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Rating – 8/10

Whether he’s rapping with Goodie Mob, furthering his solo career, or blessing other artists with features (such as the recent cameo appearance on Rick Ross’ “Tears of Joy”), there’s no denying the fact that Cee-Lo Green has a great ear for making all types of music. Somehow, he manages to remain lyrically sound, musically catchy, and steadfastly true to his eclectic style without sacrificing any of those elements. With his first solo album since his 2004 release of Cee-lo Green… Is The Soul Machine, and not including the Gnarls Barkley experiment, his new album The Lady Killer is posed to make yet another memorable impression and effectively establish himself once again as one of the most diverse musicians out.

The Lady Killer gives away the meaning of what the main topics of the album include, but it has moments where the true meaning of the songs are cleverly hidden inside double entendres. In the track “Wildflower”, Cee-Lo sings about finding himself a wildflower to take home in full bloom. He continues to make the witty comparisons through the verses and the hook, and it becomes subliminally clear that a “wildflower” is another name for a beautiful female. The same clever method is somewhat used in the very next track, “Bodies”, where he resorts to a more sinister way to recruit his next cooperative “murder victim.” The genius moments extend through the lyrics and construction of each song, and combined together with the way the album flows smoothly from each track, there’s not much here to dislike if you enjoy Cee-Lo’s eccentric style.

The one thing that stands out about The Lady Killer above all else is its unique sound. If you’re big into the soulful, instrumental, Big Band sound, then the instruments here will sound familiar, although it’s constructed together in new ways. As stated earlier, Cee-Lo has a great ear for music, and the way he delivers his vocals for each track fits the production almost picture-perfect.

Regardless if you like the R&B/Soul version of Cee-Lo or not, you cannot take away the fact that he has made one of the most complete albums to come out this year, and that The Lady Killer will appeal to more than just R&B fans. The old-school sound that resonates throughout the project mixed with the ingenious writing and song construction makes almost every song catchy and enjoyable to listen to making this yet another great album for Green.