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T-Pain is not an "everyone" artist; he is either an acquired taste or a "I hate that fucking guy so much I would crucify him the second I saw him" type of entertainer. Thankfully (or not so thankfully, depending on your point of view), I've liked the guy since "I'm Sprung" became a smash hit during the summer of 2005 and my fandom has continued to grow as he has released more singles and more (and more, and more) collaborations.

His second album, "Epiphany," was a spectacular record that captured the essence of mainstream music; inimitable grooves, limitless melodies, incredible production, and a wonderful palette of songs that swabbed every inch of the commercial hip hop market equally. By no means is it an artistic success, but T-Pain was obviously having a good time with his success by this time and he was bringing us along for the ride.

It was with great anticipation and a rapid pulse that I slammed "Thr33 Ringz" into the player upon purchase and immediately began listening. Forgoing the circus theme (which is really just a half-assed attempt at artistic "creativity"); this is a typical T-Pain album, minus the sleepy "Rappa Ternt Sanga" of 2005. Nearly every track is upbeat and there are numerous club bangers. "... Sanga" seems to be a bit of a misfit as it featured a slightly younger Faheem Najm crooning softly and tenderly - auto-tune intact, however - over melancholy production that created something... sultry. "Thr33 Ringz," however, is equal parts chaotic as it is rambunctious and infectious.

"Ringleader Man" is typical Pain, replete with catchy hook and melody, while songs like the clubbish “Freeze” with Chris Brown and the experimental “Blowing Up” with Ciara will either get you moving your ass or nodding your head. "Therapy" maintains a tempo that guarantees it’s ridiculous - if not totally ingenious - chorus will stay on your brain much longer than it should. "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" and "Can't Believe It" are the current singles and as singles, they don't compare to Pain's two previous chart-toppers which are "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" and "Bartender," respectively, but they are incredible nonetheless.

A bigger problem here is all the guests. Nearly every track features an artist not named T-Pain, and with a short rapped intro (we plunked down our cash for some auto-tune, sorta-kinda R&B action, not RAPPING, Pain!!) and two needless skits, that dwindles the total song count down to 14, not counting useless filler that you'll skip over anyway. Of those 14 songs, 11 contain outside help. That is simply unacceptable when an album is billed as a “solo” recording. “Epiphany” had half as many guests and, wouldn’t you know it, it was twice as good.

That's the entire album in a nutshell; T-Pain is T-Pain, but this is nowhere near as infectious, as well-constructed, or more importantly, as consistent as "Epiphany." Album filler is scattered throughout and pops up at the worst moments. "It Ain't Me" is placed right after the aforementioned "Can't Believe It" and is followed by a useless skit. "Reality Show" follows the can't-get-it-out-of-my-head catchiness of "Therapy," that is followed up by the beautifully introspective "Keep Going," and that is triple-teamed by the ultimately forgettable trio of "Superstar Lady," "Change," and "Digital.”

If not for some terribly misplaced filler (more so if you got stuck with the Deluxe Edition), the rampant guests, and the simple fact that this just ain’t as good as Pain’s previous effort, “Thr33 Ringz” is an exceptional record from Anatares Auto-Tune’s number one customer. It’ll make a great stocking stuffer for T-Pain fans this holiday season, but the LP is still a touch disappointing.

7/10