Back to Basics review

Christina Aguilera’s abilities reach all of its potentials

Twenty-five year old American pop singer and songwriter Christina Aguilera is famous all over the world since her eponymous debut album was released in 1999. There is hardly a person that has never heard its hit Genie In A Bottle. Three years later when Christina had already had a solid fan base her sophomore effort Stripped surprised the audience with the mature sounding and light rock elements. This year however the singer has released something completely different from everything before – a retro flavored record called Back To Basics. As the artist has noted herself the idea has been to make an urban soul album combining elements of 1920s, 30s and 40s blues and jazz with various modern influences. Back To Basics boasts some cases of collaboration: DJ Premier has produced five songs on the album, while author, singer and producer Linda Perry who also worked on Stripped, has taken part in making most songs of the second part of the album. Concerning Aguilera’s always highly praised vocals they appear to sound much richer and more powerful, besides, the original transcriptions and beautiful melodies let Christina’s abilities reach all of its potentials.

Back To Basics never loses its charm till the very end

Opening with a fantastic orchestra Intro the whole Back To Basics never loses its charm till the very end. A gospel-like Makes Me Wanna Pray calls for an image of a crowd of people singing spiritual music, and a sound of an old record on Back In The Day adds to the atmosphere of retro. The hit single Ain’t No Other Man is a song devoted to Christina’s husband Jordan Bratman and has a modern beat and most sensitive vocal line. R&B track Slow Down Baby is remarkable for one of the catchiest tunes on Back To Basics, while Oh Mother is the most personal song about Christina’s love and sympathy to her mother. Fans voices appear on the song Thank You, a gratitude to those who have been supporting the singer throughout her career. The jazzy composition Candyman is probably the most 30s sounding song on the album, whereas I Got Trouble has more blues traits and interesting audio effects, achieved by covering the mic with a rag. Christina pleasantly surprises the listeners on Save Me From Myself, almost a capella composition, with soft and gentle vocals, again dedicated to her husband. The Right Man ends Back To Basics with a classical note rich on orchestration and happy on lyrics.

Christina Aguilera does something better each time

The fact that each time Christina Aguilera creates a new album her musical style changes prompts that she possesses a many-sided talent and has a lot of ideas in store. This year her marriage has inspired her for such a monumental creation as Back To Basics and who knows perhaps from now on her husband and relations with him are going to be the source of new themes for works to come. What we have to date is a firm proof that Christina can and does make a breakthrough in her musical career and compose really unique music. It seems that after a four times platinum previous album the artist has taken a second breath, for it has been quite an undertaking to make an album that is sure to beat all the sales records and leave Stripped far behind. The diversity of musical styles and amazing vocals get Back To Basics to the tops of the charts and make it one of the best pop albums of 2006. Moreover the record raises Christina on a new level and once again firms her reputation of an ambitious and strong young woman who does something better each time. Many events are awaiting her in future, and if every change of her life inspires Aguilera same as marriage we can only guess how high a pedestal she can find herself on.