bob_tomato's Full Review: Schizophrenic by JC Chasez
oh come on - admit it. we like pop music...
But we're a music reviewer - we're not supposed to enjoy that stuff. We have a snarky reputation to uphold.
so why'd we agree to do this?
Bravado. That's what made us agree to do this.
Stupid, idiotic pride in our reviewing skills. "It's a homework assignment" she said.
she got to us, didn't she?
How hard can it be? It's just a solo debut by one of the members of *N'Sync - it'll be mushy love songs, like (in a slow breathy baritone) this one's all for you, girl...won't it? I mean, JC Chasez sings well, sometimes really well, he writes decent pop ballads and the occasionally catchy dance record, and he's been working on this record for a couple years. This should be a piece of cake...
think again, bucko...it's more complex than that. JC's not a Mouske'Syncer anymore...He's in his late twenties, he's an attractive single guy - he wants to get his groove on in a serious way
OK - but c'mon, it's still just manufactured pop, right? Isn't that what these guys are all about? We only liked a few songs by N'Sync - what was that one? Oh yeah, The Game is Over with all those Atari game noises. We liked that one.
JC wrote that song
That's right - she mentioned that when you asked - of course, you'd remember that bit... you're not gonna let us out of this, are you?
You got us into this - and you really should stop talking to yourself and get busy with your homework
Alright already - I'll be back - I have to go buy a pop record now... sheesh
as if you could leave me behind - this oughta be fun to watch...
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Two days later so - what do you think - we've been listening to Schizophrenic non-stop for the last couple days...
... ... Ummm...
OH, THIS is gonna be GOOD! we know that tone of voice - you LIKE it, don't you? well...? you can't lie to us - you're turning red...
OK! I - I - oh crap -
just say it...
i like it.
OH SWEET DAY IN THE MORNIN' - BOB_TOMATO LIKES JC CHASEZ! Bob and JC, sittin' in a tree -
Knock it off - it's not like that. I like this album, that's all. and, there's a lot more than kissing going on in this record...
Oh, really? Do tell!
Ummm... let's just say that JC has some interesting ideas about pleasing his female interests - there's at least 100 Ways that he can think of for - well, this is not an album for any pre-teen *N'Sync fans to listen to. Did you read any of these song titles? One Night Stand, All Day Long (I Think About Sex), Some Girls (Dance With Women) - the lyrics are DETAILED in a PG-13 kind of way. I guess he got tired of the "safe" image he had from *N'Sync...
so, why do we like this album? what broke through our famous bob_tomato snarky exterior and 'pop'ped us in the head?
First - he gets points for having written most of the material on the album; he had the help of some co-writers and good producers like Basement Jaxx, Riprock and Alex G, but these songs are his ideas. Second, he really does sing well, and third, he shows a lot of versatility in song styles and changes to his voice - every song is unique to itself. In fact, I'd swear he deliberately copied several other artists, just to show that he could do it. Somehow, the whole thing hangs together around this theme of "guys night out" - picking up girls, having a good time - the night runs a little long at seventeen songs, but I keep listening to it all the way through.
what do we mean, "copied other artists"?
While you listen to the album, you hear familiar snippets of other songs, or JC sings like someone else, or the sound of the song recalls another artist, usually from another era. Here, read these quotes I found in Rolling Stone about his musical influences - that might explain it a little better.
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What do you like to play (guitar) along with?
I can play a lot off Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales and anything from the first three Lenny [Kravitz] records or the first two Seal records. That's where I learned everything.
What artists do you listen to when you're having sex, as opposed to making love?
For the love thing, you can't go wrong with a good Sade record. And you can't have better sex than to a Prince record -- Let's Go Crazy or Darling Nikki. Anything dirty.
What are your three favorite records from the Eighties? Duran Duran, with Girls on Film. The Police's Synchronicity. And Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill was one of the first cassettes I bought with my own money, and I drove my parents nuts blastin' Brass Monkey.
- JC Chasez in Rolling Stone magazine - http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19377
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See that? He likes Sting and The Police, Prince, Seal, Sade, Lenny Kravitz - this guy likes the same stuff we do! Major bonus points awarded for liking these artists.
so match 'em up! What songs sound like other stuff?
She Got Me - it's got some smooth r&b, almost like something on Off The Wall, but the acoustic rhythm guitar modernizes that sound. JC sells it pretty well too - did I mention he can sing? There's only one way to describe 100 Ways - Prince, Prince, Prince. JC digs out Dirty Mind and does the Prince semi-spoken, falsetto screaming, innuendo thing -and does it convincingly. NOT for the kids. If You Were My Girl could find a home on any Lenny Kravitz album -in some places, you might even think Lenny IS singing on this record. In fact, I would love to hear Kravitz cover this song - he'd probably make it a huge hit. It's got the funky groove, dirty synths, and some seventies guitar licks - all the Kravitz ingredients are there.
Which came first - the theme to The Learning Channel show Clean Sweep or the horn bridge in JC's Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)? I sure hope they cleared this in Legal first... well, never mind that - this song throbs - JC's hoping to get "noddy" with this one. Tiny little detail that gets me every time - after the bridge, at 3:03, JC does a vocal part that ends in three part harmony on the last couple words. The vocal parts go into a major key instead of staying in the minor mode heard underneath it - it's a nice contrast that the snarky musician in us can appreciate.
JC certainly has a thing for eighties synthesizers, and it shows throughout the album. All Day Long (I Think About Sex) has a Gary Numan/Flock of Seagulls vibe working for it, complete with a lengthy synth solo in the middle. Class of '84 Rulez!!! Woo-hoo! Continuing with the mid-eighties references is JC's paen to "self-service" - Come To Me. It starts with a descending sound effect, much like the opening of Flock of Seagulls I Ran, but then a very familiar hook starts in, stolen from another debut album, Corey Hart's First Offense. Do you wear your Sunglasses At Night? I loved that song, and JC has recreated the hook here as the main theme underlying this entire song. It's not a sample, and it's not quite the same synth sound as the original - it's more of an early Moog bass synth sound, and the tempo here is just a little bit slower than Sunglasses. Did I mention the PG-13 lyrics of this album? - here's another one to keep the kids away from.
One of the nicest ballads on the album, Lose Myself, takes a cue from Seal's Kiss From a Rose with it's familiar piano and vocal touches - I think there's a bit of PM Dawn thrown in here too, but it's another Kiss for sure... I think this one could be a big hit for JC - and it's one of my favorite songs on the whole recording. One of my other favorites is the minimal Dear Goodbye - it's a lite jazz ballad, with that "Quiet Storm" radio feel, but the real strength of the song is the vocal run up an octave or more that JC pulls off a few times - though it sounds a little strained, I am insanely jealous of how high he reaches in full voice.
you're holding out on us - we know that JC recorded a Sting style song, and we're a huge Sting fan - what's up?
it's a good try, if he actually wanted to sound like Sting's bad remake of The Bed's Too Big Without You that he did with Ranking Roger several years ago...I don't really like JC's attempt at being reggae a la The Police - Everything You Want has a little bit of Sting's famous whine in the high notes, but it's too smooth in places to really be a Police record. He did throw in some Andy Summer style guitar licks in places, and he remembered to add Stewart Copeland's hi-hat poly-rhythms. I think that JC gets a couple points for trying it, but it's a track like this that just makes the record LONG in places. Something Special is another different sound for the album, with a lot of hand claps and foot stomps for percussion, much like John Cougar Mellencamp's Jack and Diane, but it's more filler than substance. However, JC gets more points for vocal ability shown in this song.
we haven't mentioned the first single yet
Well, I was saving the best for last - I have to say that the most fun songs on the album are the funky grooves in the self-absorbed party boy skit/song One Night Stand, and the super sexy Some Girls(Dance With Women). First of all, JC takes on a new persona with One Night Stand - he becomes a character who thinks he's God's gift to women, in a Morris Day kind of way, know what I'm sayin? you just have to hear it -
(mouse click) here it comes - 1, 2, 3, BASS!
- Saaaaayyy suh-weet thang! uh huh?
- you know I couldn't help but notice you lookin' all goooood ovah he-ah yeah...
- I was wonderin' - do you wanna fffffff - it makes me weak, babay, just to hear you speak, baybay.
- girl you got me all dizzy and light, like I got my cap on too tight.
- skoop a deep a dop a doop bah boo...
this is not typical bob_tomato behavior...you're getting me worried
don't care - this is a fun song...it makes me wanna moooooove, ya know? 1, 2, 3, 4 and SLIIIIIIIDE...
- oooooh I feel love I feel love I feel love...uh, that's right
- oooooh I feel love I feel love I feel love...at least for tonight
Oh dear God - please don't dance - OHHHHHH...... NO! that is not right....
Hey, change it over to Some Girls...
Which one, the single or the bonus track with Dirt McGirt?
I can do without the rap bridge in the bonus track - I like the single better, track one...Oh yeah, there we go!
please, I'm begging you...don't do this to us...you're ruining our reputation...STOP DANCING, will you?
What? I thought you said that deep down, I actually liked pop music?
This album gets my feet movin', it makes me wanna...
NO! NOT THE WHITE MAN 'S OVERBITE!! ohhhhh - we can't watch....
Hey - YOU were the one who said I'd like it, and you were right. Schizophrenic is more than "just a pop album" - it's a collection of widely varying styles, some obvious tributes to his favorite artists, and one thing is for certain - it shows that JC has some real musical talent, and an ear for what works. If he keeps this up, he might actually transcend the whole Mouske'Sync thing...
JC Chasez - Schizophrenic
Originally released in the US in February 2004 by Zomba Recording Corporation Track listing
Some Girls (Dance With Women) / She Got Me / 100 Ways / Mercy / Build My World / Something Special / If You Were My Girl / Shake It / All Day Long I Dream About Sex / One Night Stand / Come To Me / Dear Goodbye / Everything You Want / Lose Myself / Right Here (By Your Side) / Bonus Track: Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love) / Bonus Track: Some Girls (Dance With Women) Featuring Dirt McGirt
Total Time 76:09
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