View Full Version : Album Club: 08.11.2011: Britney Spears - Blackout (2007)
Britney Spears - Blackout (2007)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DM%2B8aDvwL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/1MLQLTepJnkvGxa4Oe6Tzr
Well I suspect I will be able to count on one finger the number of people who will appreciate this week’s reserve Album Club choice… Me! And as for everyone else, the one finger will probably be the middle one, pointing up - and aimed in my direction! :lol:
As you will have seen, I have chosen Britney Spears and her fifth studio album, Blackout. I suppose the first question most of you will be asking after “WTF!?” will be “Why?” Well, ok, I will try and explain why…
You may or may not have been aware of the terminal meltdown that Ms Spears appeared to be in immediately preceding the release of this album – but if you do remember then you may have seen some of the images… yes – THOSE images of the previously squeaky clean American darling emerging from a limo in a short skirt, but also the ones of her rushing from a hairdresser’s having completely shaved her own head. The distraught pictures after the court appearances - having lost custody of her children, the numerous literal car crashes and motoring offences – the disastrous comeback on MTV. Interestingly, the Guardian review at the time, suggested “By contrast with poor old Britney, everything in Amy Winehouse's world is going just swimmingly.” Oh, the irony of hindsight…!
And in part, that’s why I chose this album – the juxtaposition of everything going disastrously in an artist’s private life, whilst the commercial machine of the record industry continues to demand its pound of flesh. Undoubtedly “poor old Britney” was in a very dark place, but at the same time, she was being wheeled into a recording studio, no doubt hardly knowing where she was at times, let alone who she was – and yet… this “comeback” album, whilst being one of her weaker selling titles, was very well received by the critics at the time. Just how much of that was down to “poor old Britney” rather than the collaborators that were bank-rolled in to write and produce the album would of course be pure speculation… Interesting too, the amount of vocal processing that is easily audible on this album, leaving one to wonder if she was just too far gone to even sing for her supper…?
But, despite all of the crassness and controversy that surrounded Britney and this album, to me it still manages to be a great pop record, full of state-of-the-art production techniques at the time, yet harking back to glam rock, disco and new-wave in a surprisingly accomplished dance album. And yet underpinning all of this, is the personal story – a young woman going through the breakup of her second marriage and losing her kids whilst still only in her mid twenties – limitless wealth, a supposedly loving family, and here she is, her life on a knife-edge.
If you look beneath the surface of the glossy production and processed beats, there’s an uneasiness to it, a darkness that is sometimes revealed in the lyrics, but perhaps more tellingly in the subtlety of it – the disassociation of the star of the show, who no matter what, had to be seen to be putting out a great record.
By the way, I'm adding a zero option to the scoring system for this week! ;)
Reid Malenfant
08-11-2011, 20:41
:lolsign: No way, I can't listen to the "toxic" one :ner:
I might relent but I'd need to take up heroin & crack cocaine first :eyebrows:
E2A:- & I thought my stopgap album might be controversial, Alex you have outdone me by a long chalk :lol:
:eek: You gotta be jokin'
I haven't read your excuse yet btw.
The Grand Wazoo
08-11-2011, 20:46
I'll give it a go!
Actually, I think the first album to be done on Album Club should have been George Michael - 'Listen Without Prejudice'. That kind of sums up what it's supposed to be about.
Well, at the end of the day, if people really don't want to give it a go then they can just have a week off - I'm sure a lot of you will! :lolsign:
Beechwoods
08-11-2011, 20:53
Excellent intro Alex. Rewind 20 or so years and folks are likely to have treated Madonna and Kylie with the same suspicion. There is such a thing as great, consumable, pop. Sam Fox's first album is extraordinary if you actually listen to it - I just mean it's not what you'd expect. I'll check this out if only because it seems that Britney was the 'Pink' in her very own version of The Wall.
Reid Malenfant
08-11-2011, 21:01
I'll try it when I'm in the right mood :lol: I just have no idea when that'll be ;) I mean this is like Rick Astley in a way, but female... No redeeming factors there either for the opposite sex ;)
I will give it a go but chances of me liking this is pretty small
When its my turn to go again lets just say revenge is best served up as cold dish and can ensure you not a hint of pop :lolsign:
well, you know - I thought we needed a bit of a change, and I couldn't face doing another "safe" album... At the end of the day Album Club should just be a bit of fun - and get us all to try new things - though I must confess I'm not surprised you don't already have this John! :lolsign:
I'm right behind you on this one Alex...........................albeit a fair way behind :lol:
I'll give it a go ;)
Audioman
08-11-2011, 21:36
Only a few tracks available on Spotify UK so based on a sample listen. State of the art what Alex? Yes it's got state of the art autotune. Frankly it doesn't matter if it's Brittany or not this is practicaly the same as dozens of other releases over the past few years. Love or hate Brittany she once had a few good to great songs given to her. Check out Richard Thompsons cover of Ooops I did it again.
This sounds like unlistenable dreck with awful modern production and no good material. It's a bloody disgrace her family allowed her to be 'forced' into a studio at this time. At least they didn't put out a bunch of incoherant tracks by a drunk/drugged Amy Winehouse ! I think Alex should have given the lotto a third spin and come up with a superior suggestion. Now I could have given a far more positive review to the Wombles LP by the genius Mike Batt . It's Nil points from me I'm afraid. If I could have listened to any more it would have been -10.
Well, you floored me with this one, Alex. I'm listening via Spotify and will keep an open mind...
Just to clarify, the UK release is definitely 12 tracks, the first highlighted 12 on Spotify - I'm guessing the other (greyed out) tracks are from the US or bonus version.
Oh, and thanks Paul for holding back how you felt! :lol:
Only the first four are available to me, Alex :scratch:
Oh that is strange...? Perhaps such musical delights are only available to Premium subscribers! :lol: Let me have a look...
EDIT: Updated the link with what looks like another version - can you play more now?
Yes, I guess it's the limit for the boggo ordinary Spotify users. Perhaps that's a blessing in disguise after hearing the first four songs? I would say she probably sleep-walked through these numbers and studio trickery did the rest. Not even memorable by her own standards. I really wanted to give it three stars for the Chirpy Chirpy reference but I'm afraid she failed the grade.
Audioman
08-11-2011, 22:29
Oh that is strange...? Perhaps such musical delights are only available to Premium subscribers! :lol: Let me have a look...
EDIT: Updated the link with what looks like another version - can you play more now?
Looks like the plebs are restricted to 4 tracks or to put it another way mercifully spared listening to the rest. :lol:
Just been watching Lou Reed with Metallica on "Jools" and you want me to listen to Britney :doh:
Ok bring the bitch on lets 'ave it :carrot:
Thing Fish
09-11-2011, 00:37
Hmmm I'll give it a go if I can bring myself to listen.
Just been watching Lou Reed with Metallica on "Jools" and you want me to listen to Britney :doh:
Ok bring the bitch on lets 'ave it :carrot:
Yeah - and weren't they crap!
So has this changed my view
Its everything I dislike about modern pop: over produced and over sampled
I am sorry this just brings out the music snob in me
Even though I am a premium member It thankfully allows me to hear just the first four tracks I will give it a one just because I refuse to give anything a zero
Thing Fish
09-11-2011, 10:55
Sorry Alex I gave it a listen to but as stated by John 'Its so over sampled' my brain began to melt. The double (triple) tracked voice was just annoying.
Normally after listening to an album I can hum a track or two but this just melted into one big pot of primordial soup.
I have the same reaction with Madonna and Kylie as well.
Hmmm... very strange - on one of my laptops it will play all tracks, on the other, just the first four. Still, I guess for most of you the first 4 are enough! :lol:
Audioman
09-11-2011, 11:26
The main problem with this is the production. It's impossible to judge the quality of songwriting properly as a result. As for comparisons you can't lump everybody into the same boat. The little I have heard of Kylie recently suggests the same kind of production is favoured. In spite of that I suspect Brittany Spears to have more vocal talent based on her early hits. As for Madonnna irrespective of the music her albums are very well produced and recorded while being 'modern' sounding. Check out 'Confessions On A Dancefloor' or 'Ray of Light' on vinyl if you doubt it.
I think this album is typical of most pop music these days where they autotune vocals to death irrespective of whether the artist can sing or not. Eveything is over dubbed or multitracked to death with a lack of any real instruments then compressed to hell. This is then made worse by furthur compression and brickwalling of the digital master for CD or download. Alex if you wanted to represent a current female vocalist decently recorded I would suggest Adele 21. On vinyl this is excellent sounding (not over compressed) and full of good material. Probably explains it's popularity as it appeals to a wide age group of music buyers.
griffo104
09-11-2011, 11:52
The beauty of something like the album club is that it forces you to listen to something you wouldn't and hopefully find a gem and open your mind to other music.
Of course the downside is dreck like this. sorry Alex but this could be any pop album out of any pop factory over the last 15 years or since pop music stopped being music made by proper musicians and recorded with a little care and attention.
this sums up everything that is wrong with popular music and the reason I prefer to listen to talk radio in the car rather than this stuff which is just pumped out of every daytime commercial radio station.
I'm not being a music snob but this has no musical merit at all.
Agreed, you cannot compare this album with Madonna's Ray of Light, which is excellently produced by William Orbit and features memorable songs. Possibly her best album.
Audioman
09-11-2011, 12:17
I'm just listening to the New BS album on Spotify - you get all the tracks. Same sort of thing but material is stronger. Trouble is this could be anybody. Any individuality brittany once had is now removed. This 'music' is all about the producers who write (make it up as they go along) along with the so called artist in the studio. Anybody could do this at home with the right software, a few electronic keyboards and effects plus mikes for vocals. Unfortunately kids listening to this now think this is music. Just hope some are getting exposure to real playing through parents collections or education.
Well, what an interesting reaction so far, and just what I was hoping for!
So why did I nominate this album, apart from the reasons I noted in the original post? To “shake it up a bit?” Of course! Do I really think that this is one of the best albums I own, and you should all go out and buy a copy? Well, no – of course not, though I do still stand by my original assertion that it is a great pop record… Perhaps if Spotify had allowed you to listen to all 12 tracks you would be agreeing with me! :D
There are however a number of interesting points that have come out so far.
Firstly, I hope that my “pioneering work” :lol: may persuade one or two of you to take a bit of a risk with your Album Club choices… Knowing that you can’t possibly stoop (or score!) so low as I have, will hopefully mean that things can always be better than this!
And yet… by some admissions, (well done for being honest, John!) there is a definite case of “music snobbery” going on here – and not just this album, but with modern pop in general. Many of you have mentioned the over-production, or overt use of vocal effects – but I’m guessing many of you wouldn’t baulk at the use of overdrive or wah-wah pedal etc. on an electric guitar…? What’s the difference? Surely it is just different sorts of creativity, and whilst the end result may not be to your tastes, it still warrants some respect?
Paul mentioned Adele’s 21 – but (great though that album is) it wouldn’t have suited my dastardly purposes… :eyebrows: with Blackout, (and many others) – the zero dynamic range, recording levels and compression to saturation point is exactly what I wanted to “showcase” and try to understand why is it done this way? Is it because of the iPod generation – always listening to music as a secondary pursuit, where if the whole lot isn’t thrown at you in a great big globule it just get’s lost amongst everything else? Is it just the record companies trying to out-do each other, hoping that the louder their record sounds, the “better” it will appear on the radio?
But the main point I wanted to try and understand is what is so different about modern Pop, compared to Pop of old? I doubt anyone would argue (actually I don’t!) that much of the old music we listen to now was Pop in its day – The Beatles & The Stones in the 60’s many others before and after, that we now consider “worthy” would have been the Britney or Bruno Mars or The Wanted of their day. Is it an age thing? I find myself suddenly at 42 finding I just can’t deal with the latest “urban” Pop, yet only a couple of years ago I was happy listening to Radio 1. Maybe it’s a hifi thing? We just can’t bring ourselves to play this sort of commercial product through our lovingly crafted systems? Or is there some other reason? Maybe, it just all is rubbish, but if so, why is it still outselling everything else?
Should “Album Club” always be “worthy” and should we all be patting each other on the back for selecting another great classic, week after week - or should we just maybe sometimes seek to look a little deeper, and perhaps try something a little more challenging once in a while? I don’t have an answer – but hopefully it has been a thought provoking choice!?
The problem with yer average Pop Tart is that you really need the visuals as well as the music in order to get the full benefit. I like the one she did in the school uniform and I liked the one where she's the air hostess but this ain't doing it for me. Perhaps I need to order the DVD...
Thing Fish
09-11-2011, 13:04
Music as far as i'm concerned has to sound like music and i'm afraid Bwitneys album just doesn't. Neither does anything of its ilk ie... Madonna, The Saturdays, Kylie, JLS and so on... Maybe it's my age?
Music for me has to be a bit challenging and the above artists just don't do it.
I just don't feel any toe tapping connection. Is that music snobbery? I don't see it as that. I just see it as something I don't like the sound of...:confused:
I do see where you are coming from though Alex in terms of not always posting safe classic albums.
griffo104
09-11-2011, 13:14
Should “Album Club” always be “worthy” and should we all be patting each other on the back for selecting another great classic, week after week - or should we just maybe sometimes seek to look a little deeper, and perhaps try something a little more challenging once in a while? I don’t have an answer – but hopefully it has been a thought provoking choice!?
Album club should be about the person making the choice choosing an album they like and then pushing the listening and discussion forwards - good or bad.
In this case it's a refreshing choice but just comes as a reminder to me why there are so few decent pop albums out there and why I don't listen to this sort of stuff.
It's funny but a lot of the music I really love and would may be choose for album club fall down at 2 hurdles - being available free through something like spotify or people having heard of the band or even owning the album.
When I chose the Allman Bros album I did think about this and chose something I enjoy but also something I thought other's may also have heard of.
Maybe next time I should shose some early 90's British Grindcore and watch the vast emptiness of responses :lolsign:
Album club shuold be about expanding listening and not just regurgitating the same old classics.
I defo would not have listened to Ms Spears without this thread, low mark that I've given it simply reflects the poor quality and generic nature of the music and I don't think that's being snobby.
I thought the whole idea of album club was to encourage listening to more music and perhaps discovering a few new classics
I quite enjoy the debate side of the selections
I promise my next selection will challenge, will have losts of distorted guitar with complex ryhtms and challenging lyrics
This is the Album Club, not what sounds good on my Hi Fi club :doh:
Of course, the recording standard should be a consideration, but in that case then perhaps one should make allowances for the medium and generation an album is produced for.
I recall some of the criticism leveled at “pop” when I was a teenager; it’s just a lot of electronic distortion and a beat, any idiot can play three chords and scream, the list goes on. There is some truth in these comments but the comment I remember in particular is “you won’t be listening to stuff like this when you’re older”. The implication of course is by then I will have developed some taste :eyebrows:
Hmmm, it doesn’t seem to have happened :rolleyes:
So is it good pop? Well it certainly seems to be popular,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_%28Britney_Spears_album%29
just not here.
I acquired an mp3 (320kbps) copy and gave the album a listen, three times in fact.
I like pop. It doesn’t really matter which generation it is aimed at, I’ll give most stuff a listen. In fact, there are times I think I prefer the producer guided and engineer constructed offerings to some of the self expression excesses from the “progressive” genre many seem so fond of. At least with a good pop tune I can nod along without wondering why the artists take themselves so seriously when they have so little talent :(
The excessive compression is a shame really. Having a look at this on Audacity it’s easy to see why the audiophile crew will be pulling faces. However, so many albums get compressed to f*ck now it’s hard to level this as a criticism of the artist or the musical merit of the album.
Okay, it’s hard to find any “real” instruments on the track, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern when it comes to other bands that make use of heavy sampling, drum machines and mix it all together when there probably isn’t a “proper” musician in the place.
They’ve used autotune apparently; doesn’t seem to be a concern for all you Adele fans :ner:
As the genre goes, this is pretty good. If you don’t like modern pop then you won’t like this but that doesn’t make it a bad example of its genre.
I prefer Christina Aguilera, Pink, Beyonce or even Roxette but I enjoyed listening to this mainly because the only Brittany Spears I have is a few singles courtesy of one of my daughters and like it or not she is a major artist of her time.
Whether people will be listening to her albums in twenty years will be interesting to see.
6 out of 10 from me.
Should “Album Club” always be “worthy” and should we all be patting each other on the back for selecting another great classic, week after week - or should we just maybe sometimes seek to look a little deeper, and perhaps try something a little more challenging once in a while? I don’t have an answer – but hopefully it has been a thought provoking choice!?
I'm also sure you wouldn't want it to become a competition for the most diverse and complicated albums.
What I like about great classics is I've heard of most of them but never heard them, as with Leige & Leif , I would never have bought or listened to that music in my youth but through this club I now own it and love it.
So a blend of new, old, obscure but of course good music.
Carry on pop- pickers.
I'm also sure you wouldn't want it to become a competition for the most diverse and complicated albums.
100% agree - not what I am trying to advocate Barry - just trying to mix things up a little, certainly not trying to get everyone to come down to my level, but above all this whole music and hifi thang to me is about having a bit of fun. :)
It was a good choice, Alex, and has promoted some good debate. Nothing wrong with some of us listening to something unknown and, even though I didn't like this one, I would be happy to have the odd challenge like it appear again.
I like the one she did in the school uniform and I liked the one where she's the air hostess...
Oh I bet you did, you dirty, dirty boy! I did too, infact, the uniforms are now part of a special ensemble............. :eyebrows:
[Continued after the watershed]
Marco.
P.S I believe the TV 'windscreen wipers' that were given away with the schoolgirl video are now becoming quite collectable ;)
Having a daughter I've been subjected to this type of music for some years and knew what it would sound like. As mentioned earlier only premium Spotify members can here it all so based on four tracks - it was OK its what Britney fans will like, did nothing for me but I'll give it 4/10.
bennyboyph
09-11-2011, 17:55
I don't think this forum is for me...
I don't think this forum is for me...
I hope you're not judging the forum by this thread? :lol:
Lol - I know. Britney bloody Spears.... The boy's defo taking the wee-wee! :eyebrows:
Marco.
Was it you who voted zero then? :lolsign:
Nope - I haven't even bothered to vote! Now if we were voting for the respective 'merits' of the school uniform or air hostess video, well...... :eyebrows:
Marco.
School uniform for me... :)
As mentioned earlier only premium Spotify members can here it all so based on four tracks
I'm a Premium Spotify member and I can only play 4 tracks as well :scratch:
Now then Alex :lol: I thought I was stretching peoples imagination with a new band who were a little 'off stream' compared to the Album Club choices so far, but this has surpassed it by a country mile . . . and some! I wasn't quite sure what to make of your choice to be honest, but I have given it a listen (4 tracks only) and I have to say I'm not too upset I can't hear the rest. Sorry fella, it's way beyond what I can stomach, especially as I have a serious issue with auto-tune.
Still, at the very least it's confirmation that I'm really not a bubble-gum pop sort of guy. I also played one track in the office through speakers . . . you should have seen the looks I got :eek:
Interesting choice though and look at the comment it has generated . . . as you say 'it's only a bit of fun innit' and it's saved me from ever buying a Britney Spears album ;)
Audioman
09-11-2011, 19:51
Was it you who voted zero then? :lolsign:
It was me :lol:
The Grand Wazoo
09-11-2011, 19:51
I don't suppose it would really be a surprise if I were to say that I too, really dislike this sort of music.
But.....it's not really aimed at me or the likes of me. As a product though, I reckon it does it's job pretty well. If you listen to it through a radio or a low res. file on an mp3 player, the recording quality matters not a jot & I reckon it probably sounds better that way than on a hi-fi system. If you're one of those who it's aimed at, then you'd probably like it a lot - as the sales figures appear to have proven.
So, it's probably good pop music - I don't have to like it to recognise it has a value to those who do.
I get the full list of all 13 tracks (oh joy), but only 4 are highlighted... If I try and click on track 5 "Heaven on Earth", I get the following message:
This track is currently not available in the United Kingdom. If you have the file on your computer you can import it.
I can hardly contain my excitement!
Marco.
I can hardly contain my excitement!
I think John has the whole thing Marco, he can send you it perhaps ;)
The Grand Wazoo
09-11-2011, 20:18
So, it's probably good pop music - I don't have to like it to recognise it has a value to those who do.
.........but I'll be scoring it according to my taste. And I'm sorry Alex, mate, but it's not gonna be pretty!
I think John has the whole thing Marco, he can send you it perhaps ;)
Oh Goody!!
Marco.
Alex behave yourself...what a waste of electrons ;)
0/10, what else did you expect :doh:
I don't think this forum is for me...
I know Ben, all those Britney haters! But give them a break, they do like some good music! ;)
Nice work on editing the poll, whichever of my fellow forum leaders has been playing! :lolsign:
Guess I'm not surprised by Tim or Mr Wazoo's opinion, but thanks for suffering it! I did think Will might be more of a fan though! :lol:
I do actually know that there is a member who rates this album (no, not hifi_dave or DSJR - nor Andre! :D) but I'm not sure if he will be brave enough to admit it!!!
Nice work on editing the poll, whichever of my fellow forum leaders has been playing! :lolsign:
Wot bad boy did that, then? :scratch:
:eyebrows:
Marco.
The Grand Wazoo
09-11-2011, 21:08
I do actually know that there is a member who rates this album (no, not hifi_dave or DSJR - nor Andre!
Well, it's funny you should say that because the Wiki entry says this:
Blackout received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Most called it her most progressive and consistent album yet.....
I've just found the whole thing and will give the entire album a listen (just once) and I'll play by the rules of Album Club..... maybe it will merit a change of score, which presently is a very generous 1/10 :eyebrows:
I'm gonna look for the progressive bits too, thanks Chris!
You might have to adjust for Marco's, err, the new scoring system :lolsign:
Sorry Alex, but I couldn't do it....
I managed to listen to the first 10 or so seconds of tracks 5 to 9 and had to stop, it's worse than I thought! I guess today at work I wasn't really 'hearing' it, as I was doing other things, but it's quite possibly the worse thing I have heard in years. Being single I am never subjected to 'pop' at home and never watch or listen to anything likely to expose me to it, so I'm pretty ignorant and clearly haven't developed a tolerance for this genre (thankfully). But this for me is dreadful..... sorry fella, but I hope I never hear it again, or anything like it. If I was rating it now after listening to more of it, it would have to be zero.
I still luurves you though :cool:
Maybe just try Piece of Me, Freak Show and Get Naked.
Canetoad
10-11-2011, 08:37
Britney Spears - Blackout (2007)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DM%2B8aDvwL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/1MLQLTepJnkvGxa4Oe6Tzr
Well I suspect I will be able to count on one finger the number of people who will appreciate this week’s reserve Album Club choice… Me! And as for everyone else, the one finger will probably be the middle one, pointing up - and aimed in my direction! :lol:
As you will have seen, I have chosen Britney Spears and her fifth studio album, Blackout. I suppose the first question most of you will be asking after “WTF!?” will be “Why?” Well, ok, I will try and explain why…
You may or may not have been aware of the terminal meltdown that Ms Spears appeared to be in immediately preceding the release of this album – but if you do remember then you may have seen some of the images… yes – THOSE images of the previously squeaky clean American darling emerging from a limo in a short skirt, but also the ones of her rushing from a hairdresser’s having completely shaved her own head. The distraught pictures after the court appearances - having lost custody of her children, the numerous literal car crashes and motoring offences – the disastrous comeback on MTV. Interestingly, the Guardian review at the time, suggested “By contrast with poor old Britney, everything in Amy Winehouse's world is going just swimmingly.” Oh, the irony of hindsight…!
And in part, that’s why I chose this album – the juxtaposition of everything going disastrously in an artist’s private life, whilst the commercial machine of the record industry continues to demand its pound of flesh. Undoubtedly “poor old Britney” was in a very dark place, but at the same time, she was being wheeled into a recording studio, no doubt hardly knowing where she was at times, let alone who she was – and yet… this “comeback” album, whilst being one of her weaker selling titles, was very well received by the critics at the time. Just how much of that was down to “poor old Britney” rather than the collaborators that were bank-rolled in to write and produce the album would of course be pure speculation… Interesting too, the amount of vocal processing that is easily audible on this album, leaving one to wonder if she was just too far gone to even sing for her supper…?
But, despite all of the crassness and controversy that surrounded Britney and this album, to me it still manages to be a great pop record, full of state-of-the-art production techniques at the time, yet harking back to glam rock, disco and new-wave in a surprisingly accomplished dance album. And yet underpinning all of this, is the personal story – a young woman going through the breakup of her second marriage and losing her kids whilst still only in her mid twenties – limitless wealth, a supposedly loving family, and here she is, her life on a knife-edge.
If you look beneath the surface of the glossy production and processed beats, there’s an uneasiness to it, a darkness that is sometimes revealed in the lyrics, but perhaps more tellingly in the subtlety of it – the disassociation of the star of the show, who no matter what, had to be seen to be putting out a great record.
By the way, I'm adding a zero option to the scoring system for this week! ;)
Sorry Alex but... :D
You sound like her publicist!
In all honestly, I don't think I'll be listening to this one. I applaud your optimism though. :lol:
Sorry Alex but... :D
http://thecookinggeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/pinch-of-salt.jpg
;)
I did think Will might be more of a fan though! :lol:
...I'm obviously in denial Alex ;)
aquapiranha
11-11-2011, 22:24
Not really my cup of tea, but just to be fair I will give it a spin and report back.
Not really my cup of tea, but just to be fair I will give it a spin and report back.
Have a drink first Steve ;)
Reid Malenfant
11-11-2011, 22:42
Have a drink first Steve ;)
I already have so I'll give it a spin on Spotify in a minute or two when this CD ends ;)
I already have so I'll give it a spin on Spotify in a minute or two when this CD ends ;)
Enjoy :cool:
I'd suggest more than one drink - unless you've got the DVD :eyebrows:
Reid Malenfant
11-11-2011, 23:22
I'd suggest more than one drink - unless you've got the DVD :eyebrows:
I'm on my fourth pint of snakebite Alex ;)
Ok, it's not dead in the water but I have definately heard better previously ;)
Like others I could listen to the first four tracks....
1. Gimme More - Sounds like "Way Out West" but with vocals of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman variety..
2. Piece Of Me - Serious influences of Madonna & again the SAW thang (above)...
3. Radar - I pinned this down to something very similar to Madonna again but actually pulled an album out of the hat, Erotica :) Again that SAW thing with the multiple voices echoing etc... I Might add that I had turned it up quite loud somewhere on track two, it's not too bad, but I'd never buy it :eyebrows:
4. Break The Ice - maybe influences from stuff I don't know...
Overall a bit of fun, I can't give it a zero as in all honesty the Birdy Song & The Wurzells are a lot worse :lol: A three from me I think, while I can't see too much originality there is still lots worse out there imho ;)
I can't give it a zero . . .
Perhaps not Mark, but on looking at the voting descriptions, the phrase 'inexorable shite' does seem to perfectly match it :eyebrows:
Sorry Alex, I tried - I borrowed the CD from a mate's daughter (much hilarity in the pub last night when he passed it over to me :eyebrows:), but I really can't stomach more than a couple of tracks at a time and it's taken me all day to get through the thing.
It really is everything I hate in music rolled into one.
I've given it a '1'
Sorry Alex, I tried - I borrowed the CD from a mate's daughter (much hilarity in the pub last night when he passed it over to me :eyebrows:), but I really can't stomach more than a couple of tracks at a time and it's taken me all day to get through the thing.
It really is everything I hate in music rolled into one.
I've given it a '1'
Respect for giving it a go, and suffering in the pub Keith! On the positive, Album Club can now only get better! ;) :lol:
Reid Malenfant
12-11-2011, 20:15
Perhaps not Mark, but on looking at the voting descriptions, the phrase 'inexorable shite' does seem to perfectly match it :eyebrows:
Well I was being generous Tim, the fact that I turned the volume up rather than down possibly gained it some points :eyebrows:
As I say, I wouldn't purchase it & as I also mentioned, I have heard worse :eek:
Thankfully I don't own anything that I classify as worse also :lol:
Reid Malenfant
12-11-2011, 20:17
Respect for giving it a go, and suffering in the pub Keith! On the positive, Album Club can now only get better! ;) :lol:
Yes & it's my turn on Tuesday :eyebrows:
Yes & it's my turn on Tuesday :eyebrows:
Looking forward to that one!
Looking forward to that one!
Me too :)
(That's not a prediction but a reflection!)
Reid Malenfant
12-11-2011, 20:47
(That's not a prediction but a reflection!)
Back to 1988 if I remember right ;)
hmmm a Britney Spears album on a Hifi forum :lol: and this one of all choices! 2/10 from me I'm afraid Alex!
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