1977
Original free edition
Studio album by
The-Dream
ReleasedAugust 31, 2011
Recorded2011
GenreR&B[1]
Length57:43
LabelRadio Killa
ProducerThe-Dream, Carlos McKinney
The-Dream chronology
Love King
(2010)		 1977
(2011)		 IV Play
(2013)
Alternative cover
2012 commercial release by Def Jam
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.

Recording

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]

Music and lyrics

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]

Release

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Consequence of SoundC+[9]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[6]
NewsdayB[1]
Now2/5[10]
Pitchfork7.9/10[11]
PopMatters7/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Slant Magazine[15]

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]

Track listing

2011 free download[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
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 
2012 commercial release[21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wake Me When It's Over"Terius Nash5:36
2."Used To Be"Terius Nash4:55
3."Long Gone"Terius Nash4:16
4."Ghetto" (featuring Big Sean)David Borrego, Sean Anderson, Terius Nash5:27
5."Wedding Crasher"Terius Nash5:04
6."Rolex" (featuring Casha)Terius Nash3:41
7."1977"Ralph Johnson, Douglas Gibbs, Shawn Carter, Terius Nash5:07
8."Wish You Were Mine"Terius Nash3:54
9."Real" (featuring Pharrell)Pharrell Williams, Terius Nash5:18
10."Form of Flattery"Terius Nash4:15
11."AK47"Terius Nash4:57
12."Tender Tendencies"Terius Nash5:13

Personnel

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[22]

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 29

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gamboa, Glenn (December 14, 2012). "The-Dream's 'Terius Nash: 1977' review". Newsday. Melville. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Horowitz, Steven J. "The-Dream Releases Free Album "Terius Nash Est. 1977"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The-Dream Readies '1977' Album for Commercial Release". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. November 14, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Reviews for 1977 by Terius Nash". Metacritic. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "On '1977,' A Dark Dream". Interview. August 31, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Christgau, Robert (February 21, 2012). "Odds and Ends 006". MSN Music. Microsoft. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  7. ↑ Young, Alex (March 27, 2013). "The-Dream to release new album IV Play on May 28th". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "1977 - Terius Nash, The-Dream". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  9. ↑ De Revere, Paul (September 13, 2011). "Terius Nash – 1977". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ Mistry, Anupa (September 15, 2011). "Terius Nash - 1977". Now. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Sargent, Jordan (September 8, 2011). "Terius Nash: 1977". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Amidon, David (September 8, 2011). "The-Dream (Terius Nash): 1977". PopMatters. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  13. ↑ "[title unknown]". Q. March 2013. p. 99.
  14. 1 2 Trammell, Matthew (October 18, 2011). "1977". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  15. ↑ Cataldo, Jesse (December 22, 2012). "The-Dream Terius Nash: 1977". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Capobianco, Ken (December 18, 2012). "The-Dream, 'Terius Nash: 1977'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  17. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (September 5, 2011). "New Music". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  18. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  19. ↑ Ewing, Tom (September 8, 2011). "Message to The-Dream, AKA Terius Nash: please stop sharing". The Guardian. London. Film & music section, p. 2. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Tracklisting: The-Dream – '1977'". Rap-up.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  21. ↑ "The-Dream Terius Nash 1977 Tracklist". Rapradar.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "1977: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
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