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America Noise-Britney Spears-Femme Fatale album review: 4/5 stars
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Britney Spears, "Femme Fatale" album review-positive.  
“But she doesn’t write her own songs!” the naysayers sneer, as though this invalidates Britney Spears’s career as a singer.It’s a ridiculous claim, of course. Not because it isn’t true—Britney’s never pretended that she crafts her own music–but because some of the greatest singers of the 20th century didn’t write their own material. I’m thinking Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Nina Simone, to name a few high-profile examples. Nobody would deny theirartistry, which came not from the creation of original melody but rather from the way they imbued others’ music with their own signature spirit. These legends made the songs they sang their own, and that’s why they became legends in the first place.
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Associate Press
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By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Ap Music Writer
  
Now, Britney Spears is no Nina Simone. But it’s foolish to disregard her albums simply because she didn’t write the hits herself. Britney’s success has always come from the way she sold the myth of her sincerity; when she commanded us to “hit me baby one more time,” she sounded like she meant it. We believed her; we bought into the Britney pop juggernaut, and what we’ve gotten out of this cultural transaction has been an impressive collection of modern pop classics, culminating in the flawed, mysterious, and magnificent Blackout.
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Even when Britney Spears was in the midst of her Charlie Sheen-esque breakdown, she was putting out grooves to wear out the dance floor; 2007's "Blackout" is the best album she ever made, though the drama of that time overshadowed it.
  
Then came Circus, and sure, “Womanizer” and the title track did well on the Billboard charts. But the problem with that album was that for the first time, Britney sounded as convincing as a karaoke singer after a couple Valiums and a whiskey soda. Even on the global tour supporting the album, Britney seemed to be going through the motions of pop stardom. The music was catchy, but the presentation was more than a little sad and empty.
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Since then, she's continued to pump out taut jams that have kept her musically relevant, even if she's turned into sort of a Howard Hughes in private. The larger-than-life persona that morphed from jailbait to sex kitten to wild child has been rendered bland, perhaps the most dangerous thing that can happen to a pop star. The mother of two, whose personal and financial affairs are controlled by her father, is rarely heard from, and when she is, every move seems to be calculated by an army of handlers instead of determined by her own will: Any edge or personality she demonstrated seems to have been permanently dulled.
  
Which is why I’m delighted to report that she’s back, for real this time. Not only are the dozen tracks on Femme Fatale catchy and joyous, they’re also some of the most sonically interesting of her career. From the skeletal, piano-driven house of “How I Roll” to the Yelle-inspired whistling on “I Wanna Go” and the flower-power flute on closer “Criminal,” Britney and her producers have made an album that never tries for Top 40 radio accessibility but achieves it on the merits of its charms.
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Thankfully, there is one place where she still shows her spark — in her music. On "Femme Fatale," the follow-up to 2008's "Circus," Spears — with plenty of help from megaproducers like Dr. Luke, will.i.am, and longtime collaborator Max Martin — shows that she can still give the Lady Gagas and Rihannas of the pop world a serious challenge on the dance floor.
  
Even a track featuring will.i.am manages to avoid sounding obnoxious.
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"Femme Fatale" is a nonstop party, starting off with a fun flourish with the poppy "Till the World Ends" and winding down with the dark, downbeat "Criminal." There's nothing especially original on the tracks in between, but Spears' vocals give already catchy tracks even more appeal. While she's never been on the vocal level of Beyonce or even Gaga, her voice, though thin and occasionally nasally, does have a pouty charm. On the throbbing "Inside Out," she sounds like a sexy cougar; "Trip to Your Heart," with its electronic synths, has a dreamy disco feel.
  
The most memorable aspect of Ms. Spears’s music, of course, has always been the hooks; on Femme Fatale, they’re massive. Opener “Till The World Ends” apes the refrain from 80s MTV mainstay “Tarzan Boy,” but Britney somehow makes the song’s wordless chanting sound infinitely more expansive than Baltimora ever could. “(Drop Dead) Beautiful” takes about twenty seconds to explode into an 808-backed bridge as pristine as the Golden Gate. And we’ve already discussed why lead single “Hold It Against Me” is so successful.
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The driving "Hold It Against Me" is one of the album's better tracks, though it suffered from the nonsensical, product-placement video that accompanies it. In it, Spears looks listless and off her game, and it's a reminder that she's not the Brit who wowed us just a few years ago.
  
Don’t get me wrong—Femme Fatale isn’t a perfect album; “Seal It With A Kiss” and “Gasoline” are pat but forgettable. But Britney makes up for these momentary lags with plenty of gems; the synth-driven balladry of “Inside Out” and relentless rhythm of second single “Till The World Ends” are both destined to become fan favorites.
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But when you block out the visuals and focus on the songs, Spears once again sizzles, and her flame burns as bright as ever.
  
But none of these songs’ catchy qualities would matter if Britney didn’t sound like she cared. Fortunately for us, she sounds more passionate on this album than she has since “My Prerogative.” On the aforementioned will.i.am-assisted “Big Fat Bass,” she tells the listener that “you can be my bass,” and she makes it sound like the most important role we can fulfill. The snobs will keep on hating, but I for one am more than happy to oblige her.
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CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Some of the best songs on "Femme Fatale" are on the deluxe disc: "Up N' Down" is a naughty teaser that should be the 2011 theme song for pole dancers everywhere.
 
 
Our rating: ★★★★☆
 
http://americannoise.com/album-review-britney-spears-femme-fatale/
 

Revision as of 07:26, 22 March 2011

Britney Spears, "Femme Fatale" album review-positive. Associate Press By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Ap Music Writer

Even when Britney Spears was in the midst of her Charlie Sheen-esque breakdown, she was putting out grooves to wear out the dance floor; 2007's "Blackout" is the best album she ever made, though the drama of that time overshadowed it.

Since then, she's continued to pump out taut jams that have kept her musically relevant, even if she's turned into sort of a Howard Hughes in private. The larger-than-life persona that morphed from jailbait to sex kitten to wild child has been rendered bland, perhaps the most dangerous thing that can happen to a pop star. The mother of two, whose personal and financial affairs are controlled by her father, is rarely heard from, and when she is, every move seems to be calculated by an army of handlers instead of determined by her own will: Any edge or personality she demonstrated seems to have been permanently dulled.

Thankfully, there is one place where she still shows her spark — in her music. On "Femme Fatale," the follow-up to 2008's "Circus," Spears — with plenty of help from megaproducers like Dr. Luke, will.i.am, and longtime collaborator Max Martin — shows that she can still give the Lady Gagas and Rihannas of the pop world a serious challenge on the dance floor.

"Femme Fatale" is a nonstop party, starting off with a fun flourish with the poppy "Till the World Ends" and winding down with the dark, downbeat "Criminal." There's nothing especially original on the tracks in between, but Spears' vocals give already catchy tracks even more appeal. While she's never been on the vocal level of Beyonce or even Gaga, her voice, though thin and occasionally nasally, does have a pouty charm. On the throbbing "Inside Out," she sounds like a sexy cougar; "Trip to Your Heart," with its electronic synths, has a dreamy disco feel.

The driving "Hold It Against Me" is one of the album's better tracks, though it suffered from the nonsensical, product-placement video that accompanies it. In it, Spears looks listless and off her game, and it's a reminder that she's not the Brit who wowed us just a few years ago.

But when you block out the visuals and focus on the songs, Spears once again sizzles, and her flame burns as bright as ever.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Some of the best songs on "Femme Fatale" are on the deluxe disc: "Up N' Down" is a naughty teaser that should be the 2011 theme song for pole dancers everywhere.