Music Of The Sun (2LP) | Mint (M) Mint (M)

NEW / SEALED

Tracklist
A1        Pon De Replay
Producer – Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers, Vada Nobles
A2        Here I Go Again
Featuring – J-Status
A3        If It's Lovin' That You Want
Co-producer – Spanador
Producer – Poke And Tone
B1        You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)
Co-producer – D (Supa Dups) Chin-Quee*
Featuring – Vybz Kartel
B2        That La, La, La
Co-producer – Johnny "Too" Nice
Producer – Full Force
B3        The Last Time
C1        Willing To Wait
C2        Music Of The Sun
C3        Let Me
Co-producer – Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers
Producer – StarGate (2)
C4        Rush
Featuring – Kardinal Offishall
D1        There's A Thug In My Life
Featuring – J-Status
D2        Now I Know
D3        Pon De Replay (Remix)
Featuring – Elephant Man

Producer – Vada Nobles
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Def Jam Recordings – 00602557079814
Copyright © – Def Jam Recordings
Distributed By – Universal Music Distribution
A&R – Jay Brown (3), Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith
Executive-Producer – The Carter Administration
Executive-Producer [Co-executive Producer] – Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers
Comes with an insert.

Given the proliferation of young and beautiful urban dance-pop divas dominating the radio and music video airwaves in 2005, it initially was tempting to discount Rihanna as yet another Beyonce-Ciara-Ashanti cash-in. But like her Def Jam labelmate Teairra Mari -- another young and beautiful urban dance-pop diva who emerged out of nowhere in 2005 -- Rihanna is winsome rather than wannabe, thanks in no small part to her producers. Just as Teairra Mari benefited greatly from irresistibly shrewd beat-making on her debut album, Rihanna benefits from the knowing production work of Syndicated Rhythm Productions, aka Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, who together produced a laundry list of contemporary teen pop sensations during the prior decade. What these guys do that's so irresistibly shrewd is synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with standard-issue urban dance-pop: Caribbean-inflected urban, if you will. So while a song like "Pon de Replay" -- to pick the most obvious exhibit -- is driven by booming dancehall-lite beats and a reggae vocal cadence (and title spelling), it's a simple dance-pop song at its core, with standard English-language singing as well as a can't-miss singalong hook (and a glitzy, urban-style MTV video to boot). The best songs on Music of the Sun follow this appealing template, including the similarly catchy few songs that follow the aforementioned album-opening smash hit: "Here I Go Again," "If It's Lovin' That You Want," and "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)." As with most albums of this ilk, Music of the Sun descends into faceless slow jams after a while, overall consistency not being among its attributes, but thankfully it picks up the pace toward the end of its 13-song run and concludes on a fun note, with a remix of "Pon de Replay" featuring Elephant Man. The result is one of the more engaging urban dance-pop albums of the year (and one of the most infectious summer jams, for sure), as well as a nice Caribbean primer for those not ready or willing to jump on the increasingly trendy dancehall and reggaeton bandwagons concurrently sweeping through America's more fashionable cities. [Music of the Sun was re-released on LP in 2017.] ~ Jason Birchmeier

• Media Condition: Mint (M)
• Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: POP
• Format Type: 2xLP
• Released: 4/07/2017