Blackout

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It's a hit!

I bought this CD because it had "Break The Ice" and "Piece Of Me" on it. It also had "Radar" which was on Circus, the first CD I bought from her.

... (show more)

I bought this CD because it had "Break The Ice" and "Piece Of Me" on it. It also had "Radar" which was on Circus, the first CD I bought from her.

The moment I got this, the first thing I did was put it in my CD player and listen to it. I think it had a few good songs, but I have to admit I didn't like it nearly as much as "Circus". I think the songs "Get N aked (I Got A Plan)" and "Toy Soldier" could probably have been better if they had been written with different tunes/notes.

Either way, this is an okay CD. Buy it if you like Britney's music, and also buy Circus. :) (show less)

 

 

by Anna

No, it's a flop!

I can't profess to be knowledgeable about Britney Spear's musical past, but I wanted to check out this album, what is undeniably her "comeback" dis... (show more)

I can't profess to be knowledgeable about Britney Spear's musical past, but I wanted to check out this album, what is undeniably her "comeback" disc. What can I say, I have to give everybody at least the benefit of a doubt.

Maybe it was the fact that I played this one on my laptop so I couldn't get much of the bassline, but still the album plays like a stripped-down 80's throwback. This might be trying to follow the recent trend in pop music to go minimalistic and simplistic as possible, but the music comes out sounding hollow and empty. The songs here just don't register. I even re-listened to "Slave 4 U" (my favorite song of her past radio hits) and though the same few elements are there (boom-click drumline, bass, synth) still the sound is lively. Both the "new" Britney and her new music just seem tired. On a side-note, the breathy 'Ha! Ha!"s of "Slave 4 U" show up a number of times on this disc, and by the second or third appearance starts feeling flimsy and recycled (which spreads to the entire album after a while).

Also, it's interesting how there seems to be a shift in gender role here. Britney is so over-sexed in her music that if one looks at the lyrics and imagines a male R&B singer delivering them, it makes even more sense. Frequently it's Britney who's looking for action in a club, wanting to go home with the hottest piece of meat she can find, asserting to the man "don't be afraid" and in general making all the moves. If there's ever been an example of how gender roles can be switched while the underlying sexism and objectification continues, Britney illustrates it wonderfully.

Then there's the title itself. A Blackout is what happens when a city looses power, when something looses contact, or what happens when you drink too much and your body shuts down. This record is thus appropriately named: it features a dramatically weaker Britney who has probably done a bit too much partying and lost touch with herself and her fans.

This Blackout album is ironic on a number of levels. In general most tracks are steeped in sex, yet Britney has long since moved on as a sexual object. The material places Britney in the role of a spoiled California highschooler, obsessed with boys, sappy romance fantasy, boys, love at first sight, boys, how cool she is, boys, and boys... yet it's difficult to hear Britney singing about clubbing and scoring boy-toy action when we all know she's a mom and (against all odds) not a MILF. Her journey into motherhood, the deep depression and mental anguish she's suffered for being so long in the spotlight, the public dissolution of her marriage... all of these are fertile material. But Britney seems determined to squeeze back into the schoolgirl uniform and mentally and musically remain in gradeschool.

The entire work reeks on insincerity. "Gimme More" will always evoke the grand snafu of her horrendous VMA performance where she looked disengaged and unappealing. "Piece of Me" postures as a middle finger to the ravenous media, but ultimately comes off as flimsy especially when compared to other songs of a similar theme from other artists (like the bitterly charged "Scream" of pop-god Michael Jackson). Many songs feature Britney giving up entirely. In "Radar" she flat out admits "I'm a lush," while "Get Naked" (a near musical copy of "Gimme More") is obviously too tired even for innuendo, and "Ooh Baby" has moments where Britney sings nothing but the word "baby" on the same two notes for measures on end.

Britney says it best in her own words: (taken from various lyrics on the album)

Better hurry up
Cause time is ticking
Tic Tock Tic Tock
Come and get me while I'm hot
Hot as ice
It's time for me to move along
(Goodbye)
It's time for me to get it on
(OK)
I'm tired of singing sad songs
(All right)
It's time for me
(Britney, let's go!)

I couldn't agree more. (show less)

 

 

by David

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  The suspiciously hasty turnaround of Blackout at a time when Spears’ media relations had reached a low ebb suggested to many an album that was released as much to deflect press scrutiny as it was to further her chart haul. Ironically, in a time when the stars behaviour appeared out of touch, the album served as a reminder of just how shrewdly she followed the changing of the pop tides. The teen-pop she had mastered by 2001’s excellent “Britney” was replaced by moody, crunching electronic beat... (show more)

  The suspiciously hasty turnaround of Blackout at a time when Spears’ media relations had reached a low ebb suggested to many an album that was released as much to deflect press scrutiny as it was to further her chart haul. Ironically, in a time when the stars behaviour appeared out of touch, the album served as a reminder of just how shrewdly she followed the changing of the pop tides. The teen-pop she had mastered by 2001’s excellent “Britney” was replaced by moody, crunching electronic beats and a dance-vibe that saw her songs once again dominating the clubs.

  As is per the usual with Britney Spears output, the first half of the album is superior to the latter; opener "Gimme More" is the least complicated yet most infectious of Blackout’s singles, whilst "Piece of Me" is memorable for its disarming electronic chops and the venomous lyrics targeting Spears’ critics, which she lends a darker cadence thanks to an uncharacteristically low, monotone vocal delivery. Rousing dance track "Break The Ice" is Blackout at its best; seeing Spears drifting seamlessly through pitch-shifts with (despite the pace of the song) a distinctly dream-like quality thanks in part to excellent production.

  The good outweighs the bad, even if there are some misguided attempts at hip-hop chic on "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)" and "Toy Soldier" which grate quickly, and it finishes with the almost obligatory pair of forgettable filler songs, meaning another Spears album finishes on a quiet note. The chief reward for listening past halfway is the electrifying "Hot As Ice", a resplendent fusion of electronics and heavy percussion, Spears delivers an incredibly vivacious vocal performance, an energy burst at odds with the rather clinical atmosphere surrounding much of Blackout, and it’s a track that serves as an isolated nod to earlier career highs, and would have fit nicely among her past works.

  Standout Tracks:
  "Break The Ice"
  "Radar"
  "Hot As Ice" (show less)

   

   

  by Tom Clare on Aug 06, 2009 at 09:13PM

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  Wow - that's pretty much all i can manage to say after listening to Britney's "Blackout". It was something totally unexpected, really, after all that's been happening to this one-time pop princess. Personally, i don't like Britney. I find her voice boring and nothing much to shout about. Her antics since getting married didn't do much to help her in life, too. In short, she was heading straight down the drain. Somehow, in between all the mess surrounding her, she still believed that... (show more)

  Wow - that's pretty much all i can manage to say after listening to Britney's "Blackout". It was something totally unexpected, really, after all that's been happening to this one-time pop princess. Personally, i don't like Britney. I find her voice boring and nothing much to shout about. Her antics since getting married didn't do much to help her in life, too. In short, she was heading straight down the drain. Somehow, in between all the mess surrounding her, she still believed that she could make a comeback, and surprise surprise, she did and with what style! "Gimme More" was released in Sept 2007 and was well received. Although i didn't like Britney, i definitely liked her new single. I decided to get her album after it was released on 30 Oct 2007, and never regretted it:) (show less)

   

   

  by Ashley on Mar 01, 2010 at 07:40PM

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