Back to Basics

Before even looking, I knew the community reviews were going to be a dumpster fire. Not every album is going to be Led Zeppelin II. The whole point of using this site is to broaden your horizons. It's embarrassing seeing people reacting to this album like they're being asked to shoot the family pet. I agree that it's not a great album. It has some of her best songs on it, but the entire album has one specific vibe to it that gets a bit old very quickly. She's a phenomenal singer, but it all feels a bit one-trick after a few songs. The backing tracks all sound a bit samey after a while too. Some of them are very sparse too. And I'm not sure that this album is as deep as she seems to think. Still, it's not horrible. You guys are just babies.

I somehow feel a bit sorry for her here, maybe she’s a victim of her own success? As a teen pop superstar phenomena I’ve never really taken her seriously. She’s devastatingly attractive, has a massive voice, she is writing all her own stuff and working with brilliant producers. But it is still a bit too pop for me. I get the feeling this album will catch some hate on here, but if you can get past the perfect pop packaging she’s a very talented artist and there are some good tunes on here.

Love me some Christina and not ashamed

Tried to listen with no prejudice. Disc one is fairly painful; unchallenging dusty beats with Xtina moaning over the top. Disappointed to find out most of it was produced by DJ Premier. 'Thank You' was frankly embarrassing, as was the section naming famous musicians. Saying "Billie Holiday" out loud doesn't musically align you with your hero, it just reminds me that I could be listening to something better than this. The songs on disc two weren't all that, but were a far better use of her voice.

Christina is apparently the queen of releasing bloated, saccharine albums with ironic titles. Multiple tracks on this album have a distracting vinyl crackle that fades in and out constantly. I thought it might be a problem with Spotify, but it turns out this was an intentional production choice, which is baffling. Best track: Without You

I fail to see how a bog standard, basic pop album is something that must be listened to before you die. Genre defining? No. Ground-breaking? Hardly. Paradigm shifting? Not even close.

Some excellent ballads with jazz and other influences What a voice, comparable to Adele Favourite song: Mercy on Me

It’s a long album, but you can choose any song and be blown away by her talent. Definitely changed my view of her, since I always just had her a generic pop star in my head. My bad.

I liked the first disc well enough, although I felt a bit like an outsider… especially through the Thank You song at the end (seems she and her fans are having a personal moment I didn’t feel entirely comfortable listening to). I wasn’t sure I was up for a second disc. To my surprise that second disc really connected with me! The best Christina I’ve listened to. Fantastic!

I previously thought Christina Aguilera was a pop artist because of other people's songs that she was featured in. But this album clearly shows she is confident working with a variety of genres, so one of the themes of the album - getting inspired by old-school rap and soul music - works really well. The songs themselves also cover a variety of moods and themes so that anyone can find something to enjoy: the vibe varies from sweet to bold, from heartbreaking to weird and funny. And yet, the album does not feel disjointed, but rather a genuine expression of Aguilera's different sides as a person and interests as an artist.

Such a long and terrible album....honestly nothing redeeming about it. 1/5

This woman can sing

Can’t believe it’s my first time hearing this. Front to back bangers

Too long, every song almost sounds the same.

I procrastinated a lot on this one. I was basically like, “what can I do other than listen to a double album by Christina Aguilera that’s been removed from the book?” I’m not saying that this is my personal hell (not even close - that would be having to listen to anything by The Grateful Dead), but there are a lot of other things I would rather listen to than this. Pop music isn’t for me. It’s disposable, often doesn’t transcend the era it was recorded. If that makes me a snobby asshole, so be it. I won’t deny Christina Aguilera’s talent, she’s a great vocalist, but life is too short to try and force yourself to enjoy things you don’t have much interest in.

“This is my back to basics album.” *releases an 80-minute double album with the most excessive mid-00s production possible*

Was she that big back then? So much that we need to hear at least 2 of her albums before we die? I don't think so. There are more popular, and better-sounding, and more influential 21st century pop than her, which aren't included in the list.

Jesus CHRIST pick a fucking note already! This fucking sucks. And there is a LOT of it. I'm so fucking mad I have to listen to this shit. It's going to ruin my day. Like how fucking vapid do you have to be to play voice mail from fans praising you in the middle of your album?

She's clearly a very talented singer but this severely did not need to be a double album. It's incredibly bloated. I'm not sure what was more uncomfortable to listen to, the horniness of "Nasty Naughty Boy", which features literal sex moans a la boys goofing off in a middle school classroom, or the 5 straight minutes of ego stroking on "Thank You".

The intro song is so corny I'm sorry. I think I didn't really like any of the self-referential songs (Still Dirrty) because they were very plainly written and just not every interesting. The "Thank You" interlude was also weird to me? The sampled fan voicemail selections were... interesting. The second half opens... interestingly... with Nasty Naughty Boy, which was. A song. It's incredible how sexual some of these tracks are while also being decidedly not sexy.

It started of fine and there were some moments i liked, but it went for way to long and there are some really bad moments too. Couldve been tolerable if it was like half as long. But then it still wouldnt be good, i would just not hate listening to it as much.

How have I been sleeping on her???

When I said that Stripped was a long, epic album, I didn't realize we weren't through. Woah! This did really feel long sometimes, but man it also packs a lot of amazing stuff in it! I'm impressed! I'm blown away! A powerful tribute to the women who inspired her.

It's very 2000s if you're into that

Production is too busy, mostly over-sung but the talent is undeniable

My poptimism must be back in full force, for I overlook the distractions of faux-analog to pronounce the first volume of Back to Basics 75% successful. Christina's voice explodes with power and pretty much never lets up, noted length-induced fatigue aside. The sustained performance over 00s RnB is pretty unique, but the second disc is more interesting if a smidge less impressive. The double LP is certainly sprawling, doesn't feel the need to vary overmuch, yet gets away with a very small number of skips.

Christina Aguilera does pop to perfection so this album does not disappoint on that front. It has that speakeasy flavour that I remember being popular at the time but it doesn’t date the album too badly. The length was daunting and I think it could have been much shorter but it flows well and keeps hitting highs all the way through.

Way way better than expected. One I'd never have checked out.

Une Christina Aguilera des grands jours qui samplera les choristes et invitera d'ailleurs Kad Merad en duo sur le morceau en question. En parlant de choristes, j'en profite pour vous partager une anecdote. Quand j'étais en classe de CP, la maîtresse nous annonça un beau matin qu'un monsieur allait nous apprendre des chansons. Ce vieux monsieur arriva bel et bien accompagné de ses mystérieuses intentions (je suppose maintenant qu'il était pédophile). Nous apprîmes donc lesdites chansons, totalement idiotes au passage, et n'entendirent plus parler du vieux pédo pendant plusieurs mois. Vers la fin de l'année, alors que nous étions tranquillement en train de travailler en classe, celui-ci se pointa pour nous annoncer que nous allions nous produire le lendemain soir dans une grande salle de concert devant des milliers de personnes. "Tu te fous de notre gueule ?" répliqua l'ensemble de la classe. Vous vous en doutez, nous avions complètement oublié ses chansons à la con et le concert fut une cacophonie.

Très belle prestation de la part de Christina, malgré une longueur d'album absolument insoutenable, Deux albums 4/5 d'affilé, ce n'était plus arrivé depuis des millénaires

I really quite enjoyed many tracks on the album…more than I expected. I think that if the album ran shorter I would have liked it more.

For the world of pop, although it leans heavily to R&B, this is a very ambitious album. It experiments in original ways that still keep the album enjoyable. The songs are beautiful and, it goes with saying, so is Christina’s voice. The production is impeccable. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it overstays it’s welcome, however, if one didn’t think the project was becoming repetitive on disc one, than one must have felt it on disc two. For an hour and nineteen minutes, it still makes an incredible effort in that all the songs sound fairly individual. I enjoyed it, great album. 4/5

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would

This was way better then I expected it! Wow, I did miss it back then I guess. I can’t remember any song. But hey now I know it and can go back to when I want to

Well, today is July 4th and also my 500th album. I was really hoping for Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A., but, here we are with my second and final Christina Aguilera album. The randomness of the universe does not appear to care about my hopes. As much as I didn't want to see something like this come up today, I'll give it a fair shot. I thought Stripped was very good, so this album might surprise me too. Just like Stripped, this album was full of Christina's excellent vocal talents. As I mentioned on my review for Stripped, this isn't my favorite era of pop music, but man, the singing on this album just blows away its contemporaries. To top it off, this album featured some great production that really bolstered the 'back to basics' theme. However, that theme really held the album back on the first half. I felt like the sound was really repetitive on the first half, and Christina really didn't do a lot with the album's theme. The whole name dropping section of "Back in the Day" is probably the best example of the lackluster nature of the first half of the album. "Ain't No Other Man" was one of the few songs I recognized off of this album, but it's a fun song, worthy of being easily recognizable. "Oh Mother" was also great. I liked that it was similar to "I'm O.K." off of Stripped, but with the focus shifting to Christina's mother. When the second half of the album started with "Enter the Circus," I was afraid that the album was going to take a weird turn. However, as soon as Christina's vocals started, that fear was put to bed. The second half of the album didn't feel as confined by the back to basics theme, and had more exploration of sounds and themes. "Candyman" was the second song off of this album that I recognized, and it instantly evoked a visual of that old LG 2 Chocolate commercial from the aughts. Man, phones have come a long way since then. I enjoyed the sexual energy and lyrics of "Candyman," and it was the most fun song on the second half of the album. "Hurt" was the last song that I recognized, and I enjoyed its lyrics and epic sound. Overall, this album was fine. The biggest downside of this album is that it was restrained by its theme, and a good portion of the tracks felt like filler. It's a long album, especially for something that feels a little one-dimensional for a good portion of its run time. Still, Christina Aguilera is an amazing vocal talent, and there's some solid production work on this album as well. Back To Basics isn't as good as Stripped, and that's okay.

The title is a misnomer. So over produced with the face 50s sound and other business going on.

Ahh why do these albums have to be so long? This was two albums smashed together for no reason. In isolation I dind't hate either, but together it's dumb. I liked the 2nd one more. Still because of the excessive length I disliked it. Cut out the fat and make something good.

Vintage aesthetics are perennially wrung out in pop music, and this album seems-self aware of that fact. As a matter of fact, that’s dang near one of the theses of the album. But I don’t give points for self-awareness. Christina’s vocal delivery is a great match for the album, however. She has an aggressive, over-the-top rendition of a vintage voice, which is absolutely made for a 2000s vintage pop album. Unfortunately however, this album is a rocket ship with no fuel. Christina builds the foundation for unique ideas about vintage promiscuity and womanhood, and reaches farther back for samples than many of her peers, but the ideas hardly ever go anywhere. What makes the album unique, feels almost buried under unremarkable love songs and the excess of 2000s album structures. If the trends had been in Christina’s favor, maybe this album would have aged better with other artists building on it. Alas, the pop zeitgeist would be looking to the future instead of the past for about 5 years following this album, so it stands alone. And this is not an album that benefits from standing alone.

This exercise presents the odd revelation, such as this: despite my being mostly a “vocals optional”* kind of listener, there are certain singers who bring involuntary quivers to my ears and knees, and Christina Aguilera turns out to be one of them. This is not a good album: the first half is passable, but lacks the bangers of its predecessor; the second half is an unfortunate descendent of Madonna’s “Hankie Pankie” period. Yet Cortina’s charisma and sheer belt kept me interested. I had fun until the faux-jazz smothered it. She’s one of the few pop singers of her generation I could pick out in a blind lineup. The loudly saucy lyrics also kept my spirits up. I’m guessing some might turn their noses up at the wobbly mix of emancipatory vibes and “I’m diiirtyy” provocations, but life’s too short to have your cock and not eat it. Simon, this reminded me that I only put two pop songs on my playlist for our 2003 Deep South trip and that “Beautiful” was one of them. Can you remember the other? *Steve Albini

The second disc was a lot better than the first. Without wanting to put words into the artists mouth it definitely felt more like what they wanted to make whereas the first disc felt a bit, manufactured, for lack of a better term which made it a bit difficult to get through. Most of the songs on the first disc were written by half-a-dozen people, whereas the second just a couple. Felt a lot more personal and a lot more interesting. Stand out songs: - Welcome - Hurt

I see this gets a lot of hate on here, and it seems to be pretty justified. At a minimum, she answers the question "how strong was the cocaine in 2005?" quite definitively. Otherwise, how can you explain the hubris of the first song, the overlong track list with no major tunes nor significant variety, or the ear-bleeding cringe of the "fan messages" sampled on "Thank You" (what's worse, if these are real or if they were made up in the studio? I can't decide). The back half is a bit better (i.e., most words are sung using the correct amount of syllables, and there are some amusing Viz-level entendres in the lyrics) but that's not saying much. Sorry, Xtina - too long and too shit even for a 2

What a fantastic voice. I had probably only ever heard 2-3 of these songs before but I really loved this listen. There's a really soulful bend to much of this. Really enjoyed.

AWESOME

Why not what a time

Her Music is just incredible snd her voice out of this world

Love

Soft 5 here. The excellence of Christina Aguilera's singing cannot be understated here. She's amazing in all senses of the word. I take issue with portions of Disc 2. It has great tunes, but lacks the cohesion Disc 1 seemed to have. But this album was definitely worth the listen and will definitely be revisited. Hard to pick a favorite here because I liked so many, but I'll go with 'Ain't No Other Man' and 'Hurt' for Disc 1/2 respectively.

She's so talented

I appreciate this. She is an excellent singer and some of the song were well timed for where I am now.

Forget Beyonce or Taylor Swift, give me this lady Any day. Beautiful voice. Loved it

Not my style but a good production

Nice.

Christina Aguilera was one of the performers in the 90s reboot of the Mickey Mouse Club, and she may be the most talented of that very talented bunch. Her dynamic voice has an impressive range, and allows her to create pop songs with the sounds of R&B and soul tracks. Back to Basics is an impressive double disk - 85 minutes with 22 tracks. The content is certainly not "basic." Several tracks are orchestrated and performed like vocal jazz standards from the 40s. The incredible range of the songs is impressive. While the album received mixed reception from critics, it was very well received commercially. This album, and the tour that followed, propelled Aguilera into superstar status - a performer with far more range and creativity than "just" a pop music star.

Came into this album sceptical and I bloody loved it! The sample of Genie in a Bottle in Thank You threw me but I really liked it! The whole of Disc 2 in itself is a masterpiece and a joyous listen. The opening 2 tracks were mint, candyman was great in a different way. Nasty Naughty Boy turned me on a little. And the rest of the disc was just mint. Listened to this album twice because it was that good.

Classic album. I still like Stripped overall more. I would put that one over this for this list imo

I was fully expecting this to be the lesser known and less good album from an artist whose good album is already gotten but goddamn was I wrong. As a gen zer who only knew Christina Aguilera from moves like jagger and sorta genie in a bottle, I never realized that she has probably the best voice of the 00s maybe the 21st century. She can pull off the most operatic and full throated vocals as well as the slower and quieter tracks. She was going for a tribute/theme of old 50s/60s icons and she actually managed to pull it off without sounding out of her league. Candyman and nasty naughty boy were my favorites but I can’t really think of a track I didn’t like.

Couldn’t find this album on iTunes but I listened to her Essentials. Lots of well-known songs.

Wow. CA can sing. I guess growing up and being anti-pop and having genie in a bottle being rammed into your brain you kinda tune some things out. Really impressed with vocal talents and going away from poppy vibes and going for soul. This album being 2 disc you’re gonna have a couple sleepers but she could have easily put a solid 12-15 tracks for one mega bang. Anyways it was really good.

A tour de force. Is there any better guilty pleasure then Christina cheerfully belting out old timey tunes about sex? Ain't No Other Man and Candyman are just good fun. Hurt is a beautiful counterpoint. A great collection of songs sung by one of the great singers of our generation.

Heel sterk popalbum. De jazz en soul uit de 20s zijn heel sterk te horen. Ook ballades als 'Hurt' zijn prachtig

Of course Christina’s voice is fantastic! There wasn’t a single song that I didn’t enjoy, and most of the album (all but three songs) were new to me. This felt like two completely separate albums, and I honestly feel like the album would’ve benefited by being released as two separate albums. It was almost too much Christina at once. Especially since the two halves of the album are so stylistically different from each other, I think two 30-40 minute albums would’ve been better than one almost 80 minute album. But anyway, this is 4.5 stars for me.

So damn cool. Lot of energy

I feel like the greatest artists always have a signature style and Aguilera's voice is so unique that it makes me cum instantly. Back to Basics draws back the curtains and stabs a dagger of joy into your back. Faultless.

mitä vittua edes tapahtuu tässä? neljä eri konseptia yhdessä albumussa, aivan uskomaton concept. back to basics:: 2009 poppi biittimasiina päälle ja laulanamaan. ei mitäön ei mitään. hyvää kuunneltavaa. tosiaan vähän liian pitkäveteinen ei aivan tarpeeksi syytä yli tunniksi tätä venyttää btw olin irakin sodassa ja kristiina pidit motivaatiomme yllä kiitos tästä! (olin surullinen kun niin kuuma sää hohhoijjakkaa) joo olen aliarvostanut tämän poppi prinsessan, hybä alumi f.u.s.s

Another album i feel biased because i love it, but it is not a coincidence i have many in this list!! It must mean something, a pattern ;) Yes, this album is pop, but it is one side of pop i love, which is genuine voice talent (seems rare for my ears these days), great r&b feeling, and this old school kind of vibes overall. The sound quality is great, easy to listen. The only thing that this album misses to get further from 4 stars i would say is some more edginess, meaning, some completely different structure/sounds to make your ear go like "what is that?! Interesting". However, isn't this was Pop is made for? To be predictable and easily digestable? Yet to confirm... Solid album from Christina and it's the last i could hear from here. Solid 4/5

some songs fall off, bu others are amazing. also the concept is well thought out

In a word: QUALITY. …when I wasn’t expecting it. I am not the target demographic but that’s what this list is for, at its best. Surprises. I was struck by the quality of the music, her undeniable talent, and enjoyed the “throwback” concept of the album. Also, I expected pop but got soul, jazz, R&B, and even some gospel. Most captivating songs: Makes Me Wanna Pray, Slow Down Baby, Oh Mother, Mercy on Me.

Ég fíla svona tónlist og þvílík rödd sem Christina er með. Ég setti plötuna í gang með allskonar fordómahugsanir um popptónlistarmenningu gömlu dagana en þessi plata sneri mér alveg

Powerful voice, good songs across a variety of genres. Like. 4

Back to Basics” ist ein beeindruckendes Album, das eine gelungene Mischung aus Retro- und modernen Klängen bietet. Aguilera zeigt hier ihre Vielseitigkeit und stimmliche Stärke, indem sie Elemente aus Jazz, Blues und Soul mit zeitgenössischem Pop verbindet. Besonders hervorzuheben sind die kraftvollen Tracks wie “Ain’t No Other Man” und die gefühlvollen Balladen wie “Hurt”. Ein kleiner Kritikpunkt ist, dass das Doppelalbum mit 22 Tracks etwas lang geraten ist und einige Songs sich wiederholen. Dennoch ist “Back to Basics” ein starkes Album, das Aguileras Talent und Kreativität unterstreicht.

A worthy tribute to the pioneers of music history. I would definitely take her over some of the other so-called “divas“ of this time period.

El comienzo de Oh mother es como la canción principal de Los Chicos Del Coro. Está bastante bien el disco.

I liked ‘Stripped’, and I like ‘Back To Basics’. The second disc probably isn’t quite as strong as the first, but I like where Aguilera tried to take it with the 30s/40s jazz thing wrapped up in a modern pop twist, and that she had the balls to do it. She’s at her artistic peak here, and everything she tries mostly comes off. And I also think people have maybe forgotten just how talented and how big she was in the early to mid-2000s. I’d happily listen to her music ahead of many a pop/rnb diva.

Not usually my cup of tea, but you cannot deny the talent on this album. Zero songs that I knew going into this and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. This is one of those ones that I enjoyed, but I just don't know when I would pick it to listen again.

I don’t add her music to my playlist, but I don’t feel the need to turn her off either. I may or may not have teared up during the fan dedication lol.

already in my library

I remember listening to this album back when it came out in 2006. I had just turned 18 and graduated that summer. I remember liking some specific songs off of it but not thinking much of it as a whole. Mostly I liked the hits with a few extra ones. I definitely ended up liking it a lot more now than I expected. In part I think because of listening through this list I can better seen and appreciate her musical influences she drew from for this album. Also being older some of the songs just hit more deeply with more life experience. Her voice was always beautiful to me but I enjoy it more now as well. I do think volume 2 is stronger as a whole than volume 1. Volume 1 still has some good tracks though. I think on it's own volume 2 would be a 5* for me, and volume 1 is more like a 3*. You know what that means, I have to meet in the middle for a 4*.

Solid album! Reminded me of childhood. She has some pipes

That's not my taste in music, but pleasant music

Christina Aguilera is a very talented vocalist, I think. I enjoyed listening through the double album which was a surprise, usually double albums feel like a huge slog. Maybe teenage nostalgia carried me through some of it. Ain't No Other Man was the track I liked best.

Uplifting album, beautiful voice.

Despite being so long and having benefited from some trimming, this is actually a great pop album. Very cool application of older styles of music such as Jazz, Blues and Soul into a modern day Contemporary R&B and Dance Pop frame. Needless to say, top notch vocals too. Key tracks: Ain't No Other Man Here to Stay Candyman Hurt

Really great voice, really great songs

2nd album of Aguilera from this list and I honestly understand the hype. She's versatile, powerful with her voice, her production team done everything right. I'm gonna say it once again: you can't ask for much more in this genre.

I'll admit it, this was banging.

The album has a lot of energy, and Aguilera’s voice and personality is always entertaining. I liked the switch to the “old style” tunes starting with Enter the Circus, and Candyman is classic. My only complaint is that the album is too long - I got tired of the vibe of the first half of the album, but that’s why the vibe switch was good.

this would get a five if there weren’t a few songs that were too long. she’s great.

She's just really horny But some great fucking music

Doesn’t deserve all the one stars here. Is it a masterpiece? No, but it’s a fun listening and I feel that the love and flirt with jazz is genuine.

El comienzo de Oh mother es como la canción principal de Los Chicos Del Coro. Está bastante bien el disco.

Disc 1 👍 Disc 2 👎

Didn’t expect to like this as much as I did

Nice music and nice voice, I'd rate 4.5

I really enjoyed it! 4

Christina is probably the first pop girlie I stanned, and I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for her earlier stuff. Her voice is undeniable and when she finds the right track, it works like magic. Unfortunately, she’s always been kind of spotty and never really seemed to find her sound. Going from basic pop star to “dirrrty” R&B to throwback to Gaga wannabe is a direction that I don’t think totally lands. So I don’t think I’ve played this all the way through although I recall a solid chunk of it. There’s gold, but some of it doesn’t work at all- did Xtina really need to make a 5 minute track thanking her fans, especially when she uses phone calls from them as the beat? But embracing her soul and jazz-influenced roots is a good fit for her, she should have leaned into this instead of whatever Bionic is. If she trimmed the track list or at least turned some of it into bonus tracks, we’d really be cooking. B-

Powerful and passionate voice! Enjoy her work

In the competition between Aguilera, Brittney Spears, and their other contemporaries, I think this album shows she really threw down the gauntlet. The biggest problem I found here is that it's just too padded. There are at least two or three songs that could have been trimmed out to make this a single disc. OR release them as two different albums. Songs like "Thank You" felt too self-congratulatory. With "F.U.S.S." I understood why it was on the album, but again it could have been cut out to make one disc. Cutting this down to one record would give you a side each to showcase the different musical sides of C.A. Top tracks: "Ain't No Other Man", "Oh Mother," "Candyman", "Hurt", " Mercy On Me"

Damn does this woman have PIPES. I've only known Xtina through her singles and such. This is a fun album, beautifully produced. It's cotton candy for the ears. Not overly deep, but that's not what you're listening to Ms. Aguilera for. Much better than I expected.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I'm not normally one who enjoys a big vocal performance as the main factor of music, but Christina Aguilera just has a fantastic voice and it really drew me in. Lovely album and I thought Thank You (Dedication to Fans...) was a touching song. P.S. Nasty Naughty Boy had me bricked up.

Large variety, catchy stuff. Good stuff as far as pop goes.