1977 | ||||
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![]() Original free edition | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 31, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2011 | |||
Genre | R&B [1] | |||
Length | 57:43 | |||
Label | Radio Killa | |||
Producer | The-Dream, Carlos McKinney | |||
The-Dream chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() 2012 commercial release by Def Jam |
1977 (also known as Terius Nash: 1977) [2] is the fourth album by American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer The-Dream. It was originally released as a free download on August 31, 2011, through the singer's Radio Killa website. Recorded over the course of two weeks, the album was issued in response to contractual issues with The-Dream's label, Def Jam Recordings, delaying the production of his planned IV Play album. 1977 was later released for commercial sale by Def Jam on December 18, 2012, [3] and IV Play followed in 2013.
Following issues with his contract with Def Jam Recordings, production on The-Dream's purported fourth studio album Love IV MMXII halted, having originally been due for release of September 20, 2011. [2] As a result, The-Dream recorded additional material for a new album titled 1977 – named after the year of his birth – which he intended as a stopgap release following the delays to Love IV MMXII; [2] the recording was done over the course of two weeks. [4]
According to Interview magazine, 1977 still features the "catastrophically lush productions" of The-Dream's previous three albums but departs from their "epic love-gushing Prince suite or sparse snap-and-bop". Instead, "accounts of love lost" are conceived as more of a "somber shrink visit", while the singer's "wiggling tenor sounds more liquored-up and angry than ever", with the magazine citing the song "Used to Be" as an account of "how his life's changed – at one point, he even jokes about ending it." [5]
1977 was released as a free download through The-Dream's Radio Killa website [6] on August 31, 2011, [5] despite Def Jam's objections to the decision. [2] The release was credited under the singer's legal name, Terius Nash. [5] After Love IV MMXII failed to see a release during 2012, it was announced on November 14, 2012, that 1977 would be released for commercial sale by Def Jam on December 18, 2012. [3] Unlike the free version of the album, where he was credited under his birth name Terius Nash, the commercial release will see The-Dream returning to being credited under his stage name. [3] The new version of the album features the additional tracks "AK47" and "Tender Tendencies". [3] Love IV MMXII would later be released as IV Play in 2013. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Consequence of Sound | C+ [9] |
MSN Music (Expert Witness) | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Newsday | B [1] |
Now | 2/5 [10] |
Pitchfork | 7.9/10 [11] |
PopMatters | 7/10 [12] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
1977 was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 10 reviews. [4]
Reviewing in September 2011, Pitchfork critic Jordan Sargent found 1977's music "engrossing" and "vivid" as a one-sided depiction of a failing relationship. [11] Glenn Gamboa from Newsday felt the record "doesn't quite stack up against The-Dream's more polished work, lacking his usual lyrical wordplay and musical sophistication, but the intensity of the emotion keeps it interesting." [1] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe felt that The-Dream shares "too much" with the more "confessional" album and said that "his usual sensual production and delicious hooks are missing, but the rawer musical approach serves the lyrics' edges." [16] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica wrote, "These songs aren’t much more than melodic rants, but that’s enough for Mr. Nash, who’s never been a forceful singer, but whose talent for cramming oddball twists into R&B remains unparalleled." [17] Robert Christgau gave 1977 a three-star honorable mention in his consumer guide for MSN Music , [6] indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure." [18] He cited "Wedding Crasher" and "Used to Be" as highlights, although he also summed the album up with the judgement that "living for sex gets less dreamy all the time". [6]
Other reviewers were more critical. AllMusic's Andy Kellman accused The-Dream of "tedious wallowing" and alternately "licking his wounds and puffing his chest", [8] while Rolling Stone critic Matthew Trammell dismissed his lyrics as "poorly articulated male scorn rooted in juvenile, you-made-me-cheat reasoning". [14] Tom Ewing from The Guardian regarded 1977 as "the worst thing" the singer had recorded, finding it marred by "unhappy, scab-picking". [19]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Wake Me When It's Over" | Terius Nash | |
2. | "Used to Be" (featuring Casha) | Terius Nash | |
3. | "Kills The Lights" | Terius Nash | |
4. | "Ghetto" (featuring Big Sean) | David Borrego, Sean Anderson, Terius Nash | |
5. | "Wedding Crasher" | Terius Nash | |
6. | "Rolex" (featuring Casha) | Terius Nash | |
7. | "Silly" (featuring Casha) | Terius Nash Rob Holladay | |
8. | "1977 (Miss You Still)" | Ralph Johnson, Douglas Gibbs, Shawn Carter, Terius Nash | |
9. | "Wish You Were Mine" | Terius Nash | |
10. | "Real" (featuring Pharrell) | Pharrell Williams, Terius Nash | |
11. | "Form of Flattery" | Terius Nash |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Wake Me When It's Over" | Terius Nash | 5:36 |
2. | "Used To Be" | Terius Nash | 4:55 |
3. | "Long Gone" | Terius Nash | 4:16 |
4. | "Ghetto" (featuring Big Sean) | David Borrego, Sean Anderson, Terius Nash | 5:27 |
5. | "Wedding Crasher" | Terius Nash | 5:04 |
6. | "Rolex" (featuring Casha) | Terius Nash | 3:41 |
7. | "1977" | Ralph Johnson, Douglas Gibbs, Shawn Carter, Terius Nash | 5:07 |
8. | "Wish You Were Mine" | Terius Nash | 3:54 |
9. | "Real" (featuring Pharrell) | Pharrell Williams, Terius Nash | 5:18 |
10. | "Form of Flattery" | Terius Nash | 4:15 |
11. | "AK47" | Terius Nash | 4:57 |
12. | "Tender Tendencies" | Terius Nash | 5:13 |
Credits are adapted from AllMusic. [22]
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Chart (2010) | Peak position |
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US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) | 29 |
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