Passion, Pain & Pleasure review.

Before last year, I didn't take Trey Songz as a serious artist. I hated both of his first two albums and didn't want to give his third album, Ready, a listen until I heard Neighbors Know My Name off of it. That song right there changed my entire opinion on Trey and he's now one of my favorite artists, with Ready being one of my favorite albums ever.

With that being said, I was very excited about his upcoming album Passion, Pain & Pleasure. I had very high expectations for it and was really hoping it would be near or surpass the quality of Ready. Did Trey do that?

1.) Here We Go Again (Intro) - 1.5/5

- What is up with this intro? It doesn't fit the theme the album whatsoever. Not to mention, it had enormous expectations to live up to with one of my favorite intros, Panty Droppin'. (Later Note: This fits in perfectly for one of the iTunes bonus tracks, Love Me Better, however. I don't review songs that aren't on the actual physical copy of the album though.)

2.) Love Faces - 5/5

- Thank God this makes up for the horrible intro though. This track leaked a few weeks ago and I've been playing it non-stop. The hook is perfect, and the lyrics are perfect for a love-making track; they look deeper into the act of sex. It's one of my favorites this year.

3.) Massage - 4.5/5

- Another sex track, but you expect this from a R&B album; especially from Trey. This song is another winner, focusing on what a woman wants, how they feel and such. It's just a hair under Love Faces, but that's probably because I've listened to Love Faces so much more than this. Another winner here.

4.) Alone - 3.5/5

- Very catchy, but nothing special. I don't skip it though.

5.) Bottoms Up ft. Nicki Minaj - 4/5

- I thought this would get extremely old to me, but it hasn't. It's a club banger and was the first single off the album. Hook is catchy, like most club songs, and Nicki's guest appearance was nice.

6.) Pain (Interlude) - 4.5/5

- Before getting into this interlude, let me just mention that the interludes on Ready were absolutely money. Ready to Make Love, Hollalude and if you want to add the intro Panty Droppin', made that album so much better. This is a great interlude as well, setting up perfectly for the next track.

7.) Can't Be Friends - 5/5

- I've gotta be honest; I don't exactly know which song is my favorite on this album. One day it's Love Faces, one day it's this, one day it's a song later on in the album. This song leaked a while ago and it really hit me beside of the stuff I was facing at the time. This reminds me so much of Yo Side of the Bed (I know, there I go making comparisons to Ready again) and that was my favorite song on the previous album. The video is amazing as well; just a powerful song.

8.) Please Return My Call - 4.5/5

- Can't Be Friends shifts right into this one, as Trey wants the previous girl to return his calls. Another song that fits perfectly into the album's theme and the interlude, and the vibe of it seems like it's a song from the 90s. I like that a lot.

9.) Made To Be Together - 5/5

- I can't even explain how much I like this song. Everything about it is on point.

10.) Pleasure (Interlude) - 4/5

- Another solid interlude here, but it didn't reel me in like Pain did.

11.) Red Lipstick - 4.5/5

- You had to figure the Pleasure section was directed towards sex. Obviously, the title isn't misleading, as this song focuses on the kissing action. The hook is another one I've had stuck in my head for a while.

12.) Unusual ft. Drake - 4/5

- Trey Songz and Drake? This screams major radio play. The lyrics are definitely not PG-13 rated, however it's another good song. Drake's verse is much better than the last guest appearance of his I heard (Made - Big Sean).

13.) Doorbell - 5/5

- Way to finish off the Pleasure section of the album. Everything about this song is great, I can't even start to explain.

14.) Passion (Interlude) - 4.5/5

- The interludes are just as good as Ready's after hearing this one.

15.) Unfortunate - 2/5

- There's a reason why this is called Unfortunate...it's unfortunately on the album. Too slow and boring for this project, compared to the rest of the tracks.

16.) Blind - 3.5/5

- I at first hated this song, but it's grown on me a little bit. I'll skip it every now and then, but it's definitely not in the category of Unfortunate (the category I originally lumped it in). I really like the chorus.

17.) You Just Need Me - 3.5/5

- I could see this one being a single as well. It's upbeat and just a very fun track, without straying too much from the album's theme.

18.) Already Taken - 4.5/5

- I honestly didn't know this was on the album, but I liked it already when I heard it in previews for Step Up 3D. This actually has the most listens out of all the songs on my iTunes, but the part after the second verse brings this down from a 5/5. I honestly think this song would fit Ready more though.

Overall: 4.1/5

Trey did it; he put out another great album just a year after putting out a classic. The way he set up the track list was perfect with the sad/lonely tracks after Pain, the sex tracks after Pleasure and so on. A few things could have improved this to put it up in Ready-category, but it's still going to be an album I'll be listening to for a while.

If he continues at this pace and puts out another great album within the next two years, I'll have no problem calling him the R. Kelly of this generation of music. He's already near that level, but one more album will cement it for me. Some of R&B's biggest stars have fizzled out lately, like Chris Brown and Mario (don't hate on Mario, I was a big fan of his a few years ago) but it looks like the brightest star of them is here to stay.