Rihanna had a major breakthrough with the 2007 release Good Girl Gone Bad. It was such a success for the singer that she didn’t look back, and this version of the popular album with additional songs was issued on 2 June 2008. It features some additional songs and further helped Rihanna achieve commercial success. This was sold physically as a package at the time to fans, including a DVD based on the live tour done afterwards. In retrospect, the main album was one of the most beloved albums by Rihanna’s fans. It charted and sold well, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, especially concerning this re-release. Released on Def Jam Records, this album was recorded in a huge array of locations by a smogasbord of producers, including Mark Endert, Mike Elizondo, Kuk Harrell, Brian Kennedy, Hannon Lane, Maroon 5, Terius “Dream” Nash, Ne-Yo, Neo da Matrix, Makeba Riddick, Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem, Stargate, Mark “Spike” Stent, C. “Tricky” Stewart, Shea Taylor, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. In other words, a lot of different collaborators went into making this album. The album runs for over 57 minutes in total. Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. Umbrella features the rapper JAY-Z. It begins with a snappy, very realistic-sounding beat, in the vein of The Chemical Brothers. JAY-Z raps away very nicely, and Rihanna sings harmonies over it all. This tune is a good listen and proves that Rihanna had some definite commercial potential as a singer. This is a dark and interesting listening experience that has some good lyrics and singing by Rihanna throughout. She articulates the difficulties and hardships that life brings, and this tune is a memorable tune about the difficulties that being in love brings, but remaining faithful throughout. A decent song to listen to, this music sounds fairly dated at the time of writing, but it works on a Pop Music level. Rihanna’s singing voice is sweet and naturally good, although this song is fairly minimal listening. Good to hear, although this is not a hugely quality tune. Rihanna does sing sweetly, though.

2. Push Up On Me is a short tune that begins with some rather awful 1980s-inspired sounds, and launches into a New Wave/Acid House sound throughout. This is sexual music for young women out there, and it sounds like the equivalent of female lust set to music. It’s good, although very dated to listen to today. The music and singing are good enough to be enjoyed, though. One can hear the effort and hard work that went into this album, even on less famous tracks such as this one. A good listen overall, but not a perfect listen to hear. A good and solid R&B tune to listen to, although fairly average compared to other efforts in the history of music. Worth it if you like Rihanna.

3. Don’t Stop The Music is a very dated tune, from the start of it all. Rihanna launches into a straightforward EDM-style tune that, quite frankly, is unappealing to listen to. Rihanna sings beautifully here, and it is clear that her voice is original and inimitable as a Pop singer. A good tune, but something that sounds out of place at the time of writing. An energetic, simple, and Poppy tune about the glorious nature of music itself. Even so, this tune is somewhat enjoyable, but very minimalistic and dated today to listen to. All in all, this is a good tune, but it fails to appeal to today’s postmodern ear in a way. This tune deserves a good remix. The looped vocals in the second half are a bit odd. Rihanna was on the verge of mainstream success by this point, and one can hear this in this tune. A good listen, but not a great tune. The looped vocals conclude this tune, which sounds okay.

4. Breakin’ Dishes is an awful tune from the start. It has some weird and terrible electronics, and has Rihanna singing about an unfaithful lover and puts in a good performance on a junk tune. This is a song that does not have a good place to go musically. The sounds are awful and uninspired, and Rihanna definitely deserves better than this. This is manufactured Pop Music that need not be heard by many today. Rihanna’s career has certainly done better since this tune, and the sounds are uninspired and generic to listen to. It’s certainly not worth hearing, and one can skip ahead if they wish to. An angry tune that needs to be avoided for the most part. It is over after three minutes in length.

5. Shut Up And Drive begins with some blink-182 styled guitars and electronic drum beats. Rihanna sings a better song, and she makes straightforward Pop Music on this song. Again, this sounds very dated and isn’t really a groundbreaking listen. However, this song is a better one, and it is a very enjoyable listen from this album. Obviously designed for young women to play in their cars, Rihanna sounds good in her singing and has the main idea for her music down nicely. Still, this sounds very minimal and very much pioneering of the “celebrity with a laptop” stylised Pop Music on this song. In the second half, there are some punchy beats, followed by some decent textures and pretty singing by Rihanna herself. A good listen, but definitely not a great listen. Interesting to hear.

6. Hate That I Love You features Ne-Yo. It begins with some acoustic guitars strumming, and has the two Popstars singing nicely on this tune. Rihanna sounds very gorgeous and heartbroken on this song, and Ne-Yo’s voice is soulful and smooth throughout. Nonetheless, this is a better song from this album that has some more consistent and better sounds throughout. Again, this is very much Pop Music that has some straightforward sounds, but is a better effort overall to listen to. Rihanna’s efforts seem to be fairly inconsistent on this album, but this is one of the better songs to hear. This is a definitely good and inspired song about being in love but feeling the wrong feelings as a lover. Sweet, sugary and pretty, Rihanna delivers a better song for fans to appreciate. A decent song for what it’s worth.

7. Say It begins with some weird electronic sounds, and enters into a fairly awful sounding piece with pretty singing by Rihanna. This quickly launches into a mainstream R&B tune about demanding honesty from a man. This is, again, at best, good, but for the most part, this is fairly forgettable music to listen to. This is a rather awkward mixture of Pop sounds, R&B sensibilities and a Rap influenced sound. Sure, Rihanna has a great singing voice, but she has done far better than this album since. Still, one can hear her getting ahead in the Pop Music world by this stage, which is well-deserved for her. A pretty tune, even if this is very retro-sounding today. A good listen, but not out there fantastic. Fortunately, it is relatively short at four minutes in length. Not too bad.

8. Sell Me Candy is a weird song name. It begins with some interesting and processed sounds, launching into a nonsensical tune about lust and desire from the feminine perspective. Again, this music sounds very dated today, and it doesn’t seem to be the sort of music that matches Rihanna’s voice. All the same, this sounds like a sweet tune that is very good for those of you who dig Pop Music in the 21st century. Rihanna sounds like she is aiming for a chart breakthrough. Sadly, this album is a bit too mixed quality-wise, and prolongs such a vision for her. A good listen without being a great listen overall.

9. Lemme Get That begins with some more typical sounds that Rihanna would be familiar with, given her Barbados music upbringing. This launches into a good song that sounds unusual, direct and punchy. Even so, this is a lesser observed track in her back catalogue of music. She sounds as though she is acknowledging her music past, even if she was poised to break out commercially at this point. All the same, this is dumbed-down Pop Music with a twist for postmodern music lovers. This shows promise, but again, falls flat somewhat, although one can hear Rihanna trying. There are some interesting harmonies and singing in the second half, mixed with punchy beats and brass sections to boot. This is a tune about using a man’s money to buy whatever they want. Rather selfish, to be fair. It ends with glistening textures and weird harmonies, followed by the drum beats concluding this tune.

10. Rehab begins with some acoustic guitars, piano and occasional string section playing. Rihanna sings about the failures and broken hearts that love can bring. This is actually quite a good song that proves Rihanna was much more of a singles artist than an album artist. She sings beautifully and wonderfully, comparing her love to checking into a rehabilitation centre. Nonetheless, this music is a straightforward and pretty tune at hand. Rihanna does have a gorgeous voice, and she sings pleasantly and extremely well. She certainly deserves credit for her unique and pretty vocal delivery. A very gorgeous and timeless tune about ditching bad habits, and Rihanna sings gorgeously on this simple and lovable tune. An awesome song. The instrumental section at the end is good, too.

11. Question Existing begins with some awful electronic sounds and textures, and has Rihanna singing with treated vocals about being lustful and full of desire. This is not a very good song, however, once again. It sounds very much like a drag to listen to. Sadly, Rihanna again was better off on some of her songs, but not consistently on her album releases. This sounds really horrid, and the lyrics also have an air of negativity about them. She asks herself if there is much more that she can take with a lover, which is fairly odd. In the second half, Rihanna has a spoken word section as a diary entry with her stating her fears and ambitions, over awful electronic sounds. Not very good, to be fair. More of a miss than a hit on this tune. A poor listening experience.

12. Good Girl Gone Bad is the title track. It begins with some moody yet frenetic acoustic guitar strumming, strings and electronic sounds that are awful. This launches into a powerful sounding tune, which has some singing about how one can be corrupted and taken advantage of by men out there. This is not a pleasant listening experience that sounds really good; it sounds like a huge barrage of negativity and despair throughout. Also, this album has not particularly dated very well, which is clear by this point in time of writing. A rather nasty and aggressive tune drenched in bad vibes, this is not a good meshing together of great music. This is R&B Pop Music that has no long-term lasting power. A sad listen.

13. Cry begins with more dark and moody piano playing, and launches into a song about heartbreak and despair in a relationship. This is very sad listening, and is designed to be a very upsetting song indeed. Rihanna sings about being ditched by a lover at hand, and she articulates very well in a Pop Music sense the sadness and destruction that men can do to their lovers. A deep, personal and emotional music statement by Rihanna. This is a very distraught-sounding tune that articulates the darkest of moods with electronic beats. A super sad listen. It reaches its moody climax towards the end with some sad singing that is deep and emotional. A good listen if indeed you need to break down and cry for hours on end. Good but deep.

14. Disturbia begins with some sounds of human screams, before launching into a tune with some good singing. Again, this is a bit too commercial and dated-sounding for its own good. Rihanna’s singing, all the same, is very good to hear. She has a powerful and distinctive singing voice, and this is her best asset musically. The sounds and harmonies throughout are a bit ill thought out throughout, however. All the same, this is okay, but it lacks a cohesive nature as a song. This is very dated as well today. This album hasn’t lasted as well as it could have in that respect. Rihanna sings well, having said all of this. These songs are shorter than future efforts musically by Rihanna as well, which is a good thing. A sort of catchy piece that sounds a little too trashy for its own good. It ends with some sweet singing by Rihanna, however.

15. Take A Bow begins with electronic drumbeats and a moving piano. It has Rihanna singing sweetly over the top of it all. She sounds pretty with her singing here, and sings directly to a potential lover here. This is a fantastic listen, and is one of her better and more memorable music moments as a singer. A sweet listen about accepting a lover for all their faults in life. A very lovely and magical music moment that has lasted better than other music moments on this album. Rihanna puts in her sweet and tender side musically on this particular song. Good to hear, and certainly something worth hearing if interested in hearing this album. This sounds really smooth and tasty musically. A definite stunner of a tune, even if the rest of the album lacks this sort of music. Great.

16. If I Never See Your Face Again features Maroon 5 and is the last track on the album. It begins with some salsa beats, awful keyboards and launches into a horrific track with guitars. Maroon 5’s Adam Levine sings here, and this song is throwaway garbage to listen to. It just sounds like a needless addition to this album re-release, and proves that this album, throughout, is a very inconsistent and mixed affair to listen to. A very disappointing musical collaboration that is not mentioned today, which sums it all up. A really bad tune that does not sound memorable or forward-thinking at all. Nothing special here, and a poor finish to an album that could have been better overall, to be frank. This ends quickly, however.

This is an album of mixed results. Some songs show definite promise by Rihanna, whilst other songs are downright bad, and pull the entire album down quality-wise. This album may be popular in some respects, but overall, this is a disappointing listening experience. The good thing is that Rihanna did better later on many of her songs and albums. Sadly, not this one. Should you listen to this album release? Probably not, there are other better releases out there by Rihanna and similar singers in her mould.

A mixed-up affair with some golden moments, alongside some awful moments.

5/10