Christina Aguilera – Back to basics

R&B/Soul

For her third studio album, Back to Basics, Aguilera demonstrates that the fetish extends beyond her wardrobe. The spirit of old-school jazz, blues and soul inhabits the set, which is divided into two discs: a collection of modern, beat-driven tunes and another rendered with only analog equipment, recorded live and sans samples. Aguilera succeeds in balancing references to jazzbos and soul singers — horns, gospel choirs, the sound of a dusty old vinyl album — with over-the-top kitsch. At the top of the list of Disc One’s killers is “Ain’t No Other Man” — a zoot-suit riot of a song that, like all the best stuff on Disc One, was produced by DJ Premier. On the Linda Perry-produced Disc Two, the prize goes to the creaky Bessie Smith-sounding “I Got Trouble” and a burlesque vamp called “Nasty Naughty Boy.” Then there’s “Candyman,” which may be a dead rip-off of the Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” but it’s fun to hear Aguilera play all three Andrewses and max out on coy naughtiness in her delivery of lyrics such as “He’s a one-stop shop/Makes the panties drop.”

Back to Basics, when it works, gives optimism that Xtina fans everywhere would go through vinyl record crates to find the artists she mentions. When it doesn’t work, like on the mismatched schmaltzfest “Hurt” and the done-me-wrong tune “F.U.S.S.,” the album comes across as conceited and ostentatious, demonstrating that 22 tracks is roughly ten too many for Aguilera.

Stream Christina Aguilera’s Back to basics and let us know what you think

Christina Aguilera’s back to basics tracklist

• Intro (Back to Basics)1:47
• 1.2Makes Me Wanna Pray4:10 ft Steve Winwood
• 1.3Back in the Day4:13
• 1.4Ain’t No Other Man3:48
• 1.5Understand3:46
• 1.6Slow Down Baby3:29
• 1.7Oh Mother3:46
• 1.8F.U.S.S.2:21
• 1.9On Our Way3:36
• 1.10Without You3:56
• 1.11Still Dirrty3:46
• 1.12Here to Stay3:19
• 1.13Thank You (Dedication to Fans…)4:58
• 2.1Enter the Circus1:42
• 2.2Welcome2:42
• 2.3Candyman3:14
• 2.4Nasty Naughty Boy4:45
• 2.5I Got Trouble3:44
• 2.6Hurt4:03
• 2.7Mercy on Me4:33
• 2.8Save Me From Myself3:13
• 2.9The Right Man

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