Stripped. An appropriate album title for an artist currently gracing the cover of Rolling Stone with nothing covering her but a guitar. Christina Aguilera’s “proper” second album dropped last Tuesday, three years after her multiplatinum, self-titled debut was released (mediocre Christmas and Spanish-language albums followed in 2000). In the fickle music world, the sophomore record remains an artist’s most important. What took so long?
The record contains 16 pure tracks and runs for nearly 80 minutes, long for a pop album. But that’s just what the record isn’t. Instead, it’s a delightful combination of gospel, jazz, R&B, rock and Latin genres. And Christina isn’t your typical cookie-cutter popstar anymore; while Britney sings she’s “not yet a woman,” Christina embraces her newfound womanhood. With all but two of the disc’s tracks co-penned by Christina, Stripped is the result of a girl coming to grips with herself as an artist, a woman and a person. It’s her story, an insight into who she is, and it’s that realness and brutal honesty that make her record among the best released this year.
One of the defining characteristics of Stripped is the confident sexual energy that underlines it. The album’s first single “Dirrty” and accompanying video find Christina “getting her club on,” while the blatantly sexual “Get Mine, Get Yours” details a casual lovemaking experience: “I want your body/ not your heart.” And she makes no apologies. It’s a woman’s world, and just in case we forget, she teams up with Lil’ Kim for the album’s girl power anthem “Can’t Hold Us Down.” A strong contender for the album’s second single, “Can’t” delivers sparing, syncopated beats with tight production and soaring vocals and an extended ending, normally off-limits for patterned “pop” songs.
On other cuts, Christina intelligently focuses more on vocal expression than technique. She sounds like Pink on the angry, rock-tinged “Make Over”. It’s no surprise as the track was produced by former 4 Non Blondes lead singer and sometime Pink-collaborator Linda Perry. Christina doesn’t even technically sing during the chorus; she screams the notes. The gifted singer is learning to truly use her voice.
Her most vulnerable and “stripped” performance appears on “I’m OK,” a track exposing Christina’s father’s abusive behavior toward her mother during Christina’s childhood. Christina fights back tears as she softly sings over just guitar and string accompaniment.
A number of cuts on Stripped exude a soulfulness reminiscent of one of Christina’s self-professed musical idols – Etta James. The jazzier numbers showcase Christina’s best performances. Composed and produced by Alicia Keys, “Impossible” couldn’t have been delivered better by Alicia herself. Point blank, Christina sounds black.
Overall, it’s Christina’s willingness to experiment that gives the album its edge. She knows where her voice works, but she still wants to grow and learn as an artist, and she happily takes the listener along for the ride. With spoken interludes, live instrumentation, ad libs and improv galore, she couldn’t be farther from where she was three years ago, but that’s a good thing.
Stripped announces the emergence of one of the great musical talents of our generation. It’s your loss if you can’t get past her reputation.
— Review by Jennifer Clay
November 07, 2002
