“He About To Lose Me”, one of the bonus tracks on the “Femme Fatale” album, has been a fan favorite since the pre-release leaks began, and gas managed to remain so, despite a certain controversy, to which I will return shortly. Although I have seen a handful of critical remarks about the song, most fans seem to love the strength and musical integrity of the melody and the freshness of the lyrics. It’s instantly ear-grabbing, and it’s interesting to note that, although it is a bonus track, Britney has named it as one of her favorites too.
“He About To Lose Me” was written by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and young Norwegian singer/songwriter Ina Wroldsen, produced by Rodney Jerkins and mixed by Jerkins and Serban Ghenea. No instrumentalists are credited on the track, which presumably means all the instrumental tracks are programmed creations. Three “background” singers are named - Britney Spears, Ina Wroldsen and Michaela Shiloh.
The song has a familiar structure, with Verse Part 1, Verse Part 2, Chorus and Bridge.These are the lyrics:
I’m touching hands with someone seriously beautiful, eh-ah-eh-eh
I feel it burning and I know I'm standing far too close, eh-ah-eh-eh
I'm telling lies and if it shows I see that he don't care, eh-ah-eh-eh
I know he wants to take me home and get on outta here, eh-ah-eh-eh
I got someone waiting at home
He says he in love but lately I just don't know
He don't see me or make me feel hot
Banging in the club with all my ladies and he don't know that
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh-eh... eh-eh-eh... eh-eh
I feel my body losing focus as he touches me, eh-ah-eh-eh
And I should go but I can't overcome this chemistry, eh-ah-eh-eh
He pulls me close before he whispers something in my ear, eh-ah-eh-eh
He says he wants to take me home and get me outta here, eh-ah-eh-eh
I got someone waiting at home
He says he in love but lately I just don't know
He don't see me or make me feel hot
Banging in the club with all my ladies and he don't know that
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh-eh... eh-eh-eh... eh-eh
Someone by the bar keeps looking at us dancing
I see him staring at me, I see where he wants to be
Someone by the bar keeps looking at us dancing
I gotta, I gotta go, he don't know that
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me,
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh
He about to lose, 'bout to lose, 'bout to lose me
He about to lose me, eh-eh-eh... eh-eh
I'm touching hands with someone seriously beautiful, eh-ah-eh-eh
I can quote these lyrics with unusual confidence in their accuracy, because Britney’s diction is extremely clear. Indeed it is largely because of the overall quality of her vocals that most fans have taken particular notice of this song. This is what I wrote in my review of the album: “Rodney Jerkins contributes a beautiful song that brings out the best in Britney. She seems, amazingly, to revert to her pre-Jive voice – natural, unaffected, sweet of tone, open-voiced, with lovely vibrato applied to selected lines.”
It is more than annoying, then, to observe that a fair proportion of fans have convinced themselves, and others, that Britney doesn’t sing the chorus. The argument raged on numerous forums for quite some time - does she or doesn’t she? And in the end the issue remained unresolved. Unfortunately, I’m now seeing fans stating as an accepted fact that she doesn’t sing the chorus. I think they’re completely wrong, and I’ll give two categories of reason, one based on logic and one based on listening.
Taking the logic first, why would she NEED to do it? The demands of the chorus in terms of range and dynamics are well within her capabilities. And do you think she would allow a track on one of her albums to go out with someone else’s voice singing the most prominent part of one of her favorite songs? I don’t. The chorus comprises almost half of the song -16 lines out of 37 - and if someone else was singing it, that would make it a duet. And if it was in fact a duet, wouldn’t Britney have given credit to the duettist? She is famously generous in giving credit to others. For someone else to sing 16 lines of a 37-line song would be a bigger contribution than Sabi makes to (Drop Dead) Beautiful.
Rodney Jerkins told the fans that he was responding to their demands by not applying processing to Britney’s voice. Is it likely that he would have so little integrity that he would make that commitment then go and use an entirely different singer? Seriously! These conspiracy theories go into the realms of extreme fantasy. The standard of argument on the “she doesn’t sing it” side is shown, for example, by claims that the chorus was sung by Myah Marie, but she isn’t even on the track and has denied it anyway!
But if you want to say “damn the logic, it just doesn’t SOUND like Britney” we have to consider the alternatives - Ina Wroldsen and Michaela Shiloh. Ina has a soft-edged, folksy voice and Michaela has an r&b/soul inflected one and the chorus doesn’t sound a bit like either of them. And now cast your mind back to the Circus tour and “You Oughta Know” - B’s voice on the chorus of that song sounds very like the voice on the chorus of HATLM, and I guess the only reason why fans believe it was her singing “You Oughta Know” is that they saw her doing it.
I hesitate to mention good quality headphones and a good quality CD player, but if you use them you can hear the wide stereo spacing of the double tracked vocals in the chorus become narrower, then centralised just before the end, and at that point it’s easy to tell that it’s Britney. During the final (repeated) chorus, a center track joins the double tracked stereo pair and here again this simply emphasizes that it’s Britney singing. There is no “blending” of another voice - that is just a figment of some people’s imaginations. In Verse Part 2, there are two voices singing in harmony, but this is Britney providing a background vocal to herself. The only place where the other background vocalists are employed is in the bridge: “Someone by the bar keeps looking at us dancing...”
Having gotten all of that out of the way, I think we can now simply give our unconditional appreciation to the wonder of Britney’s vocals on “He About To Lose Me”. It’s like a reaffirmation that she can still do it, still sing with power and pull out that warm, emotional voice that charmed and captivated us all those years ago, and what is more, show us that she sounds a great deal better with her voice free of the processing and robo-Britney mannerisms that have invaded much of “Femme Fatale”.
Instrumental accompaniment is mostly guitar and percussion. There is no bass track as such. A simple strummed guitar plays through most of the song, but engages in more assertive chords that provide counterpoint to the vocal melody during the chorus. A jagged, stabbing fuzzy guitar joins the kick drum at 0.25 and both of them play through most of the song, only falling silent at the ends of the first two choruses.
Imagining your head as a stereo soundstage and listening with headphones, the strummed guitar and percussion are at center and the fuzzy guitar is split between left and right channels. Britney’svocal during Verse Part 1 is at center, with the “eh-ah-eh-eh” parts split into a narrow stereo pair. In Verse Part 2 her lead vocal is at center and the harmony she sings with herself is in a narrow double-tracked stereo pair. In the first two choruses, as mentioned above, Britney’s voice is double-tracked as a wider stereo pair, but in the final chorus she is also singing at center. In the bridge, Britney is at center and the background vocalists can be heard at various locations.
In summary, “He About To Lose Me” is based upon simplicity - a simply constructed song, simple production and stripped down accompaniment. And this simplicity does not undermine or detract anything at all. Rather, it allows the beauty of the song and of Britney’s vocals to shine all the more brightly for not being masked in synthesized artifice.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
In Depth: Unusual You
“Circus” doesn’t seem to be many people’s favorite Britney album. I think it’s cruelly underrated and contains a lot of top quality material that was at the very cutting edge of pop in 2008 and still sounds fresh today. And it features several tracks that make me proud to be a fan. These include “Mannequin”, “Mmm Papi” and “Unusual You”. “Unusual You” is the Britney song I’m asked to write about more than any other. I’ve been told by some fans that when they play it to non-fans, they’re often deeply impressed, and amazed when they hear who the artist is.
“Unusual You” was written by Bloodshy and Avant and Kasia Livinstone, produced by Bloodshy and Avant, and mixed by Anders Hvenare. It features real instruments as well as the usual programmed sounds: keyboards, bass and guitar by Bloodshy and Avant, and additional guitar by Henrick Jonback. Kasia Livingstone provides “background vocals”.
“Unusual You” has the ingredients of a classic pop song. Its lyrical concept is unique, yet is very simply and unforgettably expressed. People sometimes complain that Britney’s lyrics are shallow or nonsensical, but in this case they definitely aren’t. And the song has a lovely, beautifully constructed melody in which every phrase follows naturally and logically from the one before. It’s a song you could be singing along to before your first hearing has even ended.
There has been a fair amount of rather futile debate around the forums on the question of whether or not “Unusual You” is a ballad. If we go by Dictionary.com’s initial definition “any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas sung to the same melody”, then it is. The origins of the word “ballad” are connected with dancing, so it appears that ballads don’t have to be as slow as some people imagine.
Since the words are important to this song, I’ll quote them here, using a composite of the best renderings I can find on the web. If you can improve on them with an authoritative correction, please let me know:
(Verse 1 Part 1)
Nothing about you is typical
Nothing about you is predictable
You got me all twisted and confused
It’s so new.
Up till now I thought I knew love,
Nothing to lose, and it’s damaged ‘cause
Patterns will fall, as quick as I do,
But now...
(Verse 1 Part 2)
Bridges are burning, baby I’m learning
A new way of thinking now,
Love I can see, nothing will be just like it was,
Is that because...
(Chorus)
Baby, you’re so unusual,
Didn’t anyone tell you, you’re s’pposed to
Break my heart, I expect you to,
So why haven’t you?
Maybe you’re not even human ’cause
Only an angel could be so unusual,
Sweet surprise I could get used to,
Unusual You
(Verse 2 Part 1)
There’s so many things, when I was someone else,
Boxer in the ring, tryin’ to defend myself
And the private eyes see what’s goin’ on
That’s long gone
When I’m with you, I can just be myself
You’re always where you said you will be
Shocking cause I never knew love like this
Could exist.
(Verse 2 Part 2)
Tables are turnin’, my heart is soarin’
You’ll never let me down,
Answer the call, here after all,
Never met anyone
Like you.
(Chorus)
(Bridge)
I can’t believe that I almost didn’t try
When you called my name,
Now everything has changed.
(Final Chorus)
As can be seen from the above, the architecture of the song is both regular and straightforward. The words are bittersweet and ironic - a woman who is all too used to being treated with casual negligence, indifference and thoughtlessness is genuinely amazed to find someone who doesn’t behave that way. “Didn’t anyone tell you you’re supposed to break my heart? I expect you to, so why haven’t you?” It’s a “sweet surprise I could get used to”.
Yet the song doesn’t sound particularly optimistic. It’s as if Britney knows in her heart that the eventual heartbreak is inevitable, even if delayed for a while, and that her sweet surprise is a delusion. And come on, ladies - who calls their lover “unusual” and means it as a compliment?
The minor key sets a downbeat mood, and a strangely forlorn, empty atmosphere pervades certain phrases. Britney’s delivery, often conveying a strange and indefinable sadness and yearning, is a perfect vehicle for “Sehnsucht”, the intangible and unnameable existential longing for a someone, a something, another place, another time.... for most people, the magnetic pull of unspoken truths and unfathomable heartache that always lies beyond the grasp of language and of rational analysis. I know the concept of “Sehnsucht” may be difficult to grasp, so I promise to write a full article about it very soon.
Whether emerging from the mood of the song, or consciously intended to play a part in creating that mood, there are several musical sighs and grimaces, expressed in a variety of ways, where what should be joyous sounds depressive:
“it’s so new” (0:21)
“but now” (0:36)
the little downturned guitar note at 1:07 and 2:40
“hah ah ah ah, hah ah ah ah” (two alternating from each side)
“that’s long gone” (1:53)
The signature phrase “unusual you” doesn’t come off as celebratory, but reflective and rather sad. On “Boxer in the ring, tryin’ to defend myself...” - her voice catches on “tryin’”. And listen to “Now everything has changed” (3:23) - it’s not happy or cheerful, nor soft and loving, but harsh and metallic, like the announcement of a tragedy now, or in the making.
As is often the case with Bloodshy and Avant, most of the interest is in the innovative nature of the song, rather than in the production or mixing, which are unobtrusive and simple.
Imagining your head as a stereo soundstage and using headphones, you can hear that the majority of the vocal work comes from Britney herself. It’s not entirely clear if the high voice she harmonises with is hers, but the “hah ah ah ah” phrases definitely sound like Kasia Livingston. Britney’s lead vocal is at center most of the time, sometimes double-tracked or in harmony (also at center) and sometimes backed up by a double-tracked stereo pair divided in a narrow “V” between left and right channels. In the chorus, the “V” becomes wider. Kasia’s “hah ah ah ah” is placed at the extremes of left and right. It’s all very restrained, and doesn’t distract attention from the song.
The instrumental tracks are also pretty basic. The song begins with a fuzzy guitar at left and right, and a solo bass guitar figure. The fuzzy guitar continues throughout the song at various volumes and degrees of prominence. The rhythm tracks join in at 0:23 and are there till closing moments. They don’t amount to much more than regulation synth-drum thumping and three or four bass notes that are neither very deep nor very noticeable, especially during the verses. Synth-piano joins in for all the “hah ah ah ah” sections, the chorus is embellished by random synth notes, strums and bumps, and there are some synth strings during the bridge. “Now everything has changed” is followed by an amusingly Abba-esque keyboard riff.
“Unusual You” is a track that leaves a powerful first impression, and then implants itself in your brain, where this strange song, inhabited and infused by Britney’s subtle and sensitive vocal, nags away endlessly, with all its ambivalences, conflictions, wistfulness and dreamy yearnings.
“Unusual You” was written by Bloodshy and Avant and Kasia Livinstone, produced by Bloodshy and Avant, and mixed by Anders Hvenare. It features real instruments as well as the usual programmed sounds: keyboards, bass and guitar by Bloodshy and Avant, and additional guitar by Henrick Jonback. Kasia Livingstone provides “background vocals”.
“Unusual You” has the ingredients of a classic pop song. Its lyrical concept is unique, yet is very simply and unforgettably expressed. People sometimes complain that Britney’s lyrics are shallow or nonsensical, but in this case they definitely aren’t. And the song has a lovely, beautifully constructed melody in which every phrase follows naturally and logically from the one before. It’s a song you could be singing along to before your first hearing has even ended.
There has been a fair amount of rather futile debate around the forums on the question of whether or not “Unusual You” is a ballad. If we go by Dictionary.com’s initial definition “any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas sung to the same melody”, then it is. The origins of the word “ballad” are connected with dancing, so it appears that ballads don’t have to be as slow as some people imagine.
Since the words are important to this song, I’ll quote them here, using a composite of the best renderings I can find on the web. If you can improve on them with an authoritative correction, please let me know:
(Verse 1 Part 1)
Nothing about you is typical
Nothing about you is predictable
You got me all twisted and confused
It’s so new.
Up till now I thought I knew love,
Nothing to lose, and it’s damaged ‘cause
Patterns will fall, as quick as I do,
But now...
(Verse 1 Part 2)
Bridges are burning, baby I’m learning
A new way of thinking now,
Love I can see, nothing will be just like it was,
Is that because...
(Chorus)
Baby, you’re so unusual,
Didn’t anyone tell you, you’re s’pposed to
Break my heart, I expect you to,
So why haven’t you?
Maybe you’re not even human ’cause
Only an angel could be so unusual,
Sweet surprise I could get used to,
Unusual You
(Verse 2 Part 1)
There’s so many things, when I was someone else,
Boxer in the ring, tryin’ to defend myself
And the private eyes see what’s goin’ on
That’s long gone
When I’m with you, I can just be myself
You’re always where you said you will be
Shocking cause I never knew love like this
Could exist.
(Verse 2 Part 2)
Tables are turnin’, my heart is soarin’
You’ll never let me down,
Answer the call, here after all,
Never met anyone
Like you.
(Chorus)
(Bridge)
I can’t believe that I almost didn’t try
When you called my name,
Now everything has changed.
(Final Chorus)
As can be seen from the above, the architecture of the song is both regular and straightforward. The words are bittersweet and ironic - a woman who is all too used to being treated with casual negligence, indifference and thoughtlessness is genuinely amazed to find someone who doesn’t behave that way. “Didn’t anyone tell you you’re supposed to break my heart? I expect you to, so why haven’t you?” It’s a “sweet surprise I could get used to”.
Yet the song doesn’t sound particularly optimistic. It’s as if Britney knows in her heart that the eventual heartbreak is inevitable, even if delayed for a while, and that her sweet surprise is a delusion. And come on, ladies - who calls their lover “unusual” and means it as a compliment?
The minor key sets a downbeat mood, and a strangely forlorn, empty atmosphere pervades certain phrases. Britney’s delivery, often conveying a strange and indefinable sadness and yearning, is a perfect vehicle for “Sehnsucht”, the intangible and unnameable existential longing for a someone, a something, another place, another time.... for most people, the magnetic pull of unspoken truths and unfathomable heartache that always lies beyond the grasp of language and of rational analysis. I know the concept of “Sehnsucht” may be difficult to grasp, so I promise to write a full article about it very soon.
Whether emerging from the mood of the song, or consciously intended to play a part in creating that mood, there are several musical sighs and grimaces, expressed in a variety of ways, where what should be joyous sounds depressive:
“it’s so new” (0:21)
“but now” (0:36)
the little downturned guitar note at 1:07 and 2:40
“hah ah ah ah, hah ah ah ah” (two alternating from each side)
“that’s long gone” (1:53)
The signature phrase “unusual you” doesn’t come off as celebratory, but reflective and rather sad. On “Boxer in the ring, tryin’ to defend myself...” - her voice catches on “tryin’”. And listen to “Now everything has changed” (3:23) - it’s not happy or cheerful, nor soft and loving, but harsh and metallic, like the announcement of a tragedy now, or in the making.
As is often the case with Bloodshy and Avant, most of the interest is in the innovative nature of the song, rather than in the production or mixing, which are unobtrusive and simple.
Imagining your head as a stereo soundstage and using headphones, you can hear that the majority of the vocal work comes from Britney herself. It’s not entirely clear if the high voice she harmonises with is hers, but the “hah ah ah ah” phrases definitely sound like Kasia Livingston. Britney’s lead vocal is at center most of the time, sometimes double-tracked or in harmony (also at center) and sometimes backed up by a double-tracked stereo pair divided in a narrow “V” between left and right channels. In the chorus, the “V” becomes wider. Kasia’s “hah ah ah ah” is placed at the extremes of left and right. It’s all very restrained, and doesn’t distract attention from the song.
The instrumental tracks are also pretty basic. The song begins with a fuzzy guitar at left and right, and a solo bass guitar figure. The fuzzy guitar continues throughout the song at various volumes and degrees of prominence. The rhythm tracks join in at 0:23 and are there till closing moments. They don’t amount to much more than regulation synth-drum thumping and three or four bass notes that are neither very deep nor very noticeable, especially during the verses. Synth-piano joins in for all the “hah ah ah ah” sections, the chorus is embellished by random synth notes, strums and bumps, and there are some synth strings during the bridge. “Now everything has changed” is followed by an amusingly Abba-esque keyboard riff.
“Unusual You” is a track that leaves a powerful first impression, and then implants itself in your brain, where this strange song, inhabited and infused by Britney’s subtle and sensitive vocal, nags away endlessly, with all its ambivalences, conflictions, wistfulness and dreamy yearnings.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Britneyology "Femme Fatale" Review
My best friend was talking about “Femme Fatale” the other day. “Each song, individually, is FANTASTIC,” she said. “Overall they're all REALLY great. I do have a problem with the album though... it may be a small problem but... " We will return to that “but” later.
One thing is very obvious about Britney Spears’ new album “Femme Fatale” - its creators were obsessed by uniformity. Maybe they took careful note of the praise retrospectively heaped upon “Blackout” for being a genuine “album” rather than a bagful of assorted goodies like “Circus”.
Consistency here is achieved in various ways - one is the simple device of making no room whatsoever for ballads. Every track is for dancing. Another is to have a control freak knob-twiddler doubling as Executive Producer so nothing can interfere with his vision. And a third is to give every track - bar one - the same characteristic SOUND. And this turns out to be surprisingly important.
Where “Circus” employed 8 different mix engineers and “Blackout” employed 4, “Femme Fatale” uses the same one on 15 of the 16 tracks on the deluxe edition. Unsurprisingly, Will.He.Is had to do it his own way, but elsewhere, Romanian-born hit-assister Serban Ghenea reigns supreme. He’s Dr Luke’s regular mixer, but on “Femme Fatale” the tracks by other producers are also mixed by him.
Ghenea comments: "I love to blend the elements of different musical styles that may not normally exist together in order to create a new sound for the artist and make it their own. 'Artist A' shouldn't sound like 'Artist C' just because a producer or mixer has their own signature sound.” In other words, he’s aware of the danger that Britney, Katy and Ke$ha could end up as soundalikes. And, true to his word, blending of styles does take place, and the consistent approach he adopts makes some fairly disparate songs slot together quite seamlessly.
Whether Dr Luke was working by instinct or by some grand strategic plan, his vision for Britney seems to have been to configure her as an old-school artist working in a contemporary environment. The outworking of this is an album with all the up-to-date dance credentials and pop electronica in the world, but illuminated by nostalgic Euro-disco sounds and chord sequences, nods and tributes to half-remembered hits from the past, and lots of deja-vu moments. Many listeners may even hear echoes of earlier Britney songs and vocal treatments. And Ghenea holds it all together.
This isn’t a bad direction to take. For one thing, it means that “Femme Fatale” has a familiar, cuddly, embraceable charm that first engages you, then forever welcomes you back like an old and trusted friend. It also means songs with old-style melodic hooks instead of cheap gimmicks. Hooks like these can rescue a situation. For example, when “Seal It With A Kiss” begins, it seems like yawnworthy generic filler until you get to “...and seal it with a kiss, ooo ooo eee ooo!” and suddenly it’s elevated. Nostalgia uberfreaks will be pleased to know that a song called “Sealed With A Kiss” was a hit for Brian Hyland in 1962.
The thing that has annoyed me most about the other reviews I’ve read is that nobody wants to give any credit to Britney herself. It’s almost as if the ghastly realisation that she lip-synchs her live shows has mutated in the minds of some critics into “She can’t sing at all, even in the studio”. And this nonsense has rendered them completely deaf to something that’s really very clear - her vocals on this album are among her best on record, and are perfectly strong and assertive in their own right, as good as those of her peers, with no need for excuses. These aren’t the kinds of song that lend themselves to a Loletta Holloway-style gore-fest, so I don’t know what her critics were expecting.
As ever, Britney uses a different approach to singing each song, and it’s a fascinating study. Purring, snarling, laughing, wheedling, demanding, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes strong... she shows anyone with mature critical faculties that singing isn’t all about hollering out a song at the top of your lungs. Granted, though, there are a couple of occasions on which she resorts - perhaps unnecessarily, given the context - to her robotic voice, and that seems to be the only thing the bashers are able to hear.
The running order of the 12 main tracks is well-chosen to give relief when it’s most required from Ghenea’s rather insistent bass-drum thumping on the many 4-4 stompers, but you wouldn’t want to be without at least some of the bonus tracks. As on “Circus”, they include some egregious, fascinating, standalone delights - yet even the bonus tracks fall within the embrace of the album’s signature sound.
And that brings us back to the “but” that my friend mentioned. Here it comes: “But even though each song is awesome... as a WHOLE, the album feels a bit... hmm... repetitive? Even a little boring, and I never thought I’d say that about Britney”. I can see her point. A few too many songs with monotonous or duotonous beginnings? I wouldn’t go as far as "boring" myself. Most of the tracks are now my little friends, y’see.
What we did agree on was this: “Women of sophisticated aesthetic tastes such as us would always want some light-and-shade, and with Britney you usually get it.” We didn’t get it this time, which is a shame. “Femme Fatale” contains just about as much variety as anyone could imagine, given its self-imposed constraints. I prefer the warmth, friendliness and fun of “Femme Fatale” to the bleakness of “Blackout”. But ballads are the windows into Britney’s soul, and I miss them.
Turning now to the individual tracks:
Till The World Ends
Co-written by Ke$ha, this uplifting, energising 80’s-style Euro-disco anthem has a repetitive verse but a soaring, melodic chorus with a chant that could be a cross between the Crazy Frog and a football chant, and gallops along to a thundering finale. Britney sings like a woman who has just rediscovered an appetite for life: “I can’t take it take it take it take NO MORRRRRE!!!” The production is competent, but somehow lacks impulsion at key moments. So it may be that the song doesn’t quite maximise its potential impact.
Hold It Against Me
This, the dramatically successful lead single from the album, also has a repetitive verse, and again the melodic chorus elevates it to a higher plane. Britney’s voice is somewhat more constricted than on “TTWE” but strong nonetheless, and the track is driven along by a pounding, grinding, heavy bassline. There’s a much-discussed dubstep instrumental break that may not have been 100% authentic but at least introduced dubstep to a wider audience.
Inside Out
One of the outstanding songs on the album, musically and lyrically, and one of closest to being a ballad. My best friend says she’s going to borrow from this text for her next break up! An extremely imaginative bassline dips and soars, wobbles, pulsates and goes almost subsonic. The production has great authority, clarity and space, and Britney’s vocal is distinct, open-throated and assertive: “So come on!!!” I would love for this track to become a single some day.
I Wanna Go
The fourth track sounds a little weak at first, after the brilliance of the third, but this is one of those songs where the hook keeps everything alive: “Shame on me-eee! [whistling]” At “I wanna go all the way” the chorus takes flight and somehow the second rendering of the verse seems more melodic than the first. Britney’s vocal is best-described as “coquettish” and the production amounts to little more than some standard-issue thumping.
How I Roll
An inspired piece of musical lunacy from Bloodshy and his Swedish pals provides a sharp contrast to the pop-rock beats that precede it, and is instantly memorable. The uncredited male duettist on the choruses could be better, especially at ending his words. Britney, her voice gentle and melodic, sings “You can be my thug tonight” and hostile critics accuse her of singing “fuck”. The track is an odd compilation of short segments, and the part that begins “shimmy shimmy” seems to come out of nowhere. But, amazingly, it fits. The instrumental tracks are predominantly piano, bass and percussion, and the production is sparse yet expansive, and very laid-back.
(Drop Dead) Beautiful
A hammer-heavy rhythmic thump-fest with a minimal melody that sneaks up on you with an ectoplasmic lack of substance. Britney, perhaps revealing some difficulty in engaging with such a slight piece of writing, slips into her most robotic mode so that, when Sabi takes her place to rap about vegetables, the substitution goes unnoticed by many critics. Highlights are the peal of girlish laughter and electronic “uh-oh!”
Seal It With A Kiss
The melody-averse verse seems worryingly similar to much that has gone before, perhaps leading to my friend’s allegation of repetitiveness. But then the hook comes along and changes everything, as explained above. The vaguely organ-tinged instrumental break is so minimal as to be surreal, but brings a strange sense of eerie calm to the center of the song. Britney is kittenish, staying just on the right side of robotic.
Big Fat Bass
Another eccentric moment, this time from Will.I.Am. The bass isn’t particularly deep, and it doesn’t seem any bigger when we’re assured that it is, but it’s still pretty big, and bombastic, and domineering. The highly melodic verse section beginning “You see me down on the floor” sounds like something stolen from a 70s hit by Earth Wind and Fire, right down to the harmonies. For some reason, Britney appears at first to be singing “I can be your trouble” but later it’s definitely “treble”. There’s a weird tap-dance while the kick-drum is awaited, then finally the bass does go deep and many elements come together in a rollicking conclusion.
Trouble For Me
Big nostalgia. This track sets off sounding exactly like an out-take from a much, much earlier Age of Britney, perhaps around 1999. Her vocal sound is even more of a throwback. The song itself is great, with a tune that the milkman could be whistling after one hearing, but the production undersells it, feeling uninspired and dragged down further by the brutalist thumping rhythm sound.
Trip To Your Heart
Forget anything you may have heard about certain tracks on “Blackout”, this is a real Giorgio Moroder-inspired disco number, with a beautiful, flowing, old-school melody. It would have been a smash in 1977. The electro-thump is more muted and muffled here, and instead the song is poked and prodded along by stabbing, jagging synth figures to left and right, while Britney’s soft, sweet, tuneful vocal sits serenely in the middle. For me, this is one of the highlights of the album and - unsurprisingly - it’s down to Bloodshy and his chums again.
Gasoline
Another great melody, with intelligent lyrics full of gasoline metaphors like “My heart only runs on Supreme” - I wonder how many young pop kids know what that means! The tune demands a wide vocal range from Britney, and her high register “you’re setting me on fire” is gripping. Her “hey yeah” punctuations are a real deja-vu moment but it’s hard to say exactly where we heard it before.
Criminal
Dare I utter the word “Gaga-esque”? I can imagine her singing it. But what that sounds like in my head is very different with Britney’s voice. She sings it both beautifully and convincingly, with much yearning, vulnerability and anxious emotion. That is her outstanding gift among her peers. “Criminal” is an extremely well-written and structured song; it’s one of the slowest on the album and - not by coincidence where Britney’s involved - one of the best.
Up ‘n’ Down
Back to a bygone age again, this track is built around one of the most familiar and heavily-used chord sequences in all of the history of dance music. And, of course, there’s that nostalgic charm again - but blended with modern programmed studio electronica. The rhythm is springy and subtler than it seems, and highly danceable.
He About To Lose Me
Rodney Jerkins contributes a beautiful song that brings out the best in Britney. She seems, amazingly, to revert to her pre-Jive voice - natural, unaffected, sweet of tone, open-voiced, with lovely vibrato applied to selected lines. Again it’s one of the slower, more thoughtful songs, and one of the most emotional moments on the album. Wonderful!
Selfish
I don’t know how this one sneaked under the wire and got into such high-quality company. Despite its “boom boom baby” hook, it really isn’t much good. It drives along with an athletic muscularity, a heavily percussive kick drum and some nice electric guitar, but that’s all.
Don’t Keep Me Waiting
Rodney Jerkins again, with another one of the album’s great moments - this time, real traditional rock with a backbeat instead of the all-pervasive pogoing rhythm we’ve been cursed with since the Stones released “Satisfaction”. “What the HELL?? I’m standing outside...” Britney gets into the mood, and “hell” sounds such a funny word in her mouth. Towards the end, her “don’t keep me waiting” sounds as if it’s accompanied by a hound-dog barking (OK, I know it isn’t but a girl can dream...)! And the whole thing thunders unstoppably towards the end of the album. A fitting finale, and one that shouldn’t have been relegated to the bonus tracks!
One thing is very obvious about Britney Spears’ new album “Femme Fatale” - its creators were obsessed by uniformity. Maybe they took careful note of the praise retrospectively heaped upon “Blackout” for being a genuine “album” rather than a bagful of assorted goodies like “Circus”.
Consistency here is achieved in various ways - one is the simple device of making no room whatsoever for ballads. Every track is for dancing. Another is to have a control freak knob-twiddler doubling as Executive Producer so nothing can interfere with his vision. And a third is to give every track - bar one - the same characteristic SOUND. And this turns out to be surprisingly important.
Where “Circus” employed 8 different mix engineers and “Blackout” employed 4, “Femme Fatale” uses the same one on 15 of the 16 tracks on the deluxe edition. Unsurprisingly, Will.He.Is had to do it his own way, but elsewhere, Romanian-born hit-assister Serban Ghenea reigns supreme. He’s Dr Luke’s regular mixer, but on “Femme Fatale” the tracks by other producers are also mixed by him.
Ghenea comments: "I love to blend the elements of different musical styles that may not normally exist together in order to create a new sound for the artist and make it their own. 'Artist A' shouldn't sound like 'Artist C' just because a producer or mixer has their own signature sound.” In other words, he’s aware of the danger that Britney, Katy and Ke$ha could end up as soundalikes. And, true to his word, blending of styles does take place, and the consistent approach he adopts makes some fairly disparate songs slot together quite seamlessly.
Whether Dr Luke was working by instinct or by some grand strategic plan, his vision for Britney seems to have been to configure her as an old-school artist working in a contemporary environment. The outworking of this is an album with all the up-to-date dance credentials and pop electronica in the world, but illuminated by nostalgic Euro-disco sounds and chord sequences, nods and tributes to half-remembered hits from the past, and lots of deja-vu moments. Many listeners may even hear echoes of earlier Britney songs and vocal treatments. And Ghenea holds it all together.
This isn’t a bad direction to take. For one thing, it means that “Femme Fatale” has a familiar, cuddly, embraceable charm that first engages you, then forever welcomes you back like an old and trusted friend. It also means songs with old-style melodic hooks instead of cheap gimmicks. Hooks like these can rescue a situation. For example, when “Seal It With A Kiss” begins, it seems like yawnworthy generic filler until you get to “...and seal it with a kiss, ooo ooo eee ooo!” and suddenly it’s elevated. Nostalgia uberfreaks will be pleased to know that a song called “Sealed With A Kiss” was a hit for Brian Hyland in 1962.
The thing that has annoyed me most about the other reviews I’ve read is that nobody wants to give any credit to Britney herself. It’s almost as if the ghastly realisation that she lip-synchs her live shows has mutated in the minds of some critics into “She can’t sing at all, even in the studio”. And this nonsense has rendered them completely deaf to something that’s really very clear - her vocals on this album are among her best on record, and are perfectly strong and assertive in their own right, as good as those of her peers, with no need for excuses. These aren’t the kinds of song that lend themselves to a Loletta Holloway-style gore-fest, so I don’t know what her critics were expecting.
As ever, Britney uses a different approach to singing each song, and it’s a fascinating study. Purring, snarling, laughing, wheedling, demanding, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes strong... she shows anyone with mature critical faculties that singing isn’t all about hollering out a song at the top of your lungs. Granted, though, there are a couple of occasions on which she resorts - perhaps unnecessarily, given the context - to her robotic voice, and that seems to be the only thing the bashers are able to hear.
The running order of the 12 main tracks is well-chosen to give relief when it’s most required from Ghenea’s rather insistent bass-drum thumping on the many 4-4 stompers, but you wouldn’t want to be without at least some of the bonus tracks. As on “Circus”, they include some egregious, fascinating, standalone delights - yet even the bonus tracks fall within the embrace of the album’s signature sound.
And that brings us back to the “but” that my friend mentioned. Here it comes: “But even though each song is awesome... as a WHOLE, the album feels a bit... hmm... repetitive? Even a little boring, and I never thought I’d say that about Britney”. I can see her point. A few too many songs with monotonous or duotonous beginnings? I wouldn’t go as far as "boring" myself. Most of the tracks are now my little friends, y’see.
What we did agree on was this: “Women of sophisticated aesthetic tastes such as us would always want some light-and-shade, and with Britney you usually get it.” We didn’t get it this time, which is a shame. “Femme Fatale” contains just about as much variety as anyone could imagine, given its self-imposed constraints. I prefer the warmth, friendliness and fun of “Femme Fatale” to the bleakness of “Blackout”. But ballads are the windows into Britney’s soul, and I miss them.
Turning now to the individual tracks:
Till The World Ends
Co-written by Ke$ha, this uplifting, energising 80’s-style Euro-disco anthem has a repetitive verse but a soaring, melodic chorus with a chant that could be a cross between the Crazy Frog and a football chant, and gallops along to a thundering finale. Britney sings like a woman who has just rediscovered an appetite for life: “I can’t take it take it take it take NO MORRRRRE!!!” The production is competent, but somehow lacks impulsion at key moments. So it may be that the song doesn’t quite maximise its potential impact.
Hold It Against Me
This, the dramatically successful lead single from the album, also has a repetitive verse, and again the melodic chorus elevates it to a higher plane. Britney’s voice is somewhat more constricted than on “TTWE” but strong nonetheless, and the track is driven along by a pounding, grinding, heavy bassline. There’s a much-discussed dubstep instrumental break that may not have been 100% authentic but at least introduced dubstep to a wider audience.
Inside Out
One of the outstanding songs on the album, musically and lyrically, and one of closest to being a ballad. My best friend says she’s going to borrow from this text for her next break up! An extremely imaginative bassline dips and soars, wobbles, pulsates and goes almost subsonic. The production has great authority, clarity and space, and Britney’s vocal is distinct, open-throated and assertive: “So come on!!!” I would love for this track to become a single some day.
I Wanna Go
The fourth track sounds a little weak at first, after the brilliance of the third, but this is one of those songs where the hook keeps everything alive: “Shame on me-eee! [whistling]” At “I wanna go all the way” the chorus takes flight and somehow the second rendering of the verse seems more melodic than the first. Britney’s vocal is best-described as “coquettish” and the production amounts to little more than some standard-issue thumping.
How I Roll
An inspired piece of musical lunacy from Bloodshy and his Swedish pals provides a sharp contrast to the pop-rock beats that precede it, and is instantly memorable. The uncredited male duettist on the choruses could be better, especially at ending his words. Britney, her voice gentle and melodic, sings “You can be my thug tonight” and hostile critics accuse her of singing “fuck”. The track is an odd compilation of short segments, and the part that begins “shimmy shimmy” seems to come out of nowhere. But, amazingly, it fits. The instrumental tracks are predominantly piano, bass and percussion, and the production is sparse yet expansive, and very laid-back.
(Drop Dead) Beautiful
A hammer-heavy rhythmic thump-fest with a minimal melody that sneaks up on you with an ectoplasmic lack of substance. Britney, perhaps revealing some difficulty in engaging with such a slight piece of writing, slips into her most robotic mode so that, when Sabi takes her place to rap about vegetables, the substitution goes unnoticed by many critics. Highlights are the peal of girlish laughter and electronic “uh-oh!”
Seal It With A Kiss
The melody-averse verse seems worryingly similar to much that has gone before, perhaps leading to my friend’s allegation of repetitiveness. But then the hook comes along and changes everything, as explained above. The vaguely organ-tinged instrumental break is so minimal as to be surreal, but brings a strange sense of eerie calm to the center of the song. Britney is kittenish, staying just on the right side of robotic.
Big Fat Bass
Another eccentric moment, this time from Will.I.Am. The bass isn’t particularly deep, and it doesn’t seem any bigger when we’re assured that it is, but it’s still pretty big, and bombastic, and domineering. The highly melodic verse section beginning “You see me down on the floor” sounds like something stolen from a 70s hit by Earth Wind and Fire, right down to the harmonies. For some reason, Britney appears at first to be singing “I can be your trouble” but later it’s definitely “treble”. There’s a weird tap-dance while the kick-drum is awaited, then finally the bass does go deep and many elements come together in a rollicking conclusion.
Trouble For Me
Big nostalgia. This track sets off sounding exactly like an out-take from a much, much earlier Age of Britney, perhaps around 1999. Her vocal sound is even more of a throwback. The song itself is great, with a tune that the milkman could be whistling after one hearing, but the production undersells it, feeling uninspired and dragged down further by the brutalist thumping rhythm sound.
Trip To Your Heart
Forget anything you may have heard about certain tracks on “Blackout”, this is a real Giorgio Moroder-inspired disco number, with a beautiful, flowing, old-school melody. It would have been a smash in 1977. The electro-thump is more muted and muffled here, and instead the song is poked and prodded along by stabbing, jagging synth figures to left and right, while Britney’s soft, sweet, tuneful vocal sits serenely in the middle. For me, this is one of the highlights of the album and - unsurprisingly - it’s down to Bloodshy and his chums again.
Gasoline
Another great melody, with intelligent lyrics full of gasoline metaphors like “My heart only runs on Supreme” - I wonder how many young pop kids know what that means! The tune demands a wide vocal range from Britney, and her high register “you’re setting me on fire” is gripping. Her “hey yeah” punctuations are a real deja-vu moment but it’s hard to say exactly where we heard it before.
Criminal
Dare I utter the word “Gaga-esque”? I can imagine her singing it. But what that sounds like in my head is very different with Britney’s voice. She sings it both beautifully and convincingly, with much yearning, vulnerability and anxious emotion. That is her outstanding gift among her peers. “Criminal” is an extremely well-written and structured song; it’s one of the slowest on the album and - not by coincidence where Britney’s involved - one of the best.
Up ‘n’ Down
Back to a bygone age again, this track is built around one of the most familiar and heavily-used chord sequences in all of the history of dance music. And, of course, there’s that nostalgic charm again - but blended with modern programmed studio electronica. The rhythm is springy and subtler than it seems, and highly danceable.
He About To Lose Me
Rodney Jerkins contributes a beautiful song that brings out the best in Britney. She seems, amazingly, to revert to her pre-Jive voice - natural, unaffected, sweet of tone, open-voiced, with lovely vibrato applied to selected lines. Again it’s one of the slower, more thoughtful songs, and one of the most emotional moments on the album. Wonderful!
Selfish
I don’t know how this one sneaked under the wire and got into such high-quality company. Despite its “boom boom baby” hook, it really isn’t much good. It drives along with an athletic muscularity, a heavily percussive kick drum and some nice electric guitar, but that’s all.
Don’t Keep Me Waiting
Rodney Jerkins again, with another one of the album’s great moments - this time, real traditional rock with a backbeat instead of the all-pervasive pogoing rhythm we’ve been cursed with since the Stones released “Satisfaction”. “What the HELL?? I’m standing outside...” Britney gets into the mood, and “hell” sounds such a funny word in her mouth. Towards the end, her “don’t keep me waiting” sounds as if it’s accompanied by a hound-dog barking (OK, I know it isn’t but a girl can dream...)! And the whole thing thunders unstoppably towards the end of the album. A fitting finale, and one that shouldn’t have been relegated to the bonus tracks!
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