8701

by Usher

Overview

Usher has the reputation as a loverman, largely because he fits the bill so well. He looks good, his material is smooth and seductive, and he has a nice voice, even if he tends to favor melisma. This has been true throughout his career, and remains true on his third album, 8701, a classy, seductive affair masterminded by Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Antonio "L.A." Reid. There's not much new here, but Usher does move further in both directions -- the ballads are lusher, the dance numbers hit a bit harder -- but not so much so that it's really noticeable. Overall, the record is probably his strongest yet, but he still suffers from a lack of really memorable material (the singles usually are pretty good, but the album tracks are filler) and a tendency to oversing. Because of these two things, 8701 is more mood music than anything else, and while it does work fairly well on that level, it's not memorable outside of that mood. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	08/07/2001
Label:	Arista
UPC:	0888837946728
Rank:	33598

Tracks

1. Intro-Lude 8701
2. U Remind Me
3. I Don't Know
4. Twork It Out
5. U Got It Bad
6. If I Want To
7. I Can't Let U Go
8. U Don't Have to Call
9. Without U (Interlude)
10. Can U Help Me
11. How Do I Say
12. Hottest Thing
13. Good Ol' Ghetto
14. U-Turn
15. U R the One
16. [CD-ROM Track]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Usher   Primary Artist,Lead Vocals,Vocals (Background),Vocals
Diddy   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Blu Cantrell   Primary Artist
Method Man   Primary Artist
Puff Daddy   Primary Artist
Terry Lewis   Guest Artist,Multi Instruments
Jimmy Jam   Guest Artist,Multi Instruments
Kevon Edmonds   Guest Artist
Kelis   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Dave Barry   Guest Artist,Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jermaine Dupri   Guest Artist,Vocals
Babyface   Guest Artist
Johnny "Natural" Najara   Guitar
William Odum   Guitar
Billy Odum   Guitar
Tajuanna Ford   Vocals (Background)
Brian Fuentes   Vocals (Background)
Sheree Ford-Payne   Vocals (Background)
Arthur Strong   Keyboards
Chocolate   Percussion
Juan "Johnny" Najera   Guitar
Stokley   Drums
Bria Fuentes   Vocals (Background)
LaMarquis Jefferson   Guitar
Stokley Williams   Drums
Juan Najera   Guitar
James Wright   Piano,Keyboards
Pharrell Williams   Multi Instruments
Valdez Brantley   Keyboards
Arthur "Buddy" Strong   Keyboards
P. Diddy   Featured Artist
James "Big Jim" Wright   Piano,Keyboards
Usher Raymond IV   Vocals (Background)
Sherree Ford-Payne   Vocals (Background)
Soulshock   Scratching
Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs   MIDI,Multi Instruments
Chemistry   Featured Artist
Chad Hugo   Multi Instruments
Peter Ostroushko   Mandolin

Technical Credits

Alexander Richbourg   Pro-Tools,Drum Programming,MIDI Programming
L. Wright   Composer
Steve Gamberoni   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Brad Todd   Engineer,Assistant
D. Jones   Composer,Composer
Focus   Programming
Pat Viala   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Brad Yost   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Cedric Moore   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Antranika Clack   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
John Horesco   Assistant
Steve "B" Baughman   Assistant
Osten Harvey   Composer
Kiyoshi Matsuo   Producer
Kevin KD Davis   Mixing
Drayton Goss   Composer
Yoshikuni Dohchin   Composer
Alex Richbourg   Engineer,MIDI Programming
Kaname Kawabata   Composer
James Harris III   Composer
Mark Rains   Engineer,Pro-Tools
Phil Tan   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Mixing
K. Briggs   Composer
Jimmy Jam   Arranger,Producer,Instrumentation,Vocal Arrangement,Assistant Producer
Kandi Burruss   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Puff Daddy   Performer
The Notorious B.I.G.   Composer
Mike City   Composer,Producer
Jason Dale   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Kevin Davis   Mixing Engineer
David Rideau   Engineer
Kawan "KP" Prather   Composer
Ivy Skoff   A&R
Warren Bletcher   Engineer,Assistant
Andy Gwynn   Assistant Engineer
JD   Mixing
Dave Ashton   Engineer,Assistant
Scott Kieklak   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
David Ashton   Assistant Engineer
Christopher Wallace   Composer
Edmund "Butter" Clement   Composer,Producer
Sue Owens   A&R
Diane McDonald   A&R
Marcus Goins   Engineer
E. "Hustlechild" Clement   Composer
Ken "Supa Engineer" Duro   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
John Horesco IV   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
James Wright   Assistant Producer
Brian Frye   Engineer
Pharrell Williams   Composer,Instrumentation,Arranger
Xavier Smith   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Brian Smith   Engineer,Engineer
Carsten Schack   Composer
Usher   Producer,Vocal Producer,Composer
Valdez Brantley   Programming
Roger   Composer
Jermaine Dupri   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Performer,Instrumentation,Mixing Engineer
Jason Stasium   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
R.L. Huggar   Composer
Michael Flowers   Composer
The Neptunes   Producer
Reverend C.L. Moore   Composer
Kevin Guarnieri   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
C.J. Wallace   Composer
John Frye   Engineer
Brian Garten   Engineer
C. Moore   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Daron Jones   Arranger,Composer,Producer
James "Big Jim" Wright   Producer
Seth Waldman   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Bryan-Michael Cox   Composer,Producer,Performer,Instrumentation,Assistant Producer
Steve Baughman   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Bill Malina   Engineer
Jam & Lewis   Producer
Usher Raymond IV   Composer,Producer
Patrick Viala   Mixing,Engineer
Paul Boutin   Engineer
Soulshock   Mixing,Arranger,Musician,Producer
Steve Hodge   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
P. Williams   Composer
Babyface   Composer,Producer,Performer,Instrumentation
Kenneth Karlin   Composer
Anita McCloud   Composer
Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs   Sounds,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation,MIDI Programming
Terry Lewis   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Instrumentation,Vocal Arrangement,Assistant Producer
Chad Hugo   Arranger,Instrumentation
Edmund Clement   Composer,Producer
Roger Troutman   Composer
Karlin   Arranger,Musician,Producer