Usher has the reputation as a loverman, largely because he fits the bill so well.
He looks good, his material is smooth and seductive, and he has a nice voice, even if he tends to favor melisma.
This has been true throughout his career, and remains true on his third album, 8701, a classy, seductive affair masterminded by Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Antonio "L.A." Reid.
There's not much new here, but Usher does move further in both directions -- the ballads are lusher, the dance numbers hit a bit harder -- but not so much so that it's really noticeable.
Overall, the record is probably his strongest yet, but he still suffers from a lack of really memorable material (the singles usually are pretty good, but the album tracks are filler) and a tendency to oversing.
Because of these two things, 8701 is more mood music than anything else, and while it does work fairly well on that level, it's not memorable outside of that mood.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U Remind MeEdmund "Butter" Clement | Usher | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | I Don't KnowPharrell Williams | Usher, Puff Daddy | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Twork It OutUsher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 4 | U Got It BadBryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Usher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | If I Want ToJermaine Dupri, Usher Raymond IV, Roger | Usher | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Without U (Interlude)Usher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 00:53 | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| 7 | How Do I SayUsher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 05:39 | 12 MB | 41 MB |
| 8 | Hottest Thing | Usher | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Good Ol' GhettoBryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Usher Raymond IV | Usher | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | Intro: Lude 8701 | Usher | Play | 00:44 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 11 | Pop Ya Collar | Usher | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | I Can't Let You Go | Usher | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | U Don't Have A Call | Usher | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 14 | Can You Help Me | Usher | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 15 | U Turn | Usher | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 16 | T.T.P. | Usher | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 17 | Separated | Usher | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 65 mins | 149 MB | |||||
| 65 mins | 447 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Ashton | Assistant Engineer |
| 2 | Babyface | Guest Artist |
| 3 | Dave Barry | Guest Artist |
| 4 | Edmund "Butter" Clement | Composer |
| 5 | Bryan-Michael Cox | Composer, Instrumentation, Producer |
| 6 | Diddy | Featured Artist, Guest Artist |
| 7 | Jermaine Dupri | Composer, Guest Artist |
| 8 | Kevon Edmonds | Guest Artist |
| 9 | Brian Garten | Engineer |
| 10 | Kevin Guarnieri | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 11 | R.L. Huggar | Composer |
| 12 | Jimmy Jam | Guest Artist |
| 13 | Kelis | Guest Artist |
| 14 | Terry Lewis | Guest Artist |
| 15 | Puff Daddy | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 16 | Usher Raymond IV | Composer |
| 17 | David Rideau | Engineer |
| 18 | Roger | Composer |
| 19 | Usher | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 20 | Pharrell Williams | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |