Nelly Suit CD

Personnel: Nelly (rap vocals); Pharrell Williams, Anthony Hamilton, Ronald Isley, Tim McGraw (vocals); Jazze Pha (rap vocals, various instruments); Jaheim, Mase, Snoop Dogg, T.I. (rap vocals); James D. "Sted Fast" II Hargrove, Richard "Rip" Gager, Onion, Dan "Thunda Dan" Marshal, Shorty B. (guitar); Jayson "Koko" Bridges (keyboards, drums, percussion); Avery Storm (vocoder); Bryan Loss (drums); Rajinder Kala (congas); Kim Moore Johnson (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Phil Tan; Richard Travali.
Recording information: Basement Beats Studios, St. Louis, MO; Derrty Studios, L. A; Derrty Studios, St. Louis, MO; Do Or Die Recording; Levelhead Studios, Atlanta, GA; Platinum Sound Recording, New York, NY; Sho Nuff Studios, Atlanta, GA; Soulpower Studios, L. A; SouthSide Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Grind House, Adamsville, GA; The Record Plant, L. A; The Village Recorder, L. A.
Photographer: James White .
Nelly's decision to release his Sweatsuit project as two respective albums, Sweat and Suit -- 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 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (and less well, but well nonetheless, for R. Kelly on Happy People/U Saved Me), but it doesn't work so well for Nelly. His Sweatsuit 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 Suit 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 Sweat. 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 Speakerboxxx-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 (Rolling Stone (p.97) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "Nelly mixes hip-hop energy and pop ebullience like it's no sweat at all."
Entertainment Weekly (p.75) - "Nelly sounds more convincing and appealing on SUIT..." - Grade: A-
Vibe (p.184) - 3 1/2 discs out of 5 - "Nelly shows that a rapper can actually hold a note without losing credibility....There are plenty of surprises on SUIT."