Return of Dragon
Not to be confused with
Way of the Dragon, released in the US as
Return of the Dragon.
Return of Dragon is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Sisqó of Dru Hill, released on June 19, 2001 on Def Soul Records. The album did very well on the charts but its singles, "Can I Live" and "Dance for Me", were commercial disappointments compared to his debut album, Unleash the Dragon (1999). Despite the fact that Sisqó announced a third single, "Dream", this never materialized due to the commercial failure of the album. The song "Without You" was originally planned to be featured on Dru Hill's third album, Dru World Order but tensions grew between the group while working on the album and it was put on hold. Return of Dragon was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for excess of one million copies. Return of Dragon would be Sisqó's last album until Last Dragon (2015).
Critical reception
Return of Dragon garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the received an average rating of 61, based on 9 reviews.[1]
David Crowley of Vibe praised the more romantic songs off the album for showcasing Sisqó's vocal abilities, concluding that, "Return of the Dragon largely shows Sisqó's growth as a musician and a man. And you don't even need a thong to enjoy it."[8] AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier commended the record's songwriters and producers for crafting a lean track list that offers catchy singles, calling it "an energetic, slick, and stylish album with plenty of subtle sex and overt gloss — everything early-2000s pop listeners demand in their superstars." He concluded that "In short, Sisqó gives you exactly what you want — assuming you liked his debut album — offering a can't-miss collection of should-be hits and even more of his ceaseless crooning. "[2] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly praised the album's mixture of raunchy sex anthems and sensitive love ballads, calling it "a vast improvement over a debut that felt as artistically flimsy as the subject matter of 'Thong Song'."[3] Barry Walters, writing for Rolling Stone, said that despite the commendable efforts of the producers to experiment with R&B instrumentations, they fall under the weight of studio mixing and Sisqó's shortcomings as a lyricist, calling it "a messy album, one that's instrumentally inventive, melodically underdeveloped, vocally overcooked and lyrically just plain lazy."[7] Victoria Segal of NME was critical of the glossy production and so-called romantic lyrics throughout the record.[4]
Track listing
| 1. |
"Intro" | Nathan Mooring; Jarod Barnes | Jarod B, Boy Genius |
0:52 |
| 2. |
"Not Afraid" | Al West; Mark Andrews | Al West, J.P. Edmund |
2:57 |
| 3. |
"Infatuated" | Al West; Mark Andrews | Al West, J.P. Edmund, Mark Andrews |
3:28 |
| 4. |
"Can I Live" (featuring The Dragon Family) | Teddy Riley; Richard Stanard; D'Wayne Jones | Teddy Riley |
4:04 |
| 5. |
"Without You" (performed by Dru Hill) | James Moss | P.A.J.A.M. |
3:09 |
| 6. |
"Homewrecker" | Christopher A. Stewart; Tab Hale; Traci Hale | Tricky Stewart |
3:58 |
| 7. |
"Last Night" | Nathan Walton; Tavia Ivey; D'Gregory Craig | N8 |
3:44 |
| 8. |
"Close Your Eyes (Interlude)" | Nathan Mooring; Jarod Barnes | Jarod B, Boy Genius |
1:12 |
| 9. |
"Close Your Eyes" | Mark Andrews; Nathan Mooring; Jarod Barnes | Jarod B, Boy Genius |
4:27 |
| 10. |
"Dance For Me" | Marquis Collins; Mark Andrews; Rich Shelton; Loren Hill; Kevin Veney; James Travis | One Up |
4:10 |
| 11. |
"Off the Corner" (featuring The Associates) | Mark Andrews; Rich Shelton; Loren Hill; Kevin Veney; Marquis Collins; James Travis; D'Wayne Jones; Clifton Beaufort | One Up |
5:40 |
| 12. |
"Dream" (featuring Chinky) | Warryn Campbell; Jason Edmonds | Jason Edmonds, Warryn Campbell |
4:46 |
| 13. |
"You Don't Know Me" (featuring LovHer) | | |
3:09 |
Chart and singles history
| Title |
Information |
| "Can I Live" |
- Featuring the Dragon Family (LovHer and The Associates)
- Def Soul single 572932, May 8, 2001
- Music video directed by Dave Meyers
|
| "Dance for Me" |
- Def Soul single 572996, July 12, 2001
- Music video directed by Dave Meyers
|
| Album charts |
Chart (2001) |
Peak
position |
|---|
| Return of Dragon |
U.S. Billboard 200 |
7 |
| Return of Dragon |
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums |
3 |
| Singles chart |
Chart (2001) |
Peak
position |
|---|
| "Can I Live" |
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks |
72 |
References
- 1 2 "Reviews for Return Of Dragon by Sisqo". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- 1 2 Birchmeier, Jason. "Return of Dragon - Sisqó". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- 1 2 Sinclair, Tom (June 15, 2001). "Return of Dragon". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- 1 2 Segal, Victoria (July 21, 2001). "Sisqo : Return Of Dragon". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- ↑ "Sisqo - Return Of Dragon CD Album". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Sisqo". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- 1 2 Walters, Barry (July 5, 2001). "Recordings: Sisqo, Return Of The Dragon, 2.5 Stars". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on August 18, 2001. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- 1 2 Crowley, David (July 2001). "Sisqo 'Return of the Dragon'". Vibe. Vibe Media. 9 (7): 130. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
External links
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