Just who the hell is Robin Thicke, you may be asking yourself? Not an unreasonable question, especially on this side of the Atlantic. In his native country however, Thicke is big news. This third album (after two known simply as.. er... Thicke: not a great recommendation, is it?) has gone platinum in the US, and he now counts 50 Cent and Pharrell among his showbiz pals. Is it hard to see why? No. Is it a good album? Not really.
With its tight, sub-Neptunes production (even on the one Neptunes-produced track ‘Wanna Love U Girl’) the album sounds for all the world like Justin Timberlake trying to sound like Prince, right down to the proliferation of U’s and 2’s in the song titles. He can sing in a tight-trousered falsetto way for sure but, for something that purports to be soul music, it’s awfully light on genuine emotion.
For an album with such a bold title, The Evolution Of Robin Thicke shows very little sense of progression; we are treated to the same dull R&B throughout. The US may love him – but it’s hard to see Mr. Thicke becoming a household name over here just yet.