LAURA JOHNSON
Assistant A&E Editor
Britney Spears is in a trance. She was in one at the MTV Video Music Awards; she was in one during her entire marriage to Kevin Federline. She is still in one on her highly anticipated new album, “Blackout.”
It is a very tough call whether this trance is drug-induced or simply a malfunction of Britney’s mind: but, whatever the reason, maybe Britney should just blackout and move far, far away, or, maybe just check into rehab — for the third time.
In the album’s first single, “Gimme More,” Spears spills what she wants most in life — more. And the truth is, that is what listeners want from her, too.
The song is great in a club, as the beginning lines, “It’s Britney bi***,” are so “poetic.” How can one not want to keep listening? Although it is catchy, simply put, the song should be better.
In Spears’ previous album, “In the Zone” (the one in 2003, before the “Greatest Hits” album fiasco), Spears pulled out every sweat-drop of dance precision that she could muster.
Her voice was never meant for slow ballads or Whitney Houston high-note divaness — hers is one of technology and dance genius. She is the Madonna for a new generation.
And, although she may not be aware of this, Spears is performer, not a singer. With her latest set of stage performances, it may be unclear if she can even be that.
All grown-up, extremely sexual and even employing the f-word in a few songs, Spears is ready to tell the world that she is capable, or maybe not so capable. The beats of “Blackout” should ooze into the skin and seep into the system. Instead, her tunes lacklusterly drone on as if in a bad electronica club dream.
Squeaking in her 5-year-old-like voice (especially prevalent on the track, “Cold As Fire”), Spears’ voice warbles in and out of falsetto in “Break that Ice.” There is a line in the song where she says, “I like this part.” When one has to point out that a part of a song is good, but it also defeats the element of surprise,
There is a lot of groaning and heavy breathing throughout the album, which is not all bad (as Spears is talented at it), but when she begins to sing the verses of her tracks, it is hard to find any coherency in them at all.
As the un-scrubbed version of the album leaked especially early, Spears’ work was able to be scrutinized earlier than she might have wished — probably having to do with the release date being pushed back a few weeks. Not all the tracks released online even made it onto the album, including the track “Baby Boy,” where she feigns talking on the phone for about half the song (and thank goodness).
The final cut of the album is proof that, in the master-hands of great producers, anyone can put together something worthy of airtime. This is especially apparent on the tracks “Freakshow,” which will probably be the next single, and the exuberantly-catchy “Toy Soldier,” where Spears expresses her desire to have a soldier boy. In these tracks, Spears seems to be almost having fun and shows that her album is not an entire loss.
Last year, her two great loves, Justin and K-Fed, released albums. One was amazing and one was not. The world expected greatness from Spears. Here was her platform to prove that she is not a mess-up. Instead, she failed to prove anything.
Spears’ mind seems to still be under the impression that her pot-bellied self is hot, yet, her heart is not seen in the action. Through her stupor, Spears is only able to portray someone in desperate need of attention. She will get attention for this CD, but it may not be the kind she wants.
“Blackout” does get better after being listened to the first few times, and some of it is fun, but, in comparison to previous works, this is a travesty.
Spears’ music on this album is mediocre, and, for a generation who grew up listening to her, the need to be “hit one more time” is imperative. To say we were not “hit” does not even begin to describe the disappointment that can be expressed about this effort.
11-01-2007