Nelly "Suit" Album

	Title: Suit Format: Album Label: Universal Released: 2004-09-14
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Tracklisting & Lyrics

Reviews

Nelly's decision to release his suit project as two respective albums, and -- the former clubby and insincere, the latter refined and mannered -- is somewhat of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it's nice to pick whichever side of Nelly's persona you prefer, whether in general or at any particular moment; on the other hand, the separate-album concept makes for two very one-dimensional albums that begin to sound formulaic by their respective conclusions. The thing is, Nelly has plenty of great songs here on these two albums. Quality certainly isn't an issue -- he works with a who's who of pop-rap circa 2004, from the Neptunes to Christina Aguilera to Snoop Dogg to Missy Elliott, and ends up with a wealth of certified and could-be hits. Yet by sorting them into two different categories and then lumping them together onto two separate CDs, the diversity at hand is nullified. Granted, this two-styles, two-discs approach worked well for OutKast on (and less well, but well nonetheless, for R. Kelly on ), but it doesn't work so well for Nelly. His suit recordings are diverse, for sure, but OutKast he isn't, nor is he the Pied Piper. Rather, Nelly is essentially a pop star who happens to rap, and as such, he specializes in calculated pop formulas -- namely clubby, cocky party songs (previously "Hot in Herre," presently "Flap Your Wings") and sweet, sultry love songs (previously "Dilemma," presently "My Place"). And by sorting those two formulas into respective albums, the calculation becomes overt and comes across as formulaic to discerning listeners. The key, then, is to not be a discerning listener: it's best to just let these songs play and take them for what they are -- well-done popcraft.
The disc is by far the more interesting disc of the two. There are only 11 songs here, but thankfully they're relatively diverse compared to those of . All except three of them are collabos, and often the collaborators steal the show, reducing Nelly to guest status on his own album. "Play It Off," a tiptop-shelf Neptunes joint boasting a great Pharrell vocal contribution, kicks off the album marvelously, and the next two tracks -- "Pretty Toes" and "My Place" -- are top draws also. The former is a fun Jazze Pha song toasting fly girls, and the latter is a "Dilemma" retread -- where that song had aped Patti LaBelle's "Love, Need and Want You" for its hook (to much success), this one apes yet another Philly soul classic, Teddy Pendergrass' bedroom ballad "Come Go With Me" (again, to much success). Another highlight is "She Don't Know My Name," a -like Big Boi (of OutKast) production where Ron Isley and Snoop Dogg steal the show, leaving Nelly only a 45-second verse for himself. Most of the other songs have their virtues: for instance, "N Dey Say" appropriates Spandau Ballet's timeless 1983 Top Ten hit "True"; "Woodgrain and Leather Wit a Hole" is a laid-back ode to smoking and driving (hydro smoking, that is); "It's My Life" marks the return of (...drum roll, please) Mase; and "Over and Over" includes an overdubbed hook by country star Tim McGraw that works much better than it should. All of this amounts to a brief album with absolutely no filler. Granted, Nelly's rapping here is more restrained and insubstantial than ever, but when you have a cast of collaborators like this, the actual rapping is beside the point -- these are fun songs, plain and simple, and wonderfully catchy to boot. This makes for a great album. Had Nelly combined the 49-minute with the half-dozen highlights from , however, he'd have a really great album. (Doing just that on your PC or Mac is highly recommended, by the way, and quite fun.) ~Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide.

The biggest (and only relevant) member of the St. Lunatics crew fully indulges his rap-meets-R&B fixations on the enjoyable (if predictable) Suit. Whereas companion CD Sweat is geared toward the male thugs in the clubs, this one's for the thugettes. More lyrically compelling than Sweat, Suit shows a softer, more cerebral, less flashy side to St. Louis's favorite son. Check out "Die for You," Nelly's ode to youth, and the calypso-tinged, introspective "In My Life," which reveals a more worldly rap duke underneath the band aids and chunky jewelry. Nelly's unique "singjay" flows tend to take a backseat to the beautiful harmonies of guests such as Jahiem, who sounds like a modern-day Teddy Pendergrass on "My Place," and Anthony Hamilton, whose spot on "Nobody Knows" reminds us why he's the most underrated of the contemporary soul balladeers. When Nelly said he was going to introduce his Midwest style to a wider audience, he wasn't kidding: even country star Tim McGraw joins the fray on "Over and Over." ~Dalton Higgins, Amazon.com.