Hey Britney
Are you Ready? Uh huh, and You? Uh
The sweat is drippin' all over my face
I lay there in bed as Madonna whispered in one ear, and Britney rasped into the other. I listened intently.
Yes, I took a chance and purchased the DVD-Audio of former Princess of Pop Britney Spears last album In the Zone I don't know who has her title now, but I'm certain that she has lost it. I confess to enjoying some pop music, and I actually enjoyed Britney's first two albums. I even saw her in concert when my then six year old son wanted to see her. (His tastes have matured since). I didn't particularly like her third album, and didn't even consider purchasing this one, until I saw it in my favorite music format. So? How is it? I listened to the advance resolution 5.1 surround sound tracks.
Me Against the Music Well the first song is not bad, it features Madonna singing along with Britney. Sorry about the innuendo laden title, epinions suggests a snappy title to get people to read, and since you are reading this, I guess it worked. Nevertheless, this song is about a dance competition between the elder stateswoman of pop and the former princess, each probably trying to boost their careers from a lull. Musically, it's rather boring, but later, I'll tell you what I think of the included Video for it.
(I Got That) Boom Boom features the Ying Yang Twins and has a hip hop sound to it that's not bad. The Ying Yang twins start the song, and Britney joins in partway through the song. It's a hip hop style song that would work if Britney was a hip hop artist, but she's not. Nevertheless, it's not bad.
Showdown begins with Britney's suggestive whispering Sometimes I just love to have it all, just something a girl's gotta do, never thought I'd see you like this, you're looking good when you're half dressed The chorus chimes in, and Britney continues with her raspy whispered suggestive lyrics. I liked the beat and rhythm of this song. Britney's voice moves around the surround fields,and the chorus comes from the center. The beats surround you.
Breathe on Me begins with a trance beat, and from the lyrics, its not hard to guess what Britney's doing Oh it's so hot and I need some air, and boy, don't stop 'cause I'm halfway there Britney's new raspy voice is not the pop sounds of her earlier albums. I wondered if Britney or more likely her writers saw Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not when she sings just put your lips together and blow.
Early Mornin' Well speaking of Trance, this song features the man who made Trance mainstream; Moby. The beats and vocals have a very layered feel to them that spread through the surround field in waves. The lyrics themselves are monotonous, just Britney singing about the morning after a late night.
Toxic is another song where the video was a lot better than the actual song. Again, this song has a very produced sound to it, with layers of rhythms and vocals coming at you from all channels. This song is the closest to a pop hit that there is on this album.
Outrageous a song by R. Kelly also features him on some of the backing vocals. R. Kelly may have done some outrageous things, but this song for Britney isn't one of them.
Touch of My Hand continues on with a very produced sound, good use of surround. Britney sings this song herself I shut myself out from the world, so I can draw the blinds, then I'll teach myself to fly Uh huh. The music in this song swells in and out like breathing, which I thought was a cool effect.
The Hook Up begins with a reggae shout out, but then digresses into just another average song.
Shadow I just didn't like this song, what can I say.
Brave New Girl Oh so that's what this album is about, Britney's a brave new girl. This album is a pop song that I would expect from the Bangles. Britney's voice is enhanced with electronic effects. It just had a very 80s sound to it, and reminded me of something I had heard before, but I couldn't place it.
Everytime Britney attempts to sing a slow ballad song, and for me, it just falls flat. Plenty of other singers have perfected this style, and Britney shouldn't go there.
The DVD-Audio ends with a remix of Me Against the Music which adds some extra noises to the song.
Overall, the production of this album was outstanding. The rhythms and beats blend in with layers of vocals to achieve a very polished sound. Britney's new vocal style I guess is supposed to sound all grown up and sexy. It does to an extent, but my music collection is full of women who do it far better (Billie Holiday, Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, Astrud Gilberto to name just a few). I suppose its very unfair to compare Britney to them though, so let me just say that I enjoyed her when she was a pop singer. She trys her chops here at a few different musical styles, but I think she is in over her head. While Jewel for example, may be able to do a pop album very well, Britney doesn't do very well with anything outside of pop. The album is listenable, it just doesn't stand out in any particular aspect.
The DVD-Audio also features a stereo track, also in advanced resolution (both stereo and multichannel are mixed at 96 KHz 24 bit. For those without DVD-Audio players, fear not, there is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and a Dolby Digital stereo mix, both mastered at 48 KHz in 16 bit.
Extras on each song include lyrics and a photo album of Britney looking sultry and sexy.
The DVD-Audio also features two videos, both in surround sound:
Me Against the Music- Video Madonna, looking ridiculous with a white cane and white suit, notices Britney in her dance club and inexplicably end up in a long wooden staircase, and a series of strange rooms. The video seems to be ready to become a lesbian porno video, but Madonna disappears in a puff of smoke before that happens.
Toxic- Video features Britney as a very sexy stewardess, and here my eyes overcome my ears to truly enjoy this song. This song just sounds way better when watching Britney as a very suggestive sexy stewardess, mixed with shots of Britney in a white sequined body suit. Soon she joins a man in the planes cabin to join the mile high club, then fades into a completely new scene of Britney as a leather clad red headed biker babe on the back of a bad boys motorbike. Wow!
Summary If you enjoy pop or dance music, and want to try out surround sound, this album is fairly good, because frankly, there is not a lot of today's pop music out there yet on SACD or DVD-Audio. As someone who rather liked Britney's pop music, I think her career has gone downhill since her first two albums. She looks good though!
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