Veteran (Marques Houston album)
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Veteran is the third studio album of American R&B artist Marques Houston, a former member of the R&B group Immature/IMx. The album was released in the U.S. on March 20, 2007 and is available as a standard version, as well as a Circuit City Exclusive version (which includes a bonus DVD) and a Target Exclusive version (which includes a bonus track). Veteran sold almost 70,000 units in its first week.[1]
History
Houston describes Veteran as "a reflection of who I am as an artist and as a man. There's a lot that I've been through as far as relationships and just experiencing life. I'm only 25, but I’m a veteran because I've been in the industry since I was 8, and I've watched the changes."[2] The album release date was pushed back to give Houston time to cope with the death of his grandmother.[citation needed]
In the United States, Veteran debuted (and peaked) at number 5 on the Billboard 200[3][4] and debuted at number 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,[4][5] marking this release as Houston's first number one solo album.
The album features guest appearances by Mýa, Shawnna and Yung Joc. Houston had a hand in writing all of the songs on the albums except for "Wonderful", written by Ne-Yo (who worked with Houston previously, in 2003, on the song "That Girl" from Houston's album MH) and produced by Stereotypes.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Okayplayer |  [7] |
| PopMatters |   [8] |
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman praised the production and lyrical qualities for being more hi-standard compared to Houston's previous efforts and for the maturity in his vocal delivery, saying that "he works the more romantic sentiments with enough conviction to indicate that he has more life experiences from which to draw."[6] Joshua Alston of Vibe saw Houston's vocal work similar to that of Sam Cooke, saying that he "sounds sexier when he isn't working so damn hard at it. If only he had a clue."[9] Adam Pearthree of Okayplayer commended the mature approach the album takes with its songs but found it forgettable, along with Houston's identity crisis in his vocal performance, concluding that, "With stronger song selection [Marques] Houston could still come up with the adult oriented album he wants, but as of now, Veteran simply falls short."[7] Mike Joseph of PopMatters also found the production and songwriting adequate at best but felt it was too reminiscent of other established R&B artists, saying that "[T]he moments you notice on Veteran are the ones that remind you of other artists. Now in his mid-twenties, it’s hard to say whether Houston will ever develop the singular personality that will elevate his career to the next level of hitmaker status."[8]
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Veteran (Intro)" | The Underdogs | 2:28 |
| 02 | "Like This" (featuring Yung Joc) | Cory Bold | 3:51 |
| 03 | "Always & Forever" | The Underdogs | 4:02 |
| 04 | "Favorite Girl" | Brandon Howard, Exchange Student(co) | 3:33 |
| 05 | "Circle" | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:02 |
| 06 | "Wonderful" | Stereotypes | 3:42 |
| 07 | "Exclusively" | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:08 |
| 08 | "How You Just Gonna" | The Underdogs | 3:35 |
| 09 | "Hold N' Back" (featuring Mýa and Shawnna) | Cory "Co-P!" Peterson | 4:23 |
| 10 | "Kimberly" | LaMont "L" Lassiter | 4:24 |
| 11 | "So Right for Me" | Candice "Gg" Nelson | 3:44 |
| 12 | "Miss Being Your Man" | The Underdogs | 3:35 |
Bonus tracks
- "Excited" – 3:44 (Target Exclusive bonus track)
Bonus DVD listing[10]
- "DVD Intro" – 0:10
- "Interview with Raw Footage" – 30:54
- "Favorite Girl" – 3:34
- "Sex wit You" – 4:14
- "Live European Performance" – 1:13
- "Somebody Help Me Trailer" – 2:10
References
- ^ "Joss Stone "Reintroduces" Herself, Marques Houston Proves He's A Vet, Baby Boy Da Prince Gets Crowned". Hip-Hop Charts | SOHH.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Marques Houston Finishes New Album". 2006-04-14. Retrieved 2008-02-05. Vibe.com
- ^ "The Billboard 200: Veteran". Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) Billboard.com - ^ a b "Marques Houston's 'Veteran' Debuts at Number One". 2007-03-30. Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)EURweb.com - ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Veteran". Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) Billboard.com - ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Veteran - Marques Houston". AllMusic. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ a b Pearthree, Adam (April 2007). "Marques Houston - Veteran". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ a b Joseph, Mike (April 17, 2007). "Marques Houston: Veteran". PopMatters. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Alston, Joshua (May 2007). "Marques Houston 'Veteran'". Vibe. 15 (5). Vibe Media: 114. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ "Image: Veteran (CD+DVD Set)". Retrieved 2008-02-05. Amazon.com