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Release Date: May 5, 2009
Rating: 3 out of 5
Number of Tracks:12
Number of Tracks worth listening to: 5

I hate when people mess with a good thing. Ciara had carved out a lane for herself in the up-tempo pop world with hits like “Goodies”, “Get Up”, and “1, 2 Step". She caught some flack for what is thought to be her inability to sing (I've heard worst), and apparently she thought coming out with a diverse album would help her quiet the haters. She is successful in Fantasy Ride to the extent that her album is indeed diverse, but in the end you still aren’t convinced. This is one of the times she just should have stuck her nose up to her haters, and kept with what she knew.

The album gets off to a mediocre start with "Ciara to the Stage". The intro song is supposed to hype you about the rest of the album, this comes off as a warning...and not the good kind. Funky fresh, "Love Sex Magic" is an ok song, but it reeks of 2006 (when “SexyBack” was a hit). “High Price”, (which reminds me of “Oh”) is concept-wise and beat-wise great, but there is something missing in the execution (the Dream would have killed this song). She is partnered up well with The Dream on "Lover's Thing", which serves as the beginning of the good part of the album. The best song is “Never Ever" featuring Young Jeezy with "Keep Dancin’ on Me", a mellow dance record, following as a close second. In all fairness, “Pucker Up” is a good electro song, it just seems like a Britney Spears reject.

My initial rating for the album was 3.5 out of 5, but the good songs aren’t great songs (the only song that made to it playlist status was “Keep Dancin’ On Me”). It's the bad songs you’ll remember after you're done listening to it. You can make up a million jokes regarding the lyrics to "Like a Surgeon" (which I think is suppose to be reminiscent of Ginuwine's "So Anxious" (tempo and subject wise), but that thought only makes this fail seem even worse), one line is "you're my best patient, and you never have to wait in line"...seriously?!? Did she just call herself a ho?

If you are a fan of Ciara’s past albums, you will appreciate that she took a risk and considering its her first time experimenting with new styles, she did a good job. If you are not a fan, however there will be endless opportunites for you to laugh, and if you, after having purchased everything you could possibly need and want, have an extra $13.00 lying around, then...you really need to re-evaluate your "wants" 'cuz I am sure there is something else you could spend your money on.

Here are links to a few tracks:

"Neva Eva"
"Keep Dancin' on Me"
"Love Sex Magic"
"Like a Surgeon"