In September 2011,
1977 was issued under
the-Dream's birth name, Terius Nash, and provided as a free download. Nash dubbed it an "Internet album." A year later, after two of Nash's singles as
the-Dream -- "Roc" and "Dope Chick" -- left little impact, and after their parent album remained incomplete,
Def Jam gave
1977 an official release. Despite being spiffed up with new artwork and a co-credit to Nash and
the-Dream, it should not be considered the fourth album by
the-Dream. At its best, it retraces steps but does so with some stellar songwriting.
Pharrell and
Big Sean guest verses and a
Jay-Z sample aside, the album was written and produced entirely by Nash, who switches between licking his wounds and puffing his chest. "Long Gone" and "Wedding Crasher" are relatable and colorful with Nash tapping into the vulnerability conveyed in "Abyss" and "February Love." Compared to Nash's previous albums and his tremendous success as a songwriter and producer,
1977 is an occasionally fascinating part of his story. On a personal level, it sounds like he needed to get it out of his system. The original free-download version of the album contains a cover of
Deniece Williams' immortal 1981 ballad "Silly" fronted by newcomer Casha, whose level is closer to that of
Ashanti. The
Def Jam version swaps it out for "AK47" and "Tender Tendencies" -- a closing combo solid enough to prevent the album from "diehards only" status. ~ Andy Kellman