's darker, it's expressively angrier and moodier, it has her cursing and at points being very sexually provocative. It is in many ways ab album about, "a good girl gone bad." The change in the image and style was something of a turn-off. While the new image and personality shines through on songs like "Stupid in Love" and "Rude Boy", I felt she was trying way too hard to be as far from good and pop star-like on tracks such as "Rock Star" and "Russian Roulette". There is some imbalance at play on 'Rated R' that takes it from being entertaining and and interesting revealing of her damaged psyche from being either dull or over-the-top. Certain tracks just felt uninteresting after a few listens including "G4L", "Cold Case Love" and "Te Amo".

In all, 'Rated R' is good. There are some weak points to it and a vibe that she was trying a bit too hard to be different from the Rihanna everyone knew and praised before the Chris Brown situation, but the change did her music some good and leaves her at an interesting situation as an artist. 'Rated R' will probably divide the fans; some are really going to like it because it's very different (musically) from anything Rihanna's done before and the chances taken pays off in positive and big ways on some tracks. Some are going to listen to 'Rated R' and want the pop star back who sang sweet and innocent songs like "Take a Bow" or "Unfaithful" because that Rihanna is definitely scaled back on this album. I though liked the end product. Not flawless or perfect but it's good. Give 'Rated R' a chance.

Listen to These: "Rude Boy", "Fire Bomb", "Hard"

Rihanna started out as a protégé of Jay-Z but now it looks like she's doing her own thing (Jigga isn't on this album at all; probably because he isn't on Def Jam anymore). And she does just that on Rated R, her first album to break the string of releasing one album per year.

Looking at the album title as well as a certain sticker on the cover of the album, it should be clear that Ms. Fenty is trying to come harder with this album (especially with the single "Hard"). But there are two issues with that: 1) as often is the case, there isn't quite enough profanity after all to warrant the EXPLICIT CONTENT label, and 2) I'm not sure she's 100% believable as a ghetto girl (it's kind of like when you saw Bianca Lawson playing a ghetto girl in

). Okay, maybe that's not exactly fair, but songs like "Rockstar 101" and "G4L" (Gangster 4 Life) don't really do anything for me.

There ARE some good songs on here though, like the last song, fittingly titled "The Last Song". The will.i.am-assisted "Photographs" is okay, but I wonder if that song is really supposed to refer to photographs of HER after a certain incident; speaking of that, a song that works better along those same lines is "Cold Case Love". "Te Amo" is a decent track although that's what probably started the bisexual rumors; and even though I realize "Russian Roulette" is a metaphor, I'm having a hard time understanding what it's a metaphor FOR (by the way, why did MTV have no problem showing the title to this song but they blocked out the phrase in Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"?).

There's also "Stupid in Love", which is pretty good until you get to the uninteresting chorus of: "This is stupid/I'm not stupid/Don't talk to me like I'm stupid". The sexual "Rude Boy" is dope as well except for that "I wa-wa-want what you wa-wa-want" part. And just to clarify, although I also gave her other three albums three-and-a-half stars, those were those kind of 3-1/2 star "it's okay; nothing else to it" albums whereas THIS is good with a few missteps. Rihanna has never been the most amazing singer and her new image might be a little hard to swallow for some, but Rated R is still a pretty solid album.

Anthony Rupert

First let me say, I have NEVER posted a review but felt compelled to do so. I must say that I agree to disagree most times but people who are saying this CD is lackluster couldn't be more wrong. Meesh "magentamindship", you in particular I disagree with the most. People need to understand that domestic abuse does not define Rihanna nor was it the sole basis for this CD. Most of the songs weren't even written by her. So, the fact that people believe this CD has to do with her being battered is just incomprehensible for me. This woman is from Barbados and anyone who knows any West Indian or Caribbean women already know that they have a certain fire about them. This CD certainly captures that fire in Rihanna.

Now on to my review....first let me say I am a huge fan of Rihanna's last 2 CDs. I particularly loved the gritty edge on Good Girl Gone Bad. Rihanna just turned 21 years old and I believe this was her coming out CD--where she wanted to address some hot topics and she does so in the most METAPHORICALLY TERRIFIC way! She touches on lost love, taking back her feminine power, turning down lesbian advances and a whole lot more. This CD tells stories like none other!

No dance grooves?? Says who? Almost every song on the CD has a nice groove tempo, particulary Rude Boy which is one of my favs. No ballads?? Cold Case Love, Russian Roulette, The Last Song and Stupid in Love satisfy this need for me in a major way. These songs tell a story, no not necessarily a mushy love story but HER STORY or at least what she portrays...and for me it's very believable. Cold Case Love, in my opinion, is one of the hottest tracks on the CD! Listen to the CD...I mean REALLY LISTEN and hear her words and her passion and I know you will appreciate it for the great piece of work it is.

Other great tracks: Rockstar 101, Photographs, Te Amo