On the Record: A difficult record to digest

Sun, 02/03/2008 7:02 AM  |  Entertainment

Artist: Britney Spears
Album: Blackout
Label: Jive Records/Zomba Label
Rating: ** out of *****
Standout Tracks: Heaven On Earth, Freakshow, Ooh Ooh Baby

These days, Britney Spears' name surfaces in the media more because of her rowdy behavior than her music. The pregnancy of her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, outside marriage, also bolsters the case that Britney's musical career is second in importance compared to the scuttlebutt surrounding herself and her family.

Blackout, Britney's latest studio effort, might be considered a reflection of what she does in her daily life. Several news editors have already prepared her obituary anticipating the worst possible outcome given her destructive behavior.

Although the first two songs on the album, Gimme More and Piece Of Me, have been played all over the world, entering the R & B charts, they are not much better than Britney's older songs.

The third and fourth tracks, Radar and Break The Ice, are just repetitions of the first two songs in terms of pulse and hooks. They seem to possess the exact same mood and hard-knocked beats, simply substituting a different set of lyrics.

Britney's voice is still engaging for some, however, the production here does not really create the type of musical innovation she should be capable of.

For those who doubt Britney's prowess, please listen to her old track I'm A Slave. This raucous single, which is arguably her masterpiece, is a pure thirst quencher on the dance floor. It has gloriously tight and swinging beats which mesmerize and enchant. Get Naked (I Got A Plan), another single with a catchy chorus from her latest album, attempts to re-capture the magic of her early hits but unfortunately fails to sizzle.

The new album seems to have taken some influence from the great German electronic band Kraftwerk. Britney's producer however failed to move beyond the synthesized "burps" and "tweeps", falling far short of the heart and soul of the European pioneers.

For hardcore Britney fans, the album might not disappoint as there really are no fillers throughout the album's 12 tracks.

But Blackout is a poor album which cannot even match the excitement of the countless dub remixes of her earlier work. The selling point? It's still her name that counts, and there is no shortage of that in the media.

-- Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo

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