What
exactly happened to Britney Spears? Since the release of “In the Zone” in 2003,
her life has been one tabloid disaster after another. From two marriages (both
ending in divorce), two kids, and to top it off, a “comeback” performance that
was the absolute nadir of career; there’s just been no break for our fallen pop
princess. Maybe it was growing up too fast too soon, or maybe she was just
given too much freedom, either way, post-“In the Zone” has not been kind to
Britney. So, four years of mishaps and rehab stints later, we realize just how
vital image is to pop stars. In 1999, we had a toned, tan, and fresh-faced
school girl that pouted her way through “Baby One More Time”, and no more than
a year later, we were given the red-suited Martian whose dance moves were
almost as good as her command over teen boys. With every new album, there was a
new image to accompany it. Pop stars like Madonna had already cemented the fact
that image matters to music just as much (if not more) than the music itself,
but not even Madge was so tightly-knit to her public persona as Britney has
been. So, come 2007, when Britney has lost her coherence and that signature
golden blonde hair, how does this new image hold up on “Blackout”? Well for
starters, releasing it so quickly after that career-burning VMA performance and
given Brit Brit’s erratic history, all of these events have set this album up
to be (and arguably very well is) a train wreck. Upon the first listen you’ll
notice two things: one, “Blackout” is shockingly cohesive, unlike the tattered
singer behind it, and two, while this album is very much aware and club-ready,
it still doesn’t retain the high standard so present in her past albums.
From horrendous
auto-tune to voice-altering no-nos, any talent that Britney has, both vocally
and artistically, has been buried under the numerous producers that all have
different visions, and more times than one, all these ideas don’t gel. Plus, the
added product placements aren’t doing her any favors; since she’s at a point in
her career where she needs to lay low, not celebrate her debauchery. But, as
flawed as it is, “Blackout” also catches at sparse points of brilliance. For
one, this is her first album that’s absent of dreary ballads, which keeps the
momentum at a nice pace. Since her image has taken a downturn, she’s now not
confined to squeaky clean and vapid pop. She can now explore a little, as Max
Martin is still not around and instead she opts for urban producers such as The
Neptunes, who craft the album’s slick and strong closer “Why Should I Be Sad?”,
Bloodshy & Avant, among many, many others. With so many collaborations,
they’re bound to hit the mark at one point. The album’s strongest track, the
highly addictive and wonderfully satiric “Piece of Me”, was hemmed straight
from B&A, while the following track “Radar” also shows a nice sexiness that
defies Britney’s gaudy image. But, B&A are also responsible for the album’s
lowest points: “Freakshow” is short, yet still runs past its playing time, and “Toy
Soldier” seems pointless, never heading in any direction and makes it hard to
continue to the rest of the album. But even with these tracks aside, there’s
still plenty of fun to be had with the sultry opener “Gimme More” and the cool
stripper anthem “Get Naked (I Got a Plan). All in all, “Blackout” plays like a
triumph, since it is somehow more cleaned up and put together than the artist
who’s on the album cover. But this also highlights its main flaw: the image supersedes
the music. “Blackout” is an album to easily overpraise because of its contrast
to Britney, the person. If she had recorded this a couple years ago, it wouldn’t
have seemed to well-done. And at the end of the day, with no kind thank-yous in
the liner notes, no sweetness, and no limit, this album is still not as good as
its predecessor. It’s definitely her most unrestrained and fun album, yes, but
that’s a fact that can only be appreciated, not loved.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Gimme More 2. Piece of Me 3. Radar
4. Break
the Ice 5. Heaven on Earth 6. Get
Naked (I Got a Plan)
7.
Freakshow 8. Toy Soldier 9. Hot as Ice
10. Ooh
Ooh Baby 11. Perfect Lover 12. Why
Should I Be Sad?
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