Everybody does not love ‘Raymond v. Raymond’

Naming your album after a Dustin Hoffman movie is an unusual move for an R&B superstar. Sadly, it’s the most interesting thing about “Raymond v. Raymond,” Usher’s sixth studio album and his dreariest yet. You’d think the experience of a recent divorce would put a novel spin on the usual lover-man cliches, but that’s far from the case: An Usher album, I suppose, will always be an Usher album. On “Raymond v. Raymond,” the heartthrob tries too hard to be all things to all people — musically as well as lyrically — and it adds up to quite a mess of a record.

Granted, the concept of the album seems loosely built around schizophrenia and multiple identities — on the cover, two Ushers stand side by side eyeing the camera — but the incoherence here seems unintentional rather than deliberate. There aren’t just two Ushers knocking around in here; it sounds like a different guy’s popping up on every song.

Luckily, the singer still has an extraordinarily versatile voice, and on “Raymond v. Raymond” he sounds better than ever. The first single, “There Goes My Baby,” may be bland and predictable, but Usher’s wistful vocals bring the song thrillingly to life. Like Michael Jackson, the singer he’s most often compared to, Usher has an ability to shift between coy playfulness and heartfelt emotion, often within the very same bar. The cooing falsetto doesn’t hurt matters either.

Unfortunately, on the gimmicky club tracks that make up much of the record, Usher’s personality is pushed to the sidelines by his collaborators. He sounds indistinguishable from will.i.am (never a good thing) on the anemic “OMG,” and on “Lil Freak,” he’s completely blown out of the water by a stellar verse from Nicki Minaj, who’s well on her way to replacing Lil’ Wayne as hip hop’s most colorful figure.

On the other hand, there are also moments when Usher’s personality comes through a little too strongly — and they’re a bit scary. Yes, I’m all for adding spice to the usual R&B formula, but writing a club anthem about divorce is pushing it a bit far. It also takes nerve to bracket a heartfelt, actually surprisingly moving apology to your ex-wife with two songs that loudly declare how many girls you’re screwing (sample lyric: “I’m better when I touch and go, I’m trying to add your name to my hall of fame”).

Against the odds, it’s the most traditional songs on the album that work the best. Unconstrained by flashy production and interfering rappers, tracks like the slow-burning “Mars vs. Venus” and the Prince-ly “Monstar” give Usher space to flex his vocal skills. “Okay” may be the kind of slow jam that R. Kelly perfected a decade ago, but it’s also brilliantly executed — simmering and sensual where so much contemporary R&B is slushy and saccharine.

Like Usher’s 2008 album “Here I Stand,” “Raymond v. Raymond” is a pretty mixed bag, dictated by the strengths and weaknesses of its producers as much as by its main star. At this point, it looks like the singer hit his peak with 2004’s “Confessions,” one of the best-selling pop albums of the decade and, quite coincidentally, one of its best. If he doesn’t shape up soon, the three-note synth riff of “Yeah” may be the only thing he’s remembered for.

2 paws