Review Summary: Where would we be without the magic of Britney? This album will show you what it's like to have it with you..
Let us wind back the clock 12 years, shall we? Britney was a then-unknown 18-year old girl who had a shot at a dream that all other girls would have killed for the opportunity to do, and she does it by introducing to us her first musical effort, simply titled "...Baby One More Time."
The "...Baby One More Time" period was a time where she wanted to go for the moon, and perhaps she may have done this a little more generic than one might have liked, but who to show more vibrant melody than our pop princess? The lyrics that are presented to us seem to be screaming "Teen Pop" and include themes such as regretting a decision she made to leave her boyfriend and having second thoughts (Title Track), the tsunami of despair that she apparently is drowning in while attempting to link back up with her ex (Bottom Of My Broken Heart) and last, but not least, the introduction of romantic mending, this time being offered in electronic form. (E-Mail My Heart)
While the listener may get a sense of, let's say, the "Too generic to be entertaining beats" vibe, there's many jagged edges just waiting to rip open one's shell and let the Britney light pour in. That light shines most brightly with the stellar title track. There is a basic drum beat to kick it into gear, soon followed by keyboarding and a synthetic, pulsing rhythym that makes one want to get up and dance, and that's without acknowledging the singing. The vocal work by Spears, albeit Auto-Tuned, still offers a nice sentiment to the whole package. This track is one of the reasons one might want to try and get their lost love back. Spears hits us up with yet another funky beat entitled "(You Drive Me) Crazy", but it seems that the thing creating the noise offers more of a popping sound in comparison to the last track but this time has a bell ringing in the background which makes one wonder where the real masterpiece is hiding, and that masterpiece is, yet again, the vocals that Ms. Spears delivers to us. This song could do better lyrically, but then who needs subliminal messages when one is dancing?
With the main course done, let us just dispose of the off-cuts. Despite being a single, this song is the most boring on the album which seems to be a vague Stevie Nicks-esque attempt of a deeply disparate ["Please take me back"] song "From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart." Sounds like Britney is trying to rip off the aforementioned artists' song "Last Christmas" showing vague similarities: keyboard set to piano-style, drum and synthesisers attempting to serenade each others' melodies, but falls flat and generally maintains its' monotonous sound throughout. "And the beat goes on..." one might say to himself, but when you hear "E-Mail To My Heart", you can't help but feel a slight bit disappointed with the fact that Britney has made no progress with her so-called "Ex-boyfriend" and so one may become a bit annoyed with her constant repetition of the chorus a total of seven times.
"I'm sorry, oh so sorry, can't you give me one more chance to make it all up to you.
E-mail my heart and say our love will never die
and that I know you're out there and I know that you still care.
Email me back and say our love will stay alive.
Forever, Email my heart."
This, coupled with a fraction of Auto-Tuning failure results in a turn for the worst. Thank god this wasn't the last track on the album.
This album would appeal to any teenager who would like inspiration on how to write their own sad, sad song and also stellar to those who show an appreciation for a good get-up-and-dance album, but it will indeed fall flat in the eyes of her skeptics.
Recommended Tracks:
-...Baby One More Time
-Born To Make You Happy
-The Beat Goes On
-Sometimes
