Three albums in and Trey Songz still sounds like he was raised in a bizzaro land where all music was based on the teachings of R. Kelly. From his cool delivery to his unashamed lyrics -- first line on the album: "This one here's a panty dropper" -- he's a time-warp version of Kelly, one just entering his mid-twenties with a more excusable, though just as excessive, horniness. To call it anything less, like "lust", wouldn't be fair to the lines about pillow-biting on "Neighbors Know My Name" -- because "she's a screamer" -- or all the other moments that get a bit too graphic for an album that doesn't carry a Parental Advisory sticker (especially dangerous since Songz still has teen appeal at his age). An odd mashing of his mentor's styles result in amusing numbers like "Jupiter Love" which packages its "do you right" message in an arrangement that's "I Believe I Can Fly" big, as if Disney commissioned a softcore porno soundtrack. Even at a whopping 17 like-minded tracks, all-night lovers wouldn't be caught dead complaining about how overly long it all is, and if you can't get down with an album featuring the key track "I Invented Sex," then you just don't understand the difference between ridiculous and delicious. Trey Songz might, or he might not, it's hard to tell, but either way, this is as entertaining and frivolous as a one-night stand should be. If those played-out R. Kelly albums aren't doing the trick anymore, Ready is just what it says it is.
© David Jeffries /TiVo