Track Listing

1. The Return (Of The Velvet Bear)
2. Change Me
3. Make Ya Feel Beautiful
4. Get U Loose
5. Our Story
6. One Side
7. What Tha Business Is
8. Rather Just Not Know
9. Ain't No Party
10. Listen To Ya Heart
11. I'm Not Happy
12. To Da Crib
13. Blow Ya Mind
14. If Only For One Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62479 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
After the righteous blast of gospel that was I Need an Angel, Ruben Studdard’s oh-so-secular disc, The Return, can be a little disconcerting: he of the velvet voice and teddybear looks wants to get you loose (see "Get U Loose"), but more importantly, he wants to get you used to the fact that, cuddly nickname or no, he's--lookout, ladies!--a playa. "Let me start by saying I'm not tryin' to get in your jeans," sings the man most of the world recognizes as a nice religious boy on the appealingly crackly "Let Me Make You Feel Beautiful." By the next track, though, he gets to the point: "Your body my body gonna be friends." And so it goes with the rest of the disc: diamonds shine off of his cuffs on "What Tha Business Is," a bouncy but burly club track; "To Da Crib" traffics in pure seduction ("I'm tellin' you, you won't forget it girl, even though you thought he rocked your world") and tosses in the N word for effect; and "Blow Ya Mind" extends a straightforward invitation--"take your clothes off/it'll feel right." It's not that Studdard, whose voice is in as fine a form as it was in 2003 when he won "American Idol," comes off as lecherous here--there have been far dirtier R&B discs--but he does give his sweet Southern persona a run for its money. Still, check him out: with Luther gone, there may be no smoother R&B torchbearer. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

three for the talent
Ruben Studdard could become one of our great singers ...-could-... but greatness is more than just making a nice sound come out of your mouth: Studdard's recordings don't have the consistency of point of view that comes from the ARTIST -having- a point of view. (Example: A much less technically adept singer, Madonna, for instance, can work with any number of producers, and yet a listener can -hear- that no tune is released until -she- approves it.) Studdard has to stop taking everyone else's word on what works. Sure, you use experts in each field to put the project together, but it's YOUR project. It's time to take charge of your career, this aint "American Idol" anymore. It's not terrible, it just ain't Ruben.

The Return
Glad to see Ruben step out of the American Idol zone and bring it to us like a man. I listened to the entire CD yesterday on a first listen site, not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. Great balance of songs on this disc. From the slow and sultry "Blow Ya Mind" to the up-tempo groove of "What The Business Is," the CD sizzles. Favorites, "Blow Ya Mind," "Our Story" and "I'm Not Happy." Oh yeah, I cringed at the idea of a cover, especially a Luther cover, but was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of "If Only For One Night." Great homage to Mr. Vandross. Huge step-up from "Soulful."

back to the basics!
EVEN THOUGH HE WAS GIVING THANKS TO GOD IN HIS PREVIOUS ALBUM,WHICH WAS ALL GOOD,HE BROUGHT IT BACK TO WHAT ENDEARED HIM TO WHAT HAS GROWN TO MILLIONS OF FANS. FANTASTIC ALBUM(CD!) CONTINUE TO PUT OUT BEAUTIFUL MUSIC. GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU. M.L.ROBINSON-PENNSAUKEN,N.J.