Usher's 'Here I Stand,' plus Al Green, Midnight Juggernauts, Spiritualized

"Here I Stand" (LaFace/Zomba)

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Usher must really take criticism to heart. One of the prominent complaints about his last album, "Confessions," was that it was too long, at some 73 minutes, so now the Atlanta-based R&B star delivers a follow-up that's shorter -- by about a minute.

The sheer bulk of "Here I Stand" (out today) requires more commitment of a listener than many of the protagonists in Usher's songs of conflicting urges are able to muster. The album would be much better without its excess of undistinguished ballads, but that aside, it's a more accomplished version of "Confessions," the hooks more effortless, the singing even better, the songwriting more consistent.

"Confessions" was the onetime teen prodigy's resoundingly successful adult breakthrough, and four years later comes his "mature" album, the first since he's become a husband and father. That experience colors some of the songs, where he grapples with the idea of settling down and eternal devotion. In "Appetite," which describes an airport encounter with documentary-like detail, temptation isn't the prelude to an affair but a demon that's endangering true love.

Usher treats parenthood more perfunctorily, with a sticky little pledge to be there for his son, but at least these moments offer a sense of growth. They don't define the album, which is fine, because Usher is more fun when he's on the prowl. You don't want him pulling out family photos after he's dimmed the lights and poured the champagne.

A take-charge guy, he does like to set the scene, as he indicates in "This Ain't Sex," which should more properly be called "This Ain't Just Sex," with its convergence of lust and love. For the purely carnal, you can't beat the single "Love in This Club," with its sweet, Akonian minor-chord feel, swirling, sensuous production by Polow Da Don and Usher's insistence on right here, right now.

When he sings "I don't care who's watching, watching, watching . . .," his voice flutters and soars, and you realize that sometimes it's best to just succumb to the pure pleasures of that feathery but forceful voice. It's as close as anyone's to Michael Jackson's, especially on catchy, old-school tracks such as "This Ain't Sex" that evoke "Off the Wall."

Even as the quality of the material fluctuates, you can count on Usher's singing to provide something memorable -- sweetness and power on the anthemic ballad "Moving Mountains" or relaxed intimacy on the light, minimalist Motown homage "Something Special."