If you’re looking for bombastic sanctimony, look no further! It’s an r’n’b thing and while Usher is unlikely to outdo ‘80s precursors like Lionel Ritchie or Dennis Edwards, Confessions is indeed a sanctimonious record.
The title is sincere and auto-biographical, and suggests that Usher has had a long career of soul searching and broken promises, of dizzy heights and regrets. The moody shots on the inlay card further cement this image. Really though, it’s too hard to imagine perky little Usher having regrets which go beyond forgetting to take his rollers out going to bed.
Musically, Usher has always been a nearly man, lacking the personality to really paint his mark on any of the canvases his producers have given him. Confessions refutes this claim at the beginning, with the rave-crunk of the single ‘Yeah’ featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. All sirens and shouting, this is one hell of an entrance. Sadly what follows is far less impressive.
The rest of Confessions is extremely polite R&B. Usher has a fantastic voice but the production is extremely safe. Just like in real life, only the fleeting sexual perversions liven things up, like on ‘Do It To Me’ where Usher squeaks out the immortal line “let it flow, the squeezing, holding, biting, scratching, spanking, screaming, pulling my hair”. Too much information? Perhaps, but since sexual weirdness seems to be the only way for Usher to show some character maybe he should explore it more.
Confessions might be described, not unkindly, as a sorry record. Buy the ‘Yeah’ single.