[情報] 同名專輯發行 15周年

[nttu94310 (咖啡)]

1999年8月25日，是克第一張專輯「Christina Aguilera」發行的日子。
Billboard為此寫了一篇專輯的 Review，貼上來給大家看看。
此外還列了 20首 Hit，發在下一篇文章。

http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/album-review/6229086/christina-aguileras-self-titled-debut-at-15-classic-track-by

Christina Aguilera’s Self-Titled Debut at 15:
Classic Track-by-Track Album Review
By Kenneth Partridge | August 22, 2014 1:00 PM EDT

Once upon a time, when ex-Mouseketeers with burning ambition and blinding
smiles ruled the universe, there lived two princesses. One was an iffy singer
with undeniable sex appeal; the other was a secret soul diva working within
record-label constraints, biding her time until she could unleash her
inner-freak/pinup/cyborg/whatever. Both released debut albums in 1999, and
both topped the Billboard 200.

The former, of course, was naughty schoolgirl Britney Spears, the figurehead
of the teen-pop movement. The latter was Christina Aguilera, an artist who
was never really equipped to compete with the day’s boy bands and pop tarts
-- not on their field of battle, anyway. Sure, teen-queen Christina sold
truckloads of records -- her self-titled debut yielded an astounding three
No. 1 singles -- but in those early years, she struggled to assert her
personality.

Released on August 25, 1999, Christina Aguilera is a mistitled album. It’s a
solid set of Top 40 pop songs, and even its deep cuts remain quite
listenable, but these dozen tracks tell us precious little about the girl on
the cover.

“Must I pretend that I'm someone else for all time?” Aguilera sings on
track six, “Reflection,” a song she first recorded for the soundtrack to
Disney’s Mulan. It’s the tune that got her signed to RCA, and in a funny
way, it sums up this album. She wouldn’t have to wait forever, but it would
take this Staten Island-born daughter of Ecuadoran and Irish American parents
another couple of years to find her voice.

She cut a Spanish-language LP (Mi Reflejo) and a holiday collection (My Kind
of Christmas) before dropping her proper sophomore set, Stripped, an album
nearly as shocking as this one is plain. Here, we get mere flashes of that
more adventurous and controversial artist she’d become.

Read on to get our track-by-track take on this, the world’s introduction to
a supremely talented pop chameleon whose fearlessness is a blessing, a curse,
and a constant topic of conversation.

“Genie In a Bottle”: Every great teen-pop song essentially echoes the
dilemma of this one’s chorus: “My body’s saying let’s go / but my heart
in sayin’ no.” Aguilera is young and frisky, but she won’t give it up to
just any young buck with nice abs and frosted tips. She’s got self-respect
-- “You gotta rub me the right way” -- and thanks to David Frank, one of
the three writers credited on the track, she’s got a cool 32nd-note
bass-drum pattern that mimics the heart palpitations of a teenager in lust.

“What a Girl Wants”: Following the success of “Genie In a Bottle,”
Aguilera and her team re-recorded this pop-R&B tune, transforming the fluffy
original (available on early pressings of the record) into something a little
harder and sexier. It’s still pretty airy, but Christina hints at the
soulfulness and sensuality she’d explore to greater degrees later on.

“I Turn to You”: Aguilera aims for the heart with a big ol’ Diane Warren
ballad. Originally recorded by All-4-One for the Space Jam soundtrack, “I
Turn to You” is inspirational Hallmark soul coated in sap and sprinkled with
Splenda. And yet for all its tummy-churning sweetness, Christina turns in a
winning vocal performance. Maybe that’s why it hit No. 3 on the Hot 100.
Still, everything you need to hear takes place between 3:35 and 3:45.

“So Emotional”: Sadly, it’s not a Whitney Houston cover. Instead, it’s a
cool mid-tempo groover about a fellow who’s got our girl on the ropes. He’s
hot then cold, high then low, sunshine then rain. Aguilera handles the tune
like Aaliyah might have, and given how assuredly she pushes through the
quarter-note cadence of the chorus (“You-make-me-feel…”), it’s clear she’
ll get over this guy.

“Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)”: Like “What a Girl Wants,” this
one arrived on radio in recut form. The redo is slightly rougher and randier,
and Christina offers an Xtina preview in the form of a self-penned rap
bridge: “Don’t you wanna be the one tonight? / We could do exactly what you
like.”

“Reflection”: It’s the gooey centerpiece of a Disney animated film, so you
can’t expect too much. While it’s no “A Whole New World” or “Can You
Feel the Love Tonight?” -- cartoon anthems with a bit more humanity -- “
Refection” is an apt song for a 17-year-old up-and-comer wading into the
music-biz shark pool. “You may think you see who I really am,” Aguilera
sings, “but you’ll never know me.” It’s silly to read too much into those
lines, since she didn’t write them, but imagining Christina imagining Xtina
makes this 3:36 way less of a slog.

“Love for All Seasons”: This summery pop jam is similar in sound and
sentiment to Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.” It’s not the most
memorable of tunes, but if you’re wasting time on a tire swing, you can do
worse. Plus, Christina gets to throw in a few impressive runs toward the end.

“Somebody’s Somebody”: Of the album’s two Diane Warren compositions, this
one holds up best. The drums snap, the bass pops, and the down-home gospel
organ in the bridge fits nicely with the comforting, if bland, lyrics. This
is a tune about finding safety and permanence in another’s arms, and in
light of subsequent recordings, it’s a reminder that Aguilera can do sweet
as well as sexy.

“When You Put Your Hands On Me”: Aguilera celebrates the alchemy of sex on
this slinky R&B standout, telling her man, “I just know / when you put your
hands on me / I feel sexy / and my body turns to gold.” The song was
co-written by none other than Robin “Blurred Lines” Thicke, and while it’s
far tamer than his signature tune, he and cowriter James Gaas slip in one
rather salacious line some listeners may have missed: “I haven't used a
particular noun very much / then we touched.” Whatever the word is, pre-“
Dirrty” can’t bring herself to sing it.

“Blessed”: Just because Aguilera can sing the hell out of ballads like
this, it doesn’t mean she should. “Blessed” is the most egregious example
of Christina’s handlers misjudging her abilities and saddling her with
subpar material. It’s by far the most skippable track. A speed bump on the
way to…

“Love Will Find a Way”: Christina’s back in Mariah mode, this time doing a
kind of “Dreamlover” update. After “Blessed,” this feels like a banger --
something a teenager would actually want to sing along with. She’s
especially playful on the “I want you / I need you / You know that I believe
you” bit, and just when you think she’s going to end on a flirty high note,
she sticks around for one last ballad.

“Obvious”: This is like Christina’s “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,”
but unlike that 2002 Britney ballad, it doesn’t have the benefit of Dido and
Max Martin’s touch. “Can you hear it in my voice?” Aguilera asks in the
opening line, wondering whether her confusion -- about life, love, etc. -- is
apparent to everyone. Maybe, but so is her potential. The years ahead would
bring assless chaps, Marlene Dietrich hairstyles, over-the-top circus-themed
concerts, a movie with Cher, and a stint on reality TV. Since this record,
Christina’s career moves have been many things, but “Obvious” is not one.

--
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※ 文章網址: http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Christina/M.1409206519.A.F44.html
→ nttu94310: 看到 Iggy在 Black Widow的造型馬上想到 Come On Over
→ nttu94310: Baby XD
→ nttu94310: 還有 Ariana跟克那時候的形象也滿類似
推 moo885588: 意思是下一張會大解放嗎XD
→ nttu94310: 會嗎XD My Everything已經是 Ariana第二張啦XD
推 zzzzzken: 還有下一張嗎？
推 moo885588: 會吧XDDD 這張成績還不錯啊只是都很雖差一步奪冠
→ nttu94310: 是在說 Ariana還是克 XDDD
推 moo885588: 當然是Ariana啊XDD 克什麼時候成績不錯了XDDDD
推 zzzzzken: 天啊，我是問小克還會不好有下一張，看了難了。
推 Daniel2468: 下一張已經在製作了啊...
推 Mystic666: 比她flop到淋B的都可以一直出專輯了
推 moo885588: 淋B是誰XD
推 black366678: 哈哈哈淋B  M大也有在看百度BB吧齁XD
推 Daniel2468: 淋B是啥XDD
推 zzzzzken: 布蘭妮喔？
推 chris0843: 克雖然不叫座但ICON級的知名度還能消費好陣子吧XDDD
→ chris0843: 沒追到克解放前的形象@@ 跟Ariana很像喔？一直覺得
→ chris0843: Ariana路線好模糊XDDD PROBLEM跟BANG BANG都有種要騷不
→ chris0843: 騷的不安感，IGGY黑寡婦造型真的是在跟克致敬XD
→ nttu94310: 就甜心青少女(？ XD
推 hankxtina: Ariana現在的形象跟克解放前是有像，但當時的克比較活
推 hankxtina: 潑、三八！
推 amy86422000: 拿克比也太...頂多說致敬形象吧
推 likeaprayer: 淋B應該是從百度oricon吧創造的名詞 非常不雅小孩不
→ likeaprayer: 宜聽~~ 跟黑某歌手有關
推 moo885588: 已查 XD
推 Daniel2468: 真的是那個意思噢XDD姑狗看到還以為有別的意思哈哈哈