MUSIC REVIEWS
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Hydah Walker
That voice! She has a four octave range and if that isn’t enough to impress you, she also possesses the ability to hit notes in the whistle register (the highest register of the human voice) which is rare. She is Christina Aguilera and is once again stripped down to her soul and true to the title, is Back to Basics! Exceptional music is here, there and everywhere but it’s also difficult to find in almost any genre. New-comers are more concerned with having the right look as opposed to talent and old-timers are doing everything short of giving away cds to maintain sales and popularity. Aguilera has neither the desire nor need to give anything away. She is no new-comer and at this point, is a well-seasoned singer, performer, song-writer, and producer. If there was ever a question as to her ability to either top 2002’s Stripped (for those who praised it) or upgrade it (for those who tore it down), let Back to Basics challenge all positions, good or bad, on Aguilera’s staying power and pure moxie.
Some of the best music on earth is, simply put, very personal shit and Aguilera’s current work is guaranteed to touch hearts as well as nerves. “Ain’t No Other Man” is the first single and as is the standard for first singles, it’s entirely addictive and makes you want to wake-up at a cabaret club shin-dig, 1940’s style. Fortunately there is more than one dedication for a lost era of jazz and pain from the 20s and 30s in tracks such as “Back in the Day”, and “I Got Trouble”. Love is powerful and Back to Basics reeks of it. You are able to believe every word as the lyrics breathe emotion into every verse that ranges from hopeful to gratitude with titles like “Without You” and “Save Me From Myself”. But there is still more to life then love and this too is vehemently expressed. Life is also painful in “Oh Mother” which is a stroll down memory lane of Aguilera’s childhood with an abusive father, fierce in “Still Dirrty” which is a reminder (incase you forgot) that female sexual empowerment is still a priority, and life is also energetically flirtatious in “Candyman”.
Music needs to be able to elevate or dismantle one’s spirit, whatever you wish, as long as it reminds you that you are alive. This album does just that and is a metaphor for an honest duel between melancholy and elation topped with chutzpah. As a temporary alternative to a shrink, seek solace from Aguilera’s life and ideas. She is sincere to an almost alarming point because she leaves herself in a position for ruthless judgment or immediate acceptance not only as an artist, but more so as a human being unveiling skeletons and riddles. This is the secret for the authenticity behind Back to Basics; music, once again, needs to do something for a listener. Every track is relatable in someway, to somebody and always very well-written with a plethora of topics in everything from faith in “Makes Me Wanna Pray” Is this really me/ in the mirror I see/ staring back at me/ could it be/ a new reflection of a woman complete, to teasing sex in “Nasty Naughty Boy” Relax and sip upon my champagne/ cause I wanna give you a taste/ of the sugar below my waist, to exculpation in “Mercy on Me” I must confess/ that in all my loneliness/ I’ve forsaken and I’ve sinned/ leaving fragments of a man so broken.
All the more impressive is the quality behind the songs themselves. There is a span of gospel, hip-hop and funk from the beginning to the end. Aguilera worked with writers and producers such as DJ Premier and Linda Perry who were able to merge older R&B melodies from when Aguilera was a toddler herself, with more modern beats, and achieve a 2 disc piece of triumph which is Back to Basics. If there is a fight for cool originality and genius forte in the world of everything that is music and bullshit, Christina Aguilera has won hands down. In the words of the Queen of substance herself from “Here to Stay” So say what you will/ time will reveal/ in the end, that I will be here still. We can only hope so.
