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On this final installment of his love triptych, he once again takes the genre in bold new directions and improves on classic sounds.
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Less sprawling but just as richly detailed as Love vs Money, the 12-track set contains several of the-Dream's finest numbers yet.
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With Love King, it no longer feels as if he's splitting the difference between his pop star ambition and a large cult of admirers.
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Though The-Dream has established his own strong identity, Love King might just be the best Purple Rain follow-up Prince never made.
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Dec 10, 2010Love King doesn't win points for subtlety but, as an example of a producer at the top of his game, it's second to none.
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Generous in matters of showmanship as well as--as per Paddy Chayefsky--cocksmanship, The-Dream is pleasingly attuned to the needs of women, and Love King is the nutgraph of his mission(ary) statement.
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The-Dream, declared that this, his third album, would be his last. As a solo artist, he had nothing left to prove. Love King, however, shows that he has plenty left to give.
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As bawdy, referential, and effortless-sounding as ever, Terius The-Dream Nash takes his long-playing love affair to the next level on this third solo effort, fading snappy summer-jam contenders into seething urban-rock suites.
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Love King is, quite simply, a fantastic album, and perhaps the only mainstream R&B album worth purchasing all year.
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Nash is admirably committed to the natural, elegant flow of a capital-A Album, and throughout King, we segue seamlessly from his ennui to his libido to his sexual/financial prowess and back again.
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Sonically, Love King is the kind of record you'll want to play over and over because it's so aurally pleasing.
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On Love King the slow-thumping '80s-R&B vibe suggests Prince is still a huge influence; even darling Nikki might blush at these racy tunes.
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Ultimately, while occasionally repetitive, Love King proves that The-Dream's claim to the throne isn't unfounded, even if it's unclear whether he's left the bedroom in the last five years.
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Third albums often represent the moment where an artist's sound either gels or falls apart. With Love King, The-Dream has narrowly skirted an artistic rut by staunchly holding his ground. But he can't keep making the exact same album for much longer.
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Regardless of whether Love King proves the smash he clearly hopes it will be, Nash will, undoubtedly, continue to churn out melody after melody.
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On his third solo CD (co-produced by "Tricky'' Stewart and Los Da Mystro) the formula is beginning to become too transparent, but it doesn't prevent many songs from delivering small pop epiphanies.
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The-Dream is best in four minutes or less, describing carriages and gazes and moving on. He's made some pretty seriously entertaining songs.
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By sticking to the point (and sticking his point here, there and everywhere) Nash has produced a fine follow-up to Love vs Money.
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For his part, at least, The-Dream can be counted on to do one thing, eventually: finish.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 20 out of 21
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Mixed: 1 out of 21
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Negative: 0 out of 21
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Jun 18, 2013
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Sep 16, 2010
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Sep 14, 2010