Christina Aguilera, “Back to Basics”
POP-SOUL|RCA, released Aug. 15
Christina Aguilera isn’t going back to the basics that acted as the foundation for her career, regardless of the title her new double-disc set. Her idea, as the retroriffic cover art suggests, is that she’s (ostensibly) going back to the basics that made the soul singers of the ’50s and ’60s.
And suddenly it makes more sense. As the gospel chorus in “Makes Me Wanna Pray” suggests, this isn’t “Genie in a Bottle, Redux.” This is Aguilera’s attempt at Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”-era legitimacy. And while she drops as many decades-old bold names as Madge did on that seminal album, Aguilera doesn’t reach that dance-pop level of jam, originality, class.
Her intent is obvious. And it’s not a bad idea for Aguilera, who needed an angle for a comeback after 2002’s ridiculous “Stripped,” which presented her as a trashy, desperate, “Dirrty,” attention-starved pop star.
This record could have been made tastefully, but then again, no. Aguilera isn’t respectful of soul and R&B here. It’s less homage than a pillaging rampage.
It’s pop-soul, if you feel like being nice.
But then she takes it too far over the top. The scratchy, needle-on-the-record aesthetic of “On Our Way” is a reach too far. And “Back in the Day,” her shout-out to Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Etta James and others, lacks poetry, subtlety. “So give it up/For the ones/Who came before/Open up that door.” Yes, Marvin Gaye is deserving of such praise, but the delivery and intent here are suspect.|Ricardo Baca
Ray LaMontagne, “Till the Sun Turns Black”
ADULT-CONTEMPORARY|RCA, released today
Following up an album like “Trouble” is tricky business.
When LaMontagne hit the scene two years ago with that record and the titular single, it was easy to fall for LaMontagne, whose voice recalled a softer, breathier Van Morrison. The songs were OK, but that voice was what intoxicated the American public, who wanted a AAA-friendly male equivalent to Norah Jones.
But this disappointing follow-up lacks the style of his debut. The title track has the self-aware
LaMontagne acting the serious part, playing himself with every consonant. “Gone Away From Me” is one of the more listenable compositions, although again, that’s not saying much.
It’s because we’ve already heard what he has to offer, that he’s a great singer but an OK songwriter. Were he to take the Joe Cocker route, he could potentially have a great big – but less artistically satisfying – career. Until he makes that swap, though, he’ll continue making music to sleep by. |Ricardo Baca
Other releases today:
Bob Dylan, “Modern Times” (Sony) This is Dylan’s first new record in five years, and the early word on the 10 songs that fill it up – including titles such as “Thunder on the Mountain,” “The Levee’s Gonna Break,” “Spirit on the Water” and “Beyond the Horizon” – is that Dylan is giving his fans more of what they’ve come to expect in this “Love and Theft” era of his career.
Jessica Simpson, “A Public Affair” (Sony) For Jessica Simpson, there’s a single and an MTV special/series for every occasion. This full-length CD, which includes a cover of the ’80s smash “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” is the divorce record. And it will be interesting to see what Simpson has to offer. Find out for yourself when the records comes out and when the expected MTV special of the same name airs Monday.
