Ciara Fantasy Ride Early Album Review

R&B singer Ciara has been in R&B purgatory. Her latest effort Fantasy Ride has been long delayed and rumored to be shelved all together. However the single Love Sex Magic with Justin Timberlake has set the effort back on track. Can Ciara create magic on her latest album Fantasy Ride?

The first single off of Fantasy Ride is Never Ever featuring Young Jeezy. The track is produced by proven hit-maker Danja. The song is a fairly solid mid-tempo track which channels elements of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes classic If You Don't Know Me By Now. The highlight of the track is the verse from Young Jeezy.

The second single is the Billboard chart topper Love Sex Magic featuring Justin Timberlake and produced by The Y's. The song is clearly the best track on the album and has officially crossed Ciara over to the mainstream as an artist. The guest spot from Justin Timberlake and the great bridge on the song just seal the deal on a hit single.

Danja and The Clutch collaborate on Turntables featuring embattled star Chris Brown. The production on this track is very different yet very club friendly. Ciara and Chris Brown sound good together on the track however.

LOS Da Mystro and The-Dream collaborate on Lover's Thing which features The-Dream. The song is very catchy and interesting. The production is a throwback to another era but the song has single potential.

Danja produces Work featuring Missy Elliott. The song is vintage Missy brought to life in 2009. The song is very appropriate for the clubs.

Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream craft High Price which features rapper Ludacris. The song is very similar to their previous effort together Oh. Ciara sounds very different on the track yet it works.

G Is For Girl (A-Z) is also produced by The Y's and is written by The Y's and The Clutch. The song is catchy, well produced, works melodically and concept wise.

The-Dream and Tricky Stewart also craft Like A Surgeon which sounds like a remnant of The-Dream's last album Love Vs. Money. The song is a mix of new instrumentation and an old style.

Darkchild joins the party with Pucker Up. The song is more of an international sounding song in the same lane as Rihanna as opposed to the urban leaning typically found in Ciara's songs.

Ne-Yo and Chuck Harmony craft the mid-tempo ballad for Ciara on I Don't Remember. The song is a definite necessity as most of the album is a non-stop dance party.

Overall Fantasy Ride was well worth the wait. There are a number of very solid tracks that will have non-stop play on the radio. Ciara has clearly grown as an artist and that growth is a step in the positive direction. Overall Fantasy Ride gets 8 out of 10. If you are a fan of Ciara make sure you pick up Fantasy Ride when it is finally available in stores on May 3rd.