Back to Basics

Pop vaya

Doesn't need to be on this list at all

Great voice, decent songs, but not really interesting to me.

She's a talented singer and decent songwriter, but I'm not at all into this music.

Not bad

No longer in the book. Not as bad as you'd think. A lot of potential wasted on overproduction and ostentatious vocals but actually quite polished and lively, as far as pop albums go from that time period. Didn't listen to the second half as much but didn't have to. 3 stars.

I like Christina Aguilera, she has an amazing voice unparalleled to many other "singers" of today. I'm not saying I'm a fan, but you can't doubt her phenomenal voice. I love some of her songs, but there are also some I don't like. "Genie In A Bottle" for instance - cheesy, typical, pop garbage. I rarely listen to pop, but she's got a smattering of amazing tracks across her discography, including some RnB and some top ballads. This album is perhaps not her most iconic, it's rather ambitious blending styles from across various decades and blending them with different genres. The jazz and blues influence is quite strong here, for the better in my opinion. I'd rather listen to this one than the other albums.

Not terrible but unnecessarily long and over indulgent.

2 - not for me

And then we come full circle from art to schlock. It is absolutely a hate crime for the generator to give this so soon after getting Baby One More Time. Christina at least has a viable voice. But is that enough to carry for about an hour twenty of vapid pop baubles? It doesn't look good. The album starts claiming that there will “never be another,” but there are literally two new singers that are indistinguishable from Xtina getting signed by some sleazy record exec every day across the world. There are new producers doing bad facsimiles of classic soul just like this. There's a new song that might as well be Back In The Day every month. Hilarious to something so banal and contrived and invoke “innovators”. Hilarious to invoke Coltrane at all. Hilarious to praise real music right before a song that sloppily rhymes “you got class” with “look at that ass” over and over again. Almost every song is the same exact vocal volume. Almost every song starts with nearly identical “whoaohhhohhh yeahhyeahhh” melisma. There is no art here, just construction. I mean, a sequel to “Dirrty”? Yeesh. Once again, this is the sort of song that tries so hard to be sexual but at every turn suggests they maybe do not know how to have sex. Arguably the only song that does this well is Madonna's “Human Nature,” but that answers actual tabloid busybodies. No one has ever cared if Aguilera was still as sexual as that one song where she looked like she hadn't showered in a year. On the other side of unnecessary, there is the glitched and scratched out rehash of Genie in a Bottle on “Thank You,” with the incredibly dorky subtitle “Dedication to Fans”. I might cry thinking about someone hearing this song and feeling like it was heartfelt and not just a cynical attempt at early parasocial fan relationships. Tragedy. About here the album SHOULD be over. Instead we get another half hour, this time contrived vaudeville circus. It is intrinsically better because it is (presumably intentionally) high camp, but Christina never really sounds like she is trying to have fun. That, and being “better” doesn't make this clutch of songs GOOD. They pull from a different era and genre, but it's still the same writers, still the same performer, still the same hack writing, just playing a different game. If the meat is spoiled, it barely matters if you're making a curry or a cassoulet out of it. It's also just… you couldn't release this as a serious album without the first piece. Not when you're a Diva™. It becomes a weird-tack on, but it would otherwise be seen as an unserious novelty that wouldn't have moved product (and to be fair, they'd have been right). Even if this is a more interesting use of pop free will, its inclusion dilutes and confuses the package. And simply put, it's too long. Every pop album drags from so much filler. This one takes a filler-stuffed 46 minutes and tries to turducken another EP in. There are worse things, but it's just not good, not necessary, and not worth giving above ⭐️⭐️

I pretended this was a different artist while listening and it helped, a little. Loads of talent, just didn't blow my hair back.

Obv great singer but felt like she was screaming in my ear for 80 minutes. Music didn’t really inspire me and had kinda circus/medieval vibe at times which I didn’t really need

Loses a star for being so long

3.5

She's obviously a good singer, this could do with an edit much like the other record of hers. Ain't No Other Man does slap though

"in a july 2006 interview with billboard magazine, aguilera expressed dissatisfaction with newer music, as technology 'has advanced itself so anybody can be a singer'. thus, aguilera took musical inspirations from old-school jazz, blues and soul records performed by her 1920s–1950s idols, including billie holiday, otis redding, etta james and ella fitzgerald, which she viewed as 'music that really had heart'". 🙄

Unægteligt et vanvittigt stort sangtalent, og der er også et par ok numre imellem. Jeg orker ikke rigtigt retro-lyden, det er der mange andre, der gør bedre – hun er bedst til ballader. Alt for meget fyld, alt for mange unødvendige fraseringer. Det mangler retning.

I'm starting to wonder, does everybody here hate women? 5/5

The vocals are amazing on this album, but the early 200s production and no switch up in musical style gives me a solar issue to what I ahd with the chronic, it feels a bit like I am listening to a single hour long Aguilera album

On the whole it does enough to be a good pop album, but as is the case with 90% of double albums, it could’ve been whittled down to one really good record. “Back In The Day” is an overt declaration of what this album is about stylistically, or at least the first disc. The second disc kinda goes this way and that all of the sudden. “Thank You” is charming and well-meaning enough, a little imperfect on the execution but it’s a nice sentiment. I love the idea of that guy on the song who called in and mentioned that her music kept him going when he was deployed in Iraq — specifically because it now loosely implies that the troops heard “Nasty Naughty Boy” and felt a morale boost to go commandeer that oil!!! Lol “Enter The Circus” is my favorite song of the two discs, I’m a sucker for songs with this theme and it was a good way to immediately differentiate the first album from the second. Though “Hurt” is not written about Christina’s personal experiences, she sings it well enough to have had me convinced. “The Right Man” is kinda like a follow up to Hurt, it’s also pretty powerful for something pop-leaning. This could’ve been way worse in many ways. It’s a little one-note with the throwback schtick, but it lives long enough to have a better second disc imo. Strong 3/5

I liked the carnival campy soundy song Welcome

Damn okay. Christina Aguilera has a pretty distinct voice and I'm sure I've listened to some of her songs, but just the radio pop songs. And those were fine, I guess—I had no opinion of Christina Aguilera really. There's one where she's like "I just want to feeeeel this moment." I know she had an annoying cameo in the Emoji Movie, that was probably biggest cultural impact she had in my life. So I had no expectations going into this, but I'll be dammed if this album didn't surprise the hell out of me—holy shit it was good!! I put this on while I was working on some other stuff, expecting it to kind of fade into the background. But it immediately demanded forefront attention. This album really clicked for me, it had a lot of the kinds of sounds I love. Great beats and instrumentation, swelling choruses, great vocals and cool vocal filters, catchy melodies, soulful rhythms. I'm glad I was introduced to this album. I also like how the second disc of this album has a very different sound to the first—though I did prefer the first.

Sorry I don't like this type of pop

An excellent album by this diva showcasing her vast vocal range and beautiful voice. A bit ambitious but she pulls it off in classic and modern styling.

I remember some of the big hits. She has such a powerful voice. It was too long for me lol

Had low expectations - but even these were breached. I find her vocal flexings so fucking annoying and they dominate and make every track sound the same. Sonically the production sounds shallow and fake and forgettable. I'm usually partial to a cheesy pop banger - but this was very poor.

Yes, she has a set of lungs. Does she need to prove it on every song though? It's an album of 1-2 soul/pop tunes on repeat for 22 songs. Lyrics are as deep as a puddle. Not sure how it's back to basics with such over production. The album needs an ultra-processed warning label. Commercial pop guff.

This was a LOT more enjoyable than I envisioned. A lot of that has to do with the production even if it’s very 2000s coded. The main issue is the length - if they cut this album in half you could have a really good album but instead this one drags

Honestly not that bad of an album but just not my cup of tea, but my God what a voice!

One of her best albums that showcases her vocals and artistry. For some her vocals tend to be loud and noisy (which is fair 'cause she's a history of overdoing it most of the time) but after listening to this album with the blues and jazz inspired retro sound you really get it. A staple album from the 2000s. Favorites: Hurt, Candyman, Ain't No Other Man, Slow Down Baby, Mercy on Me

This is pleasant enough, pretty unremarkable. "Ain't No Other Way" and "Slow Down Baby" have some good winehouseness to 'em; "Oh Mother" has a good atmosphericity. Xtina could still belt in 2006, which is mildly salient info given I wasn't paying any attention to her then, but also not surprising given she was only 26. Nothing against this album, but I'm (mildly) curious why it was chosen.

Good quality but had no right to be this long

It's fairly straight-shooting pop music with a healthy dose of R&B, it's just a shame the songs are so boring/uninspired because Aguilera genuinely has a great voice.

Quite boring

I have listened to this album before I started this project. I wasn't really looking forward to listening to it again, but did anyway to remember since it's been awhile. As it was the first time, I found this a bit of a slog to listen to. It actually took me multiple day to get through it because I kept finding other things I'd rather listen to. It's not necessarily a bad album. Christina is a phenomenal singer, and I was a fan when she first came out and had some of her CDs. So I have no issue with this kind of music or her. But man, some of this album is corny af. Naming all the inspirational musicians, the song with fan recordings thanking her, the circus thing on the second disc. Ugh, idk. It just makes me cringe a bit. Nasty Naughty Boy was a little much too for me (and I have no issue with sex songs) but that was cringey too. And "F.U.S.S" (F*** U Scott Storch)? Was this song really necessary on here and did she think he actually listened to it? "Still got the album done without you". Ok girl, good for you. Candyman is a banger though. And the song she wrote for her mother was nice. Definitely my last time fully listening to this album.

Quite enjoyed it - not something I’d typically listen to

TWO DISCS?!? It’s not nearly as bad as I thought, but it isn’t good either. This suffers from being a 2006 pop album, which is a death sentence. The production sucks. The sound scape sucks. Her voice would be great if the music matched it.

This album did remind me of John Major’s ‘Back to Basics’ campaign of the mid ‘90s. Just as Major professed a commitment to ‘family values’ while the entire Conservative Party were having affairs, Aguilera professes a commitment to classic musicians and styles whilst churning out some of the most typically overproduced 2000s pop you can find. It really drags on across its double album length, the low point being Thank You (dedication to fans), a bizarre and egotistical ‘song’ consisting of lauding answer phone messages from fans. My personal favourite was probably one who described it as inspiring him while bombing Iraq. What a tribute!

The positives: she certainly has a great voice (although I think a bit more restraint at times would have been fine), and quite a few songs were admittedly pretty catchy and fun. The negatives: it’s absolutely too long (it might have got 3 stars had it been half the length), many of the lyrics were remarkably egotistic and self-congratulatory (her ‘Thank You’ to fans was particularly egregious), the frequent name-dropping of jazz and soul greats just made me wish I was listening to them instead, and the production was rather one-note, so it all blurred into one after a while.

really nice

aint no other man + hurt are worthy 2 starts alone

a perfect pop album, will definitely return to it

Album 298. Back to Basics — Christina Aguilera (2006) Omfg, Aguilera again. I'm pissed off with 22 songs / 78 minutes of this music. I don't know, her music just feels so fake. Idk why, maybe because it's trying so hard to be similar to and copy something from the past that it plainly kills everything that I should appreciate or idk. The second part of the album is better btw. 2/5 Liked: — Nasty Naughty Boy — Hurt

It's all pretty good... until the final quarter and then it transforms into greatness. Tight harmonies, over the top ballads.. just what I love from a vocalist from Aguilera. 4/5

rym 3.19 Contemporary R&B/Neo-Soul 这唱功只有这点分，我说rym对流行音乐的偏见还是太大了。这张专辑既饱满又悦耳，可以说是流行专辑中的精品，复古又华丽。能感受到很多从爵士，r&b，soul中汲取的养分，虽然流程很长但并不会无聊。后半张竟然是个完整的马戏团概念组曲，太惊喜了。 pick: Makes Me Wanna Pray, Without You, Still Dirrty, Mercy on Me

2/5. Classic case of the double album that really doesn’t need to be a double album. I get what she was going for here, with the first disc being more hip-hop influenced and sample heavy and the second disc having more live instrumentation, but the issue is that both discs have quite a bit of bloat. It would have been better to just mix the best tracks of both discs into a leaner ~40-45 minute album. As it stands though, the bloat on this thing really brings it down and lessens the impact of any of the highlights.

Just too much CA. Double album is tough to get through. I like the second album more than the first. But still just too much. Huge talent.

This album would be fine if not for its length. It goes on and on and there's no reason for it to be a double album. It's a pretty decent mix of pop with "uptown funk" horn arrangements, balladry, but also a lot of pretentious, circusy theatrical stuff that goes nowhere. Her voice is God given but this is a bloated album that needed editing.

Christina Aguilera for me just proves that talent doesn't equate to compelling art. She's got talent in spades, phenomenal singer, but she's taking the piss at 76 minutes of basically the same song looped. Very few decent hooks, almost nothing memorable about it and I found it tough to get through

There are a couple of good tunes on here. The singles I knew were stuck in my head for the rest of the day. The rest I could take or leave. There is no doubt Christina has an amazing voice but there is a bit of the theatrics about it. I think often unnecessarily and can become grating quite quickly. I'd echo the sentiment on the very era specific production too. I also know Stripped is coming at some point and it's an album I had a lot of exposure to at the time so let's see how that goes.

bloated ultra-pop

Highlights: Ain't No Other Man, Slow Down Baby, Candyman Impressive vocals and cool idea, but executed in a cheap way. I especially despised the bits where they just name legends from the past - just do your own thing, I don't need a fucking history lesson from you. But yeah, even when she did her thing this was purely cheap and very contemporary. It doesn't hold up very well. On top of all that it's extremely bloated, I don't feel like listening to thirty variations of the same cheap "empowering" pop song.

This didn’t need to be a double album, I’m sorry! Aguilera is probably one of the most skilled vocalists when you look at the pop girlie canon and I love getting to hear her push that to the limits. I think this album was also a fun exploration of genre and aesthetics, but again far too long and could’ve been done in 13 tracks. The hits are hits for a reason and they did numbers in my room in ‘06 but on the whole this felt like a slog - I think this is an admittedly harsh 2 stars

ok so I've never particularly liked Christina Aguilera. I see people debate whether Xtina or Britney were better and I just feel like there is no competition at all it is so clearly Britney??????? Like a few hours ago the only songs I could truly remember were Genie in a Bottle and Lady Marmalade and I don't think either of them are amazing. And then seeing a DOUBLE ALBUM where she does intentional retro cosplay kinda thing is I guess a great way to impress the critics who wrote this book but not a good way to impress me. Anyway I actually enjoyed this more than expected although it definitely dragged towards the end. Ain't No Other Man and Candyman both pretty good! Also Slow Down Baby not bad (I saw Mark Ronson on the credits). And I appreciated the Vois Sur Ton Chemin sample in Oh Mother. Anyway surprisingly 3 stars!

Good story telling

Christ(ina), 77 minutes of Aguilera’s caterwauling? In truth, the first half hour of this is pretty good, but far better artists than Xtina have failed to make a double album maintain interest and quality throughout, and some of the choices here are unforgivable: the idea of having a five minute wankathon centred around voicemails from adoring fans is loathsome, sticking it in the middle of the album is diabolical

One of the best albums of the 2000’s

yeah look it was fine, but very generic

Oh Mother kappaleessa tuttu piano sample Vois Sur Ton Chemin tekno remix kappaleesta. Mut aika basic (No pun intended). Thank You melko ittensä imemis kappale. Mut joo perus tätä 2000 luvun poppia. Parhaat: Candyman, Slow Down Baby

Gear: Hifiman HE6se v2 SE Artwork: 😏💄🛌 Production: 🔪🫧😖 Music: 🧼⛪♻️ Rating: 👋(👋)/5

Honestly the first half is much stronger than the second. If it was just the first disk this would be a 4 maybe 5 but now it’s a 3 maybe 4

There are some absolute bangers on here I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Good pop

08/13 Actually pretty good

Overly long and samey

a 2 disc Xtina album! why? Also she has more than one entry on the list which is kind of mind boggling to me. There are some good beats in here, but pretty much none of these songs do anything for me. Yes, she has a beautiful voice, and the presentation of the album is fun at times. Naughty Naughty Boy gives huge Jessica Rabbit vibes and I'm sure would've done it for me in 2006, and who am I kidding, 2026 too. There is a fun mix of sound here, from R&B to Lounge/big band music. Enjoy it for what it is I guess. 2000's fun pop.

TWO Christina Aguilera albums?!?! Why on earth does this list have two Christina Aguilera albums and one of them isn’t her 2022 masterpiece “Aguilera”?!? This list is in desperate need of a revision because neither this or Stripped is worth the spot they’re taking up. This is a fine album but it wears its inspirations on its sleeve and never does anything to elevate them. Just listing artists you like isn’t the same as honouring them. I dunno man it’s crazy to me that this list has no Dua Lipa, no Chappell Roan, no Sabrina Carpenter, no Billie Eilish, hell there’s no good Madonna albums but there’s two DOUBLE Christina Aguilera albums. Diabolical

I have a deeper respect for Christina Aguilera after listening to this album! It was an audacious project. Of course I’m familiar with the singles from Back To Basic- Ain’t No Other Man, Candyman and Hurt. I loved opening the album with shouting out her inspirations. Music about love of music is the best! What was in the early 2000s that singers were so open about singing about abuse? “Oh Mother” on this album, “Runaway Love” by Ludacris and Mary J Blige, “Girl” by Destinys Child and “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson. All those hits just in the years 2005 and 2006 alone! There’s an absolute dearth from popular music nowadays to sing about these universal and painful subjects. Grateful to come up during this particular era of retro inspired pop. Back to Black released a few months later…to me that is a perfect album. Back to Basics gets lost in its ambition, especially on Disc 2. Overall respect to Christina but I don’t think it should have been a double album!

First half had some hits, but sounded overall very samey. Second half worked much better for me

I really try not to skip, but I can't listen to this.

The difference between the first and second discs of this album is absolute night and day. The first disc is overproduced, pretty generic and uninteresting. Christina's voice is consistently solid but the backing is weirdly 90s and just a bit naff. The second disc is where this album comes to life. It's still a little overproduced, but the music is much more varied and interesting. "Enter the Circus" was a wild tone shift for a start. There's a few tracks here I'd happily go back to. This has definitely convinced me that Christina Aguilera is a great singer and a competent songwriter, but I think half of an 80 minute album being _not that great_ makes it difficult to rate particularly highly. Disc 1: 2 Disc 2: 4 Slightly sad 3, would have been an easy 4 if disc 1 didn't exist.

Another pop album where the focus in how talented the singer is. Yes she's a talented singer I don't want to listen to 80 minutes of her voice.

3 stars

I like what I hear. Very diverse genres and she shines in all of them. I prefer the more emotional songs though.

60/100. For me it felt like a lot of the time, especially on the first disc, her powerful vocals were not backed enough by the songs themselves. On the second disc it worked much better. In general the album got better towards the end. It's decent, with some nice throwbacks to soul and R&B. Typically I'm not really a fan of pop music from this era, but this was pretty good.

Time capsule but that’s about it

(2/5) There was some potential here, but it's buried under the over-produced and incredibly busy arrangements. I actually like the ideas, and a few of the tracks started ok.Ms. Aguilera's voice is good, but she should hold a note occasionally. Her near constant slow motion, soul-vibrato (I'm sure there's a term for it, but I just made that up -- she basically never sits on a note very long) is tired and doesn't compliment most of the tracks. I'm not sure I necessarily want to blame her though. Her status at the time and the commercial pop music scene probably influenced the final product way more than she did.. still, I'm not coming back to it.

What. The. FUCK? My life was better yesterday, when I was blissfully unaware that this monstrosity of a double album existed, and I certainly would have preferred to be shaken from this mortal coil without having to carry around the post traumatic stress inflicted by being exposed to it. To say that this album is over-produced may go down as one of the greatest understatements in history, with double-digit writing credits attributed on multiple tracks. While I can admit that Aguilera has a strong voice with a hellacious range, I would also appreciate if she didn't bludgeon every song with with her ceaseless vocal parkour and overdramatic theatrics. Having this album within a week of two Adele albums did this one absolutely no favors as comparisons go. I mean, I'm proud just to have started every track on this one, and hell, I even finished a few of the shorter ones. But knowing that she has another offering on this list really put a second damper on what otherwise had the opportunity to be a beautiful day. In case it wasn't obvious, this one rounds down to a 1/5 that may have made it to a more generous 2 if I'd been watching the video.

168. Back to Basics - Christina Aguilera (2006) 8.9.26 Variety: 4 Adequacy: 3 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 2.4 rounded down to a 2 "You're struttin' 'round here/ Like you think that I can't do without you" I am ill-equipped to judge this sort of music with any sort of authority, but when has this stopped me before? Aguilera is one of those names I have definitely heard tracks from before, and enough of them to know she's a very talented singer and performer who is just not my cup of tea. As impressive as the operatic vocal runs of Whitney Huston and the crazily acrobatic ones of Mariah Carey were ( both owing huge debts to the likes of Aretha and other pioneering soul and R&B singers), there seemed to be a whole generation of women who were influenced ( I think) in a negative way by this stuff. In my mind Christina Aguilera is one of the worst offenders, and I think went on to negatively influence a whole other generation of hopefuls who go on America's Got Talent, The Voice, American Idol, etc... and perform astounding feats of vocal gymnastics, but otherwise seem entirely devoid of any other talent. Some of these people then go on to minor, often short, careers where their meager talents are drained completely into one or maybe two big songs, after which they are left with nothing much more worth giving. Aguilera herself is an all around talent, dancing, acting, and all that, but the focus on her singing seems to be a combo of her outsized voice itself, and the ability to ape - in an overdone way - those runs that her heroes perfected that is SO big that is it ripe for parody. It annoys the fuck out of me when it happens, and has ruined many an otherwise empty and slick, yet undeniably catchy pop song. I do not recognize any of the tracks on this from the title, but let's see. THE TRACKS Disc One "Makes Me Wanna Pray" - A gospel inspired calling card number. Though dd she need to impress anyone by this point? The GIANT voice is here in all it's glory, but the song itself, such as it is, leaves pretty cold. Pretty soulless soul, and did we need five writers for something this basic? "Back in the Day" - Name checking a host of the soul and R&B greats at the opening of your song is a bit of a swing, and seems to be setting it up for failure. The turntablism elements here, aside form being super annoying, don't do anything to engender any additional goodwill here. This was pretty damned boring, and full of such a ridiculous level of hype that I'm very doubtful the rest of the album will be able to live up to the promise made here. "Ain't No Other Man" - Ugh... the perfect example of the grating vocal runs opens this up. I think going forward we can just assume there will be a lot more of it, and I'll try not to harp on it too much. It's just background noise for the rest of this.... double album. Dear lord. Disposable and with a lot of jazzy signifiers which make this feel like the sort of lifeless Diet Pepsi-commercial aesthetic established with Ray Charles in the early 90s. This was painful. The worst evolution of the "baby, baby , baby" mode of pop song. "Understand" - This is a MAJOR step up from the previous tracks, and feels like a real soul-tinged but of R&B. Annoyingly though it relies heavily upon a sample of the far superior Betty Harris song "Nearer to You" as a crutch, which undercuts what I think would have been a contender for at least an early highlight. As such, it feels cobbled together, and unconfident in it's own ability to grab the audience. Why not just excise the sample, and sing the line herself, which she already does elsewhere in the same song. Baffling choice. "Nearer to You" by Betty Harris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e46hzxLsEUU "Slow Down Baby" - A much more subtle use of some samples, this time from both 50 Cent ( a vocal refrain) and Gladys Knight and the Pips (the horn line I guess). This is otherwise has a somewhat catchy core melody. Maybe it's just taking her a bit to warm up, but this is a step in the right direction. "Window Raisin' Granny" by Gladys Knight and the Pips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHW-JEIW5DU "Oh Mother" - On this ostensibly sadly deep song, we get the worst instrumentation yet. This felt like the sort of thing that the only Island could take and with very little effort change it into a spot on parody. It sounds cheap and it's a cheap attempt at a tug on the heartstrings which falls completely flat. Why would anyone listen to this over a dozen or more infinitely more successfully similar songs by Stevie Wonder? "F.U.S.S." (Interlude) - I'd normally skip this sort of thing, but it's first truly interesting thing on the album and it's used as a glorified interlude. The deep bass and funky keyboards along with the percussion loop play VERY well over top of Aguilera's understated and actually affective vocals. This could have been a minute or two longer. "On Our Way" - Ok. After a few false starts, is Ms. Aguilera finally on her game? This very 90s throwback R&B track hits way better than most of the other stuff on here melodically, and is full of solid hooks. It starts to get a little lost just after the middle, but gets right back on track. This owes more to the likes of En Vogue and Aaliyah than any of her contemporaries I think. "Without You" - The roll keeps on going with this FAT bass heavy catchy little number, with its jazzy synth touches and layered choral vocals. A bit stripped down, and straight forward, Aguilera does not guild the lily to any sort of detriment. At a glance, surprised to see this was not a single. The vocal run near the end even feels entirely earned. "Still Dirrty" - A step backwards here, and what seems like an attempt to capture that Lauryn Hill sound, and fails in every respect. The hip hop mode does not suit Aguilera very well, and I think there's much slower, much quieter, and jazzier version of this that could possibly work. "Here to Stay" - Another fair to middlg use of some 70s soul samples, which also suffers in comparison to the source. The best part about this one is the very deep bass string line. This one felt like it was missing some instrumentation, and had a lot of empty space in the sound. Those horns could have been live in the studio and WAY louder and more effective. Instead it just sounds like the old song just happens to be playing on a tinny boombox in the background while they were recording this. The Best Thing You Ever Had by Candi Staton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3aMT60KqxY "Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)" - This would have been much better without all the skit-level inserts that serve as an embarrassing bit of self celebration, despite nominally being all about the fans. Disc Two "Enter the Circus" - Literal circus music. Ok. I can get behind this. I've been trained by Nick Cave, Tom Waits and other to kind of dig the carnival aesthetic. Unfortunately this is another interlude, and in fact not a well realized and bold step outside her established sound. Could have been fun. Oh well. "Welcome" - We get some Bee Gees sounding poppy violins to start off, which gives us a different vibe, and Aguilera continues the circus theme. It feels like she wanted to try her hand at some Elton John-ish pop balladry, but ends up being a weird mish mash of sounds rather than something that's all that engaging. You've got country, cinematic Bond-esque strings, cabaret, singer songwriter stuff. This feels like the beginning of strange concept album she has tacked on to the first side. While not entirely successful, I'm very intrigued to see where this will go. Or will she just drop it immediately? "Candyman" - A big *ahem* swing that is far and above the most sexually interesting song on the album do far, but is giving off more "Mambo No. 5" vibes than I think was intended. This was about 10 years to late I think. "Nasty Naughty Boy" - Ok. I take it back. The last one was cartoonishly sexy, where this one is much more effectively seductive and does a way better job at eliciting a vintage vibe. More on target anyway. Still, it's the kind of surface level throwback that would not be out of place in a heightened modern musical pastiche filled homage to this sort of femme fatale nightclub thing, but otherwise bears little resemblance to the real McCoy. This more Madonna in Dick Tracy, and less Billie Holiday. "I Got Trouble" - The kina sorta concept album within an album continues with a similarly cartoony take on the blues. The faux crackly vinyl to radio microphone effect was entirely unnecessary and they didn't even commit to the bit with the instrumentation being clean as a whistle. Go one way or the other and this steps up a bit. As it is, it just sounds like a production mistake and makes no sense as an aesthetic. I do find myself wondering now what a more serious, stripped down blues and jazz standards album would be like with Aguilera. Maybe get Bonnie Raitt to produce and provide guitar duties? I would give that a listen. "Hurt" - Sad piano is sad. Overblown and needlessly operatic, in the sub-Celine Dion / Andrew Lloyd Webber mode. Just go listen to Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" instead. Even the 7:10 album version of that would be more tolerable than this. "Mercy on Me" - Echoes of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" in the opening, we disappointingly get a slow, bluesy, gloomy piano ditty instead. Well enough suited for tv drama montage fodder, and not far off from the sort of stuff we recently heard on the Adele albums we recently heard. "Save Me from Myself" - This was a surprisingly interesting little acoustic guitar and string led number that felt like a big left turn. A bit sad and a little bit jazzy, it stays on target and doesn't explode into the giant bit of soul pop kept expecting it to. And loved the zigging vocal melody that keeps going in just the direction to didn't think it would. Where's the album full of this stuff? "The Right Man" - This was way to big for me. Replace the lyrics, and some twangy electric bass guitar notes, and it sound like Aguilera's audition for a Bind theme. A big swing and a big miss for me, but there's something admirable about the attempt. HIGHLIGHTS - "Slow Down Baby" - "F.U.S.S." (Interlude) - "On Our Way" - "Without You" - "Save Me from Myself" MIDLIGHTS - "Understand" - "Still Dirrty" - "Here to Stay" - "Welcome" - "Mercy on Me" - "The Right Man" LOWLIGHTS - "Makes Me Wanna Pray" - "Back in the Day" - "Ain't No Other Man" - "Oh Mother" - "Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)" - "Candyman" - "Nasty Naughty Boy" - "I Got Trouble" - "Hurt" FINAL THOUGHTS To quote a noted travel writer, this was "...thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread." This was just not built for me, and I get that taste is a spectrum, but this felt messy, unfocused, and full of a certain quality of being overly self impressed in the presentation that really turned me off, and made me wonder who this was even for. The self empowerment aspect of a lot of this sort of bold, brash soul tinged pop from the era even seems to be absent, and leaves me at a loss for any sort of immersion into the interior thoughts of the various narrators of the songs or a feeling of emotional weight. While several of the tracks were catchy and very listenable, it was still mostly just a bunch of songs of her loudly describing things at you. This is one of two Aguilera albums on the list and I am not looking forward to the other after this. Maybe the first one, being earlier will lean towards the Britney Spears-ish more ear friendly dance pop though, and won't be as abrasive to the ears. This one was a brightly colored, paper lion of an album. All flash, no substance, but with some nice touches that peaked through now and again. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Those highlights would make up a very nice EP's worth FURTHER LISTENING - M!ssundaztood by Pink - Frank by Amy Winehouse - Version by Mark Ronson - Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams by Solange - Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars

“I still got that nasty in me, still got that dirty degree (I still got it”) / and if you want some more (sexy) / Still got that freak in me.” Christina Aguilera hit near the end of my teenage years. I never got into her music mainly because I was an angry white boy really into my angry white boy music. So I never allowed myself to be someone who listened to the explosion of pop at the turn of the millennium. But secretly, I would bop my head to the radio hits. “Genie in a Bottle” or “What a Girl Wants” would come on and no one was around to see it, I’d enjoy it. This album though was a complete mystery. It came out at a time when I had opted out of most new music. Also, being older has provided some much needed perspective so let’s see how this one lands. Well, I didn’t hate it. Leading with the good: it’s got some strong tracks and Aguilera is a strong vocal talent. She can dip into playful, sorrowful, and powerful at will it seems. Each track tried to bring something unique to the album. Following with the bad though: it suffers from both a bloated runtime and a significant lack of focus. She’s aping a bunchnof old styles here and that is not always a bad thing, but it has to be managed well. Maybe that was due to the pacing of the album. We’d have horny as hell tracks parked right next to domestic violence ballads. Going from one track to the next could be jarring. Also, there is a self-indulgent thread through the whole album that borders on embarrassing in places (“Thank You (Dedications to the Fans)” being the worst offender). All in all this was about a 2.5 that I’m going to round up to a 3 due to Aguilera’s performance on “Nasty Naughty Boy” and the video for “Candyman.” Really the second half of the album is the stronger of the two for me.

Woo nothing Dimery loves more than a double album! But apparently not enough to keep it in subsequent editions? It’s not bad, it’s not great. It sounds very dated and samey, but with legible grit and swagger from Christina and DJ Premier. Despite her range and confidence as a singer, there’s not a whole lot of melodic range or ingenuity here which leaves the listener exhausted before the first disc is even near its end. I am impressed she and her team focused as much as they did on soul classics as a tone and part of the presentation, which is consistent with the contemporary, recent popularity of Crazy in Love and One Thing, not to mention Winehouse, but it just feels like an album (or 2) long name drop rather than creating classic material. Ain’t No Other Man is a keeper.

discaso, agante cristina aguilera

This is an album of caterwauling. Tedious.

It's just Moriah Carrie but also kinda rap vibes. I liked the use of some brass, too many audio tricks,

Didn't listen as I'm not a fan of her music. I'm sure it's fine though.

Never listened. Expectations: Low - Verdict: Unlistenable - The opening handful of tracks are pretty generic 2000s pop music without anything to hold my interest. The songs all sound the same. F.U.S.S. and Still Dirrty are exceptions and the clear standout tracks for me. Overall a really poor album that drags on far too long. Worst album of the list so far.

There are some songs that are OK but the first disc is so much better than the second. I don't know what anyone thought putting Enter the Circus on the album. Terrible. It's like the entire album's theme is having no theme. "Please do every genre ever, Christina". You can tell that Mark Ronson had a hand in this because most songs have excessive trumpets. I'm glad that this is something different than GUITAR NOW for once but this just does not work for me at all.

MOTHER INCOMING. El concepto de samplearte a vos misma, icónico. El primer album se salva por la producción y algunos vocals de Xtina, porque es muy repetitivo por momentos y muchas veces Christina se siente fuera de lugar en su propia canción. Pero el segundo disco me pareció una maravilla, con unos temazos y un dominio vocal impecable. O sea entiendo lo que quiso hacer al principio pero no salió taaan bien. Se nota que estuvo con mucha gente negra durante este periodo porque les roba vivos

Sorry, but this screams rich girl decides to spend way too much on record instead of writing a big term paper. And still gets a B. That Intro song just screams Introduction paragraph in term paper. Then does the same thing the next song. Show. Don't Tell. Gawd Tina! Lots of filler. What is she coming back from? I don't care for her use of sexual innuendo, it's too on the nose. Lacks the subtlety of the music she's paying homage to. It's a fair homage to what she wants to do. It's just bloated. 2

I was really not enjoying this at first, but the retro vibes of the second half really won me over.

mucho vibratooooOoOo

Who‘s the fucking Britney bitch?

Seriously I got Christina two days ago :( I tried. I did. But my patience for glossy pop was burned out last time. And this time all the old school callbacks (Back In The Day, Candyman, etc) were just too much.

Christina has a truly incredible and powerful voice. She can sing the shit out of these songs. I get the whole arpeggio hate but she still has the greatest voice of her generation. You can hate the format, but the vocal power is undeniable. Yes many of the songs are over the top, maudlin, or just of the era, but she is still a wonder.

It's not quite on the level of Stripped and is a little over produced but Xtina really knows the way around a choon.

Admittedly didn’t get as far as disc 2 but that’s my right as double albums are self indulgent. There was some gospel stuff that sounded nice, but aside from that it’s the over produced pop I hate. Why?

She looks sticky

I’ve never been a Christina Aguilera fan and honestly never cared to pay attention to her. She always felt like another ditsy, run of the mill pop star in the same vein as Britney Spears. But after listening to this album, it carried a lot more weight than I expected. In some ways it sounds about ten years too late, because it really reminds me of the jazzy, soulful hip hop and R&B of the mid to late ’90s. But once you get past that, you can tell she worked with some strong producers who gave the album more edge and character than I ever would’ve expected from her. Overall, I’d rate this album somewhere in the middle of the road, which is actually pretty good, considering I walked in expecting to give it a 1 or 2.

Oh this was way too long Playlist add: "Oh Mother"

I was expecting this to be a real ordeal. This album is one hour and 18 minutes long over two discs! But actually I found disc one pleasant enough. It’s a blend of soul, gospel, and r&b over hip hop beats that keep it motoring along. If it was on in a coffee shop I wouldn’t mind. BUT it’s too long. I’d had enough after one disc. Disc two is more theatrical and trying to embody this sort of 1950s sex kitten “ooh la la” persona and I found it all a bit “cringe” as the kids say. But then moves on to Big Ballads which are okay, I guess. I was thinking of giving disc one 4 stars! But some of disc two is a 2 so it evens out at 3 which seems about right. I probably won’t play it again, even though I didn’t mind it. Also, it’s too long!

Fine.

A pretty solid pop record. The Hollywood golden age vibe she was going for is pretty apparent - more so than I expected - there are some decent pop songs on here, and she is an extremely talented vocalist with a really distinctive voice. It definitely felt bloated - I could have done without some of the 00s-era "I'm so nasty" songs, shortened to 12-14 tracks and it would have been really tight. Nonetheless. it was better than I expected.

Solid album. She's got an amazing vocal range and vocal quality.

Give credit to the producer for this album because the mix and the beats are extremely good. I don’t know what the hell the reviews here are criticizing about. Don’t let these reviews fool you. The range from this album alone is incredible. A bit long, but a great collection of songs. I also kinda like that there is a split where the double album feels like 2 distinct albums. Bigger fan of the second half as a jazz fan. But don’t sleep on this album, it’s really good.

Christina’s voice is about the only thing keeping this album afloat. She can obviously sing the hell out of just about anything, but most of these songs don’t give her much worth singing. The whole retro concept sounds better on paper than it does stretched across an album this long. The first half was especially rough. Too much run of the mill 2000s pop dressed up with horns and old record samples. The second half was more tolerable, mostly because it leaned a little harder into the older jazz and blues sound instead of trying to force everything into a radio single. And the whole thing has enough cheap double entendres to make it feel more corny than clever. There’s talent all over her performance, but the songwriting never comes close to matching it. One great voice carrying a pile of mediocre songs.

Like Whitney Houston, I can hear she has a great voice but I don’t like the music. 2.5

So much talent wasted on this mess. Embarrassing.

3.5

Just OK for me.

Christina aguilera is a vibe, she's very poppy and she makes more love pop songs. Liked listening to her music. She has a pretty good voice also so it was a fun listen. Don't think I would go back to her music but if someone puts it on I wouldn't mind it Review - 5/10

01) Intro (Back to Basics) - 6,0 02) Makes Me Wanna Pray - 7,5 03) Back in the Day - 7,0 04) Ain't No Other Man - 8,5 05) Understand - 7,0 06) Slow Down Baby - 7,0 07) Oh Mother - 7,5 08) F.U.S.S. (Interlude) - 7,0 09) On Our Way - 6,5 10) Without You - 8,0 11) Still Dirrty - 7,5 12) Here to Stay - 7,0 13) Thank You (Dedication to Fans...) - 7,5 14) Enter the Circus - 5,5 15) Welcome - 6,5 16) Candyman - 10,0 17) Nasty Naughty Boy - 6,5 18) I Got Trouble - 7,0 19) Hurt - 8,0 20) Mercy on Me - 7,0 21) Save Me from Myself - 6,0 22) The Right Man - 6,5 TOTAL: 7,14 (71/100) Current ranking: 508/981

Didn’t know what to expect from this. Wasn’t as out and out pop as I expected, but still very overblown and OTT. First half quite RnB with Amy Winehouse vibes (and she does have a voice to match). Second half more like show tunes, and a bit ridiculous in places. The 5 minutes of fan recordings saying how amazing and inspirational she is can absolutely get in the bin.

Okay I was not at all sure about this one going but fuck it. She convinced me. She absolutely has the sauce In all seriousness, I think the reason I liked this so much and not, say, Butterfly by Mariah Carey is that everything worked together super well. Mariah Carey really over-sent everything vocally while the music behind her really wasn't that interesting, but Christina had a musical backing both varied and fitting. Drawing at various points from R&B, pop-soul, orchestral music, adult contemporary, jazz-pop, and even trip hop, the music always rises to match Christina's energy on the saucier songs, and takes a backseat where necessary on the more tender ballads. Shoutout also to the subject matter! There were some ballads like "Oh Mother", an ode to her mother who endured an abusive relationship and got herself and her kids out of it, and "Hurt", a gorgeous jazzy piano ballad to a lost love, and then ultra-raunchy pop bangers like "Still Dirrty" and "Nasty Naughty Boy", which REALLY put her sexuality front and centre without feeling a need to censor herself. I respect it a lot, especially for 2006, considering how much misogyny and desire for censorship of women there was and is out there. Even the length of 80 minutes wasn't as much a deterrent as it might've been because of how stylistically varied the two discs of the album were. Overall, this is 2000s R&B/pop done very right!

I do like how the second disc differentiated itself from the first, after the first was the pretty typical pop R&B of the 90s and 2000s. But I still didn't love it

Rahhhh I didn't believe she could do it, but Christina Aguilera managed to make an 80-minute double LP fully worth the length!! Her complete commitment to the Back To Basics concept is the key here, which she accomplishes by splitting the project into two different takes on the same idea. The first half has her going back to her own basics, singing over some disgustingly smooth RnB beats that complement her style pretty well. Lots of bangers to be found, but my highlight's actually the closer, as it embodies the title theme so perfectly - sampling her debut megahit Genie In A Bottle and working in actual recordings from her fans, it's just a wonderfully fun dedication imo, all while still being a really good song on its own. The second half focuses more on her voice, and goes even further back to basics by taking inspiration of 20s-50s music?? It gets weird, it gets horny, but Christina sells it all very convincingly and the backing production never stops shining. I don't know if it's making the rotation, but the more I think about this album, the more I respect it. A solid 4! Standouts: Intro (Back to Basics) • Ain't No Other Man • Slow Down Baby • F.U.S.S. (Interlude) • Still Dirrty • Thank You (Dedication to Fans...) • Enter the Circus • Welcome

This album is really fresh and interesting and greatly benefited from a second listen for me, but I don't see myself bumping a Christina Aguilera double album in the future. However, there are probably a single album's songs worth that I would repeat so.....3? 4 later?

Back to Basics was a pleasant surprise for me. Christina Aguilera was definitely part of my teenage years, but I never really got into her music, and over time my taste grew in a different direction. I decided to give this album a chance with an open mind, and it surprised me with how much depth it has. The vocals are outstanding, the instrumentation is rich and varied, and the songs are put together with a lot of care. There's a great sense of structure throughout the album, making it feel cohesive despite its ambitious scope. On top of that, it was a wonderful dose of nostalgia. Revisiting Christina's music from a different perspective all these years later made me appreciate this album much more than I expected.

every song sounds the same... for eighty minutes

Too overproduced, some goodies but not greaties. Hell of a voice

A 79 minute Christina Aguilera album sounded like the purest form of torture imaginable going in. And the length of the album still did make it very difficult...but it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be. There's a lot more Amy Winehouse to her than I remembered

The only reason this does not get 1 star is the quality of her voice and clean underlying sound. This is a masterclass in how to fail to execute an idea. It is called 'Back to Basics', but is stuffed, bloated, with experimental variation and ideas designed to test the listener's patience. It is a hard listen when it shouldn't be, and in one word can be descirbed as "disappointing".

She has a greaaat voice, but her songs are like not my favs. Without You was my choice

finalmente um album do século 21 esse site não tava aguentando mais

It's a good pop album. It really isn't bad. It's just so long

7 / 10

I was dreading this, but somehow Christina pulled this one off. Minus a star for being a bit too long, but overall strong throwback pop.

todos vocês são uns chatos preconceituosos que não aguentam um popzinho divertido de uma mulher com uma grande voz. se acham que vai ser só seus led zeppelin e os cacete a quatro porque decidiram fazer esse desafio? me poupe dito isso, icônico demais. hurt primeira música do mundo.

Classiques sur classiques. elle a pas menti omg. Je faisais des gueules tout le long c’est génial. Les deux parties burlesque et RnB c’est pour m’abattre tellement c’est fort. Les transitions sont fluides, les sons sont fous

Vielleicht Check ich es in 30 jahren

im born in a pretty young generation so I wasn't there when Cristian Aguilera was huge so I was not familiar with her music I heard few songs from her but I always thought she was some kind of pop I don't know why I just assumed okay she's a successful white singer back in 2000 so she was definitely a pop icon. I was not wrong but I started listening to this album expecting something way more different than this. I'm 2 track thinking wait I think she's doing r&b going further completely speechless by her vocal performance and then I caught myself not skipping a single track but listening to them on repeat. I'm honestly so disappointed that I wasn't familiar with her sound because of my young age she might be the best white rnb artist of our generation and I'm only saying that by listening to this single album

Xtina, can we have a talk? You have a world-class voice. Go make the classic record. Go do the soul and blues and whatever else. Cover some Billie Holiday songs. See if Tony Bennett has room to gawk at another 30 year old pretty girl during a duet. You didn’t have to do this. But here’s the real comedy of the entire endeavor. The record she could have made, was being made AT THE SAME TIME. WITH THE SAME PRODUCER. Does Mark Ronson hate her? Was he laughing at her the whole time? Because our boy knew Amy Winehouse was MAKING the classic record - an actual all-timer - while Christina was doing whatever this is. I’d like to believe Mark sat them down and gave them a choice. One of you can make a true classic, but you have to die. The other gets this mess, and a TV show. But like any deal with the devil, the TV show was a karaoke show with an over-inflated version of Carson Daly. I’m confident Christina would like to go back and change her choice.

Disc 2 is a wild ride, and yet my preference

I should not like Christina Aguilera. The singing is a lot. This is my second album of hers on this here listening challenge and both times I've been pleasantly surprised. Definitely not a go-to album, but I don't mind it at all.

Long but enjoyed it much more than I expected

Lovely voice. Not my taste though.

Alt for lang, og selv om den har noen solide og fengende låter så blir den temmelig corny.

Stormannsgalskap. Ganske utrolig at hun fikk holde på med det her. Dobbeltalbum med tvers igjennom ordinære låter, ispedd fans som takker henne for at hun er den nye jesus. Fett.

I believe "painful" is the right word to describe my feelings while listening to the whole record

She has an amazing voice but it's all a bit too corny to be enjoyable. Disc 2 was a bit better than 1.

Oh dear. Carole King yesterday, and now this. I was there when Genie In A Bottle dropped. It was much better than Britney's pedo-bait. But as time went on her reliance of vocal gymnastics over bland melodies and over-produced tripe sunk her to the level of every other generic pop star of that era, and any other era. This isn't good. It's not as bad as I was expecting, but it still feels like too much of a throwback to eras long gone without much new to justify the decision. Too much brass, too much Gospel, too bland, too many vocals screeches, and too many damn songs. 22 songs is a ridiculous number for a pop album of the Noughties. I knew a couple of the singles - didn't like them then, don't like them now. Of course she has great vocals, but they're also kind of unlistenable. It is a curious thing to have such great vocals, but not really know how to sing. Or how to make even one worthwhile song in 22.

Definitely didn't need a double album from Christina Aguilera

did not expect more than one christina aguilera record, definitely didnt expect the second one to be a sprawling messy double album, but the diva delivery machine chugs on. the "basics" we're going back to quickly reveal themselves not to be something stark and austere but a lavish tribute to old images of stardom...christina channels soul divas, theatre divas, and pop divas in a big indulgent double disc package that i will probably struggle to remember the individual songs from. but man, she rly rly Had Something at this point, theres a raw power that made this kind fly by. her vocal range is matched by the stylistic range in such a show-offy way that its kind of a miracle it works, but man does it ever. this and stripped are two v interesting and kind of prototypical Pop Girl Mythmaking Moments, and im glad to have both in my vocab.

Sehr schön

fun

Believe it or not, I don’t hate this. I think if it’s just the first disc, you’re looking at one of the strongest pop records of the 2000s, that’s how good it is. But oof, the falloff in disc 2 is real. Even if Aguilera is a hell of a singer, I think the songwriting of these tracks is a major step down from disc 1.

This felt overproduced and, at least at first, like someone performing too perfectly, but with something lacking. I liked disc 2 more as it felt more varied.

The hip hop intros do feel slightly out of place. I don’t mind it because it adds some interest. Personal preference the vocal style is doing a bit too much (noted she is a very skilful singer). Lyrically unsurprising

Christina Aguilera has a magnificent voice and I don't mind the vocal gymnastics. It's not a good album, but lots of good tracks 3/5

I find that popstars of the 2020s tend to be much better at ‘album craft’ than those from my childhood, but Christina Aguilera gives it a good go on Back to Basics. There are some era defining hits across the record but they are outnumbered on a double album which includes the occasional dud and plenty of tracks that fall somewhere in between. As with many double albums I am left feeling it would have been better lean and mean. The quality difference between songs like Back in the Day and Ain’t No Other Man (which sit side by side on the first disc) is stark. Both tackle a clear lyrical concept head on but where the latter is a short shock of radio fuel, the former is an unwieldy, unconvincing mission statement. I could have done with more chilled out ballads such as the excellent Thank You (Dedication to Fans…) and Hurt, or fabulous, dramatic songs such as Nasty Naughty Boy and Candy Man, all which display the “back to basics” songwriting which this album shouts about. I could have done with less vocal gymnastics throughout, but I understand that this is very much Aguilera’s brand and what was in vogue at the time.

Christina gets a low 3 with this one, a bit overstuffed for me and not my style of pop but some undeniable tunes and a v strong set of pipes, love her attitude too

Beautiful voice, but started to all sound the same. Not my style of regular music so I'm not sure it'll get a repeat.

Doesn’t do it for me.

Not my thing. 1/5

seit 20 jahren ein solides werk mit vielen highlights. aber man muss stil und stimme mögen.

Eine gute Stimme, nicht meine Musik

This, to me, is one of those albums that are absolutely good, but not very original or exciting. Good songs, great performance but it isn't something I'd ever choose to listen to - if it is on, I'll enjoy it though... It is very mid.

This just made me want to listen to old soul and jazz, so I guess it was effective in that way? Ain't No Other Man slaps, though. Decent white girl album. Probably didn't need to be a double.

No bad actually Better than I expected on the album tracks.

I appreciate the sentiment and motivation behind this, though the lyrics are too on the nose (I get it, remember the trailblazers), while the music is a bit too pop and of the day (the worst era of popular music in most peoples opinions). But “Candyman” gets the closest to her goal here.

9/1001 Possivelmente o melhor álbum da Aguilera, com uma primeira metade morna e uma segunda metade com alguma das melhores músicas de sua carreira Intro (Back to Basics) - 75 Makes Me Wanna Pray (feat. Steve Winwood) - 80 Back in the Day - 75 Ain't No Other Man - 75 Understand - 75 Slow Down Baby - 80 Oh Mother - 80 F.U.S.S. (Interlude) - 75 On Our Way - 75 Without You - 75 Still Dirrty - 75 Here to Stay - 80 Thank You (Dedication to Fans...) - 75 Enter the Circus - 75 Welcome - 80 Candyman - 85 Nasty Naughty Boy - 80 I Got Trouble - 75 Hurt - 85 Mercy on Me - 80 Save Me from Myself - 80 The Right Man - 80 Media: 77.9

Ambos discos son bastante distintos a mi parecer, siendo el primero mucho mejor

This one lost a star before I had even heard one note. I skimmed the Wikipedia page and was crestfallen at the words, "the first disc."

She’s got a great voice but god damn how many times can you listen to the exact same song over and over again? It’s a three on vocals alone. That’s it, that’s the rating.

rare bullshit

It’s not bad but a double album is a bit much. Some cool takes on vocal jazz and blues styles. But it’s too much Xtina.

Same year and same producer as Back to Back. For the frist half before ALL the filler - Take back to black, take out the actual instrumentation and just some early aughts drum beats - look honestly, it isnt as bad as i thought it would be. I actually kinda enjoyed it. But it is WAY to long and then the second half is so lazy, so self indulgent and so much filler.

This didn’t need to be a 2 disc set. Some good songs in here but a lot of uninteresting stuff as well.

Back to Basics - Christina Aguilera (2006) I'm underwhelmed by the lack of cohesion this album lack. Aside for being long, it felt like I was in the escape room with every door leading to no where. Every track felt disconnected to its predecessor in both Disc. But I was drawn to the second disc better and I liked "Save me from Myself". It's not bad of an album but overrated to include it in "1001 Albums". Nothing so special about just a typical pop album. a 2

Exactly what I thought it would be. Meh.

Better than expected. Really enjoyed Christiana Aguilera's voice and she really showcased her versatility throughout the album.

it was fun to listen to but didn't really love any songs, the cirus one was cool

I think I like Christina Aguilera

chop out half the tracks and you’ve got yourself a decent album

good voice. too long.

Christina has a great voice and I enjoyed the album. After a while, it does become somewhat repetitive, but she clearly has great talent. The album is too long. A 3 for me only because of how exceptional her singing is…

While a double album is still a bit too long for my taste, I do like how there's a notable difference in production between the two. If you're gonna do a double album, that's the way to keep it interesting. The second disk is definitely the better of the two, even though it's not without faults. Aguilera has some incredible pipes, even though she has a habit of going a little overboard with the embellishments. Ain't No Other Man, Hurt, Mercy On Me and Save Me From Myself are all pretty enjoyable, and hold up pretty well. That said, there's quite a few other songs here that don't do anything for me.

Blah- not my thing. Christina can belt it out certainly, but not in a way that I enjoy.

a great voice, for sure, but the best tracks are the ones that ae not produced to the formula of modern rnb

I think that this is a really solid album. She has drawn from different genres and inspirations, incorporating them into a more modern sound. Vocally, I have absolutely no complaints. Her vocals are beautiful, which I knew from the start would be the case. I really, really enjoy the different styles, and I think that the most prominent example, to me, at the start was 'Understand'. I think it is just beautiful from start to finish, lyrically and musically. Within the first five or so songs, I already thought that this may be one of the best-written and performed albums so far that 1001 Albums has generated for me. I also think that 'Oh Mother' was a highlight for the first half of the album, and was a very beautifully written song. The interludes really interested me, as that was quite a rare thing for pop musicians to have in their albums... But these worked really well. I don't know what it was about 'Here to Stay', whether it was the layering or just the overall vibe, but it really reminded me of 'You Rock My World' by Michael Jackson, which I did really enjoy. This was then followed up by 'Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)', and I really love the throwback to 'Genie in a Bottle' by sampling the motif that plays before the chorus. I think this was a nice track to separate the two discs... However, I do think that albums that need two discs are just too long for a start-to-finish listen. If it's a compilation album, then fair enough, but for a standalone album release, I think this may be slightly too long. But it goes without saying, this is an absolutely brilliant album. Disc One Favourites: Back in the Day Ain't No Other Man Intro (Back to Basics) Understand Disc Two Favourites: Save Me from Myself Welcome Candyman Hurt

This album is not as bad as a lot of people are saying it is.

A couple of retro singles aside ( ain't no other mam and candyman) aside there really isn't a lot here. Limited in scope and the difficulties are with all teenybop singers are do they disassociate themselves from their past and move to more grown up songs. This is neither really

She's clearly a very talented singer but this severely did not need to be a double album. It's incredibly bloated. 3⭐️

Great singer! Love the soul.

Nope.

Like regular Christina Aguilera wasn't bad enough, we get...an affected, persona-driven, 'throwback' version? Cool.

She's obviously got an incredible voice, but the songs are just.... All a bit boring. They're good and fine, but they're just missing that something special.

Wildly surprised with how much I liked it.

Redescubrí a christina aguilera loco, muy bueno

Holy cow, so many Christina Aguileras in my ear! Listened to her music before, hard not to in the mid to late 2000s. Also, the Pitbull feature is hard to miss too. Same with her voice, this album has soooooo much (and many it feels like) of Christina showcasing her *strong and bright voice. A voice that seems bigger than it actually is. Her vocals are good. I mean, it's Christina Aguilera, with her you already know what you're going to get. Really enjoying the R&B Pop rhythm of the album and the inspired elements from 1920s-40s idols in the jazz, soul, and blues scene. I Got Trouble, I think, showcases these elements pretty well. Enjoyed the gospel elements in Mercy On Me and The Right Man. Both showcasing Christina's vocals at their highest moments that compliment these elements well. ***elements elements elements elements... Save Me from Myself contrasts heavily with the previous track Mercy On Me and the album as a whole. I like it. Highlight of the Album, were the hip-hop, R&B, and pop elements that tried to replicate 1920s-40s music. I found myself really enjoying. Ain't No Other Man or Candyman. I also found myself vibing with the more slow and blues inspired songs like I Got Trouble or Save Me from Myself. Also, The Right Man is a pretty good closing track. Also, also, I'm liking Save Me from Myself the more I listen to it; It contrasts with everything else but in a way that I appreciate. Overall, I'm surprised at the variety of options offered here. Inspirations from many different spaces with the theme/tone of 1920s and 50s music. I'm not sure how much success she has in that aspect for the album as a whole but, the feeling is definitely felt in most of the songs. This album contains a lot of different offerings. T3: Save Me from Myself, Ain't No Other Man, The Right Man

some really good tracks here ! I found the tracks thanking her fans and past musicians a bit cringe but that genuinely might be a me problem because it’s sort of wholesome at the same time ? Overall I liked some things here but it was decidedly too long

Feel like it was the same as the last Christina album that we listened to. She has a great voice, but just does the same trick over and over.

Glad to hear xtina is still dirty… I mean, girls got bops… not all super interesting, but fun pop fodder. 3.4

When I saw that this was 80 minutes long, I began to dread it. But I was pleasantly surprised. It did overstay its welcome, but it wasn’t nearly as samey as the Britney Spears album I had last month. And damn can she sing! (I’m subtracting half a star for the production — I don’t need artificial record pops in my recordings, thanks.) 6/10 Pretty Good

Fajne. Wiadomo, że to pop, ale z tychdobrych. Mega głos kryśki. 4

She have a nice voice. But this type of music os not really my pair of shoes. It od boring after few songs simmilar to one another.

Ugh. Nu-R&B sucks, and especially when the same vocal gimmicks permeate the entire album. Probably was worth a listen when this kind of thing was fresh, but ain't no more.

absolute 10/10, richtig iconic und auch wichtig, gibt natürlich burlesque vibes, einfach geil

Can’t deny the strong vocal range here, but her style has never resonated with me. Props for attempting a concept album, but others have done this style better.

This was a slog to get through. It’s clear that she’s got an incredibly strong voice with a huge range, but how would I even know that since all she’s doing is shouting at me. She needs to settle it down, soften it up and maybe try giving a proper nod to those famous singers that she is obligatorily just name dropping to check the box. For a much better album that gives a nod back to the influences while pushing the sound into a modern world, Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black is way better.

Girl can sing. And some enjoyable songs. Not sure we needed a double album and some songs could have been edited out. I think I liked disc 2 more with the big band sound rather than generic pop. And Nasty Naughty Boy…oh my my my. That song has me rounding up. 2.5

I listened to this on a road trip to the beach and my son vomited on himself. Hey Xtina - do less. 2.5/5

SUCH a long album. She’s absolutely phenomenal, incredibly talented, but her music just isn’t my vibe. Fav song is ‘Back in the Day’.

Meh 2.5/5

Im not sure a double album by Christina Aguilera was on my to do list, today.

I actually thought this was a cool choice to put on this list. I’m not sure it’s worthy of selection, but I definitely haven’t confronted an album like this in this project so far. Definitely not the most interesting pop album, but likely the most interesting Christina Aguilera has ever been. I appreciated a break from the regular DNA of this list.

Huh, surprised that there are two Christina Aguilera albums on this list. But anyway, there was a clear effort by Christina to change her sound here. Going "back to basics" in the form of honoring the soul/blues acts from yesteryear. Honestly if anyone could replicate those acts, it's Christina on that shortlist. As for the album itself, it's solid pop music, and the singles are pretty memorable. The production kind of helps and hinders things here, however. Having names such as DJ Premier and Mark Ronson is a pretty big deal of course, as their presence among others is immediately noticeable and elevates the album at points. But there are almost TOO many hands involved here if that makes any sense. The mid-2000's gave us quite a few over-produced and bloated albums, and I'm afraid this falls into that list for me. Don't let that take away from Christina Aguilera's UBER-talented vocal prowess though. "Stripped" might be the more important album, but this was still a good artistic evolution.

2006. Primarily a pop and R&B record with a fusion of old-school jazz and soul inspiration. Back to Basics was meant to pay "homage and utmost respect" to some of her favorite musicians.

She's got a powerful voice, but as an album it didn't do too much to wow me.

Do I have to?

베스트: Back in the Day, Oh Mother

For a start, insanely long. This should not be a double album. It should barely be an EP to be honest, because so much of it is absolutely identikit. Also, it's weirdly dated much more than most pop of the era. I didn't like it, is what I'm saying. The singles are vaguely enjoyable, I guess, but a lot of the time it's just Xtina warbling over Generic Backing.

I expected to really dislike this based on my dislike of the long notes Christina is known for, the AaayaAaayAaaaAAAaaa. Seeing the runtime filled me with dread. But it was not too bad. Her vocals sound powerful in a good way and I started to appreciate the range more. It was a thematic album without becoming too stale. Overall more enjoyable than Britney for instance. Maybe it should be 4 stars but I feel that is a bit too high

A bit generic, but listenable.

Some of the tunes are bops. Could use some sax.

I don’t have much to say here. Listened to it once. I was ashamed that I thought some songs were bangers. Some of it lasted too long, though. I am not an Aguilera fan, but might have a slight bit more respect for her after this record.

This album was constantly rewriting my review thesis. So it started off with the kind of music that appeals to Bible belt America, then it proceeds into awfully generic mid-00s pop, then you get to volume 2 and the album starts being its namesake with the old time jazzy vaudeville sound that's honestly the most interesting part of its album, then it's back to a couple more bible belt songs to close it off. The album sounds like it was made by double the amount of label executives than it was actual artists with the amount of people it is trying to appeal to. In my world this entire album would just be the second half of it and it would have been great. That being said, I'm grading what we got and unlike Christina Aguilera herself, this album would need a lot of fat trimmed off before I could grade it higher.

Liked it more than I thought I would. Never really paid Christina Aguilera any attention before this, but this was all pretty good pop music. Huh. 3.5

Her voice is incredible. Amazing that a voice that big comes from such a tiny person. But the production here fucking sucks. Back in the Day promises to throw this back to old school and old days or whatever...but the production is anything but. If she really wanted to make a blues/jazz record, she'd kill it. The hip hop beats and scratches just suck. I could listen to her sing all day...and I don't know if I want to listen to the rest of this. It's a double album, are you kidding me? Who felt that this was worth two discs in 2006? I'm giving this a 3 just out of respect to the voice but that's about it. The production here is terrible and dated.

fav songs: NONE bloated, exhausting, vanity-project 05/100

I felt this when it came out, and I still feel it: this album takes every minor annoyance about a Mariah Carey album, and exxagerates it immensely. Way too much melisma, too many vocal overdubs, and just generally too busy. A basket of white gospel R&B cliches. It's a shame, as she has phenomenal talent, spoiled by a myriad of arrangement and production choices.

Way too long

no notes, 10/10, became a fan

what a mess of an album. the last track on disc one is an homage to fans, but comes off as a narcissistic back patting. so many samples and nods to old music that seems better done by those ancient acts. its pretentious and dumb at the same time. there were some moments and samples that were “fun” in a way, but the album is mostly a slog. i dont get it. she can sing, though.

Checks notes. No, I didn't need to listen to that. I heard enough of her over played, over produced music in the early 2000s.

Incredible voice, obviously, but the style and length just do nothing for me. 2.5

Better than I expected

fühlt sich bissi an wie kulturelle aneignung?? idkkkk also all in all nit schlecht aber is so soul jazz type. all in all idk 2.5/5? stabile mitte würd i sagen. also wieder mal nit schlecht. aber nur ein zwei songs de mi richtig catchen. aber fast alle auf disc 2 tbh: hurt, mercy on me

Much better than I was expecting. Christina Aguilera has an incredibly strong voice and that alone basically carries this album. The songs get a bit samey and it is way too long. Still not bad

A very noughties r&b album

Pretty good pop album, not my fav by a long shot tho. Why is it so long, I'm happy to listen to something long that I know is going to give something to chew on, but I knew that this was not going to be one of them. Look, the hits off this are really good and it's undeniable that Christina is beyond talented as a singer, this just starts to get old at points. Once again, it's not bad just not a wow factor album. Fav Track: Ain't No Other Man

There are some really good songs here (Candyman will always be a bop) but it feels like a patchy double album with a great single album trying to break out. If I'd have been in charge of the tracklisting, Thank You (A Dedication to the Fans) would have been the first for the chop.

Good

I gave it a chance but it just didn't click with me. It's one of those albums that I can see why people like it, but it just isn't for me.

I mean, great talent. The songs are ok.

There are some bops on here and no doubt the girl can sing. Kind of weird in 2036 tho to hear her list of legends (ie exclusively black artists) and not feel like there's a pop-Elvis thing going on

Surprisingly fascinating. I’m not familiar with Ms. A’s catalog, so this “rebirth” of her persona wasn’t on my radar. Love the mix of classic style with modern lyrics and sass.

not for me unfortunately

Enjoyable, but, definitely not my wheelhouse. I can appreciate her artistry, even if the music doesn't really click.

3.5

She undeniably has a powerful and versatile vocal instrument, but there's just something about this R&B/pop style that doesn't hold my interest after awhile. The arrangements are good, though.

This was a surprise. I didn’t know I needed to hear this album at this moment in time. What a phenomenal artist, a great singer songwriter, and what a great pop/hip hop album. Disc 2 continues the great piece of work, albeit a little wackier with “Welcome” and “Candyman.” Then it gets bluesier, and noir-like, with “I Got Trouble” and “Mercy on Me.” The second half may be more beautiful than the first.

Are there good tracks here? Yes. But good lord, this album is far, far too long. Anything good is diluted down. This album vastly overstays its welcome. Its a shame, I really wanted to like this :( 2/5

Not my thing

2/4 of my Run Of Toss. KD Lang was bad. This was not as awful as I thought it might be. Give me this every single time over KD Lang. At least there are some DJ Premier beats. But. A double album?!? I’m not going to lie. I skipped. A lot. I don’t like it. I don’t want to listen too it. But I can at least respect it. Sort of.

Better than I expected

Amazing voice but I couldn't really get into the music – too calculated in its production

Never listened to this in full. Amazing voice and who knew she had a collab with Steve Winwood?! Not necessarily something I'd go back and listen to, but a fun one.

17/05/26 a voz dela é foda, mas esse álbum vai me enjoar naturalmente não vai ser tudo igual a primeira música vai me enjoar tanto pelo gênero quanto pela repetição da voz potente (algo que já me incomoda e me incomodou no Muddy Waters) vou dar 6/10 / 3/5 pq me conhecendo eu daria essa nota mesmo

album se sastoji od dva dijela. prvi mi je bio dosljedno blago nepodnošljiv pop s elementima arenbija. drugi mi je bio nešto bolji s pokojom dobrom stvarju (»hurt«), ali ima zbog krindža teško slušljivu pjesmu »nasty naughty boy«. i malo je album sve u svemu predug. bilo bi bolje da sam preslušao samo drugi dio, onda bih možda dao i trojku. ovako je dojam za dvojku. šteta jer je glas dobar

Well, I rolled my eyes at this when it popped up as my album of the day. I scrolled to see where “genie in a bottle” was in the track listing. It wasn’t there, so I painstakingly hit play on track one. And… I was pleasantly surprised! A retro inspired album with extremely strong vocals. Not far off from Amy Winehouse, but without the edge. There is a lot to like here!

Classy little album. Only half way through & some real bangers on there. My mum didn’t let my listen to Christina on account of her being a Jezebel but boy does that hussy make some bangers. Real mixed album as well

Christina has an unreal voice. Shame that this record is a clusterfuck of overproduced poo. Could have been half the length, and feel like her talent is wasted on some of these numbers.

This was a LOT more enjoyable than I envisioned. A lot of that has to do with the production even if it’s very 2000s coded. The main issue is the length - if they cut this album in half you could have a really good album but instead this one drags

Loved this album. She is such a talent. Candyman and The Right Man were standouts. Generally, I hate a double album but this was a delight.

I didn't have a 2006 Christina Aguilera double album on my bingo card this morning, but here we are. I think Christina has an amazing voice. It's strong and confident, and she has the ability to modulate it to convey many different styles. Ultimately though this album isn't my style, and I am not particularly interested in repeat listens.

Это качественный поп-альбом, но извини, Кристиночка, не смотря на попытку примазаться к джаз/соул-легендам, я буду оценивать это именно как качественный поп-альбом из нулевых со всеми вытекающими отсюда плюсами и минусами. Очень вылизанный саунд, продюссирование, качество, тыры-пыры, но боже, как сложно такое слушать подряд альбомом будучи ещё и ДВОЙНЫМ, когда привык к совсем другой музыке....... щищщщщ.....

Não consegui ouvir todo, achei muito repetitivo

Foi um bom palate cleanser de todas as bandas random de white man rock

Listened whilst working, had a surprisingly good time

Toooooo long and repetitive

I think there is a great album in there, its just incredibly too long, and dragged down by filler songs nobody asked for. With focus, it could have been great, but in this form it was a 2. Then I thought about it some more, and I think I appreciated the swing, she could have made a low effort run of the mill pop album, instead she put her personnality (sometimes too a cringe extent like Thank You) and bumped it up cause it's a mess, but a special one.

One Christina is enough. She’s great. But one is enough.

Most misleading album title here. If this is a vocalist getting back to basics, then the Vatican Buildings are a picture of or Puritan restraint. This is massive ornate and rams every style in the most polished and expensive and highly orchestrated way possible across 22 tracks. Yes her style is big and over the top and every track risks being over done forced and excessive. Yet seemingly effortless... Soo long. 22 long tracks. Her voice is endlessly showcased and it's tiring as hell. If you only listen to one track, CANDY MAN. It's 10/10 5 just for this.

While listening to this rubbish I got to thinking about us homo sapiens and the things we've created to get by. The systems, the structures, the belief nonsense and the violence. Pretty much the music thing is the only one that makes sense, heart beating rhythm and all that? And the way we put words to music in all our Sapien cultures. Yes this stuff did set me off. Why do I love Bob Seger's Still the Same? It makes no sense, I'm not a fan and yet I fucking love it. There's something that hits us in our DNA and we just can't fight it. "You always said, the cards would never do you wrong."

I enjoyed Chrisitna Aguilera's Stripped album when I reviewed it recently, but this dragged. I can see what they were intended to do with their hip hop inspired homage to soul and jazz singers, but the whole project is just too much conceptual. It's all head and no heart. Compare this to Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which came out the same year and incorporates many of the same influences and even shares a producer in Mark Ronson -- Amy is all heart and honest emotion, and all the better for it. Using some old 'dusty' samples does not make this meaningfully 'soul'. And what on earth were they thinking with the second disc of Linda perry produced tracks? If disc one is crowd-pleasing albeit somewhat stiff hip hop/RnB pop music the second disc of supposed "jazz" *cough cough* is an expensive failed experiment. I can only see that second disc appealing to someone who had never heard any of the source music it is clumsily emulating There must have been a lot of handwringing at the record company about what to release. The decision to release EVERYTHING was just throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks. The album as a whole is over-thought, over-produced, over-long, and often over-sung. Don't get me wrong; Christina has great pipes and can shake the dust out of the rafters, but it would be great if she didn't go full-throttle for the full 80 minutes. Light and shade, Christina, a little bit of light and shade. You can do it when you want; I really enjoyed 'Save Me From Myself' where you pulled back for three minutes. There's a good pop album here trying to be something else and just not getting there. The influences are often just appropriations, samples or barely altered re-writes. 'Candyman' is an egregious example (loosely cribbed from 'In The Mood') but only the most obvious amongst many. I often found myself playing a game of "spot where this was lifted from". I also hated 'Thank You (Dedication to Fans...)' which actually seems dedicated to Christina's self-congratulatory humble-bragging. I like Christina's voice, but in much smaller doses than this. Pop really is a singles genre, and this album is just too much. I feel like I have been force-fed an entire chocolate cake. Or maybe two entire chocolate cakes.

I'm probably never listening to this again, but it's a well-conceived, constructed, and performed pop album with some real depth. I admit I didn't realize what a vocal powerhouse she is.

A pure pop album, it's over-hyped, over-exposed, over-produced. It's too much

Another album I could have died without hearing. Not as bad as some, but I found nothing here that I can't get anywhere else.

This is a solid album here and there. I liked side 2 better for the most part. A few songs from each side were not great, the rest were fine. I don't think I loved any of this album, but I got into a few tracks and would be fine if someone played this. I really like the beginning of side 2 with Enter the Circus and Welcome.

I like the idea of Christina Aguilera reaching back to jazz and R&B, and the sampling on the album is well done. But by the end of the album I grew tired of her melismatic singing style (I had to look that up). Can't a syllable just be a single note?

A lot of sir duke esque musical hero call outs, and then some love stuff. She can really sing and it's all alright.

Her voice is amazing. Many of the songs started to blend together. Thank You was pretty cringe. Candyman was fun. This album in incredibly long.

As someone who doesn't partake much in pop music, Back to Basics was surprisingly good (well, half of it anyway). Disc one is amazing, delivering inspired takes on the musical styles that influenced her. The second disc was closer to the music I was expecting, and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. Regardless, there's no denying Christina's voice.

I’m sorry that was just too much Christina Aguilera all at once

disc 2 is the only part worth listening to

80 minutes of this are we serious. 40 minutes of loud overproduced oversung pop would be questionable enough.

This record strikes me as Aguilera really wanting to be Amy Winehouse. Hell of a voice though. The songs on disc 2 are way more memorable than the ones on disc 1.

I really dislike this style of singing. It's about as pleasant as listening to fingernails being drawn down a blackboard.

Christina! The album's too long Christina!

Not for me, only a couple songs I found interesting. She has a good voice but it gets a bit boring after about 30 minutes. Feel like this should have either been two separate projects or condensed into one better short album. No need for a double disc

There’s no reason to bash this album because I don’t understand it or that I personally find it unlistenable, which I don’t and I do. This is the era of the vocal runs that go up and down with endless oooos. Aretha Franklin pulled that off with tasteful restraint. These artists do not.

Als fünftes Studioalbum der US-amerikanischen Sängerin erschien Back to Basics im August 2006 bei RCA Records als Doppelalbum – ein Format, das die konzeptionelle Zweiteilung des Werks bereits formal ankündigt. Die Aufnahmen fanden zwischen Februar 2005 und April 2006 in mehreren Studios in den USA und Großbritannien statt, darunter die Chalice Recording Studios und The Record Plant in Los Angeles, Maze Studios in Atlanta, Allido Sound in New York sowie die Sarm Studios in London. Aguilera, die als Executive Producer fungierte, zog ein breites Produzentennetzwerk heran: DJ Premier verantwortet den ersten Teil mit seinen R&B- und Hip-Hop-Bezügen, während Linda Perry die komplett live eingespielte zweite Disc dominiert, die sich einem theatralisch-jazzig geprägten Klangbild der 1920er bis 1940er Jahre widmet. Die Inspiration für das Projekt entstammt Aguileras lebenslanger Verehrung für die Ikonen des afroamerikanischen Musikerbes – Billie Holiday, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald und Otis Redding sind keine oberflächlichen Referenzen, sondern prägen Phrasierung, Timbre und Stilistik spürbar. Der Leadsingles „Ain't No Other Man" – eine mit Blechbläser-Samples durchzogene Hommage an klassischen Rhythm and Blues – gewann den Grammy für die beste weibliche Pop-Gesangsleistung. Die Ballade „Hurt" und das swingend-ironische „Candyman" vervollständigen das kommerzielle Kernrepertoire des Albums, das weltweit Platz eins erreichte. Was Back to Basics von bloßer Retro-Nostalgie trennt, ist Aguileras Mut zur stimmlichen Überexposition: Sie singt nicht über ihre Vorbilder, sie singt durch sie hindurch und bleibt dabei unverkennbar sie selbst. Das Doppelalbum-Konzept birgt naturgemäß Längen, doch der künstlerische Anspruch und die vokale Virtuosität rechtfertigen die Wucht des Projekts vollständig. Back to Basics ist das seltene Popalbum, das den Anspruch, ein Meisterwerk zu sein, tatsächlich einlöst.

Her singing talent is undeniable on this album. But you have to get past mid 2000’s R&B and pop production and some rough tracks like “Thank You (Dedication to the Fans….) which comes across as pretentious ego stroking, even though I don’t think that was the point and “Nasty Naughty Boy” which features immature moaning on the song. 2.5

Side one! So talented, production is perfect for the era (aged worse but whatever not her fault). I hate the 2000s need for the double album with 22 songs on it, bloat is a real issue but again, very time period appropriate. Her voice is so good, the songs are samey but I think that’s just because I don’t really listen to this RnB-Jazz 2000s music. I’m sure every converge song sounds the same to someone that doesn’t listen to them, ya know? The thank you interlude is the cringiest shit ever. So self ego inflating and why would anyone listen to this more than once. Even on a full album listen, what is the point? That’s my biggest complaint of this first half. The minor ones are the bloat and the lack of variety. Side two! Circus and welcome, those were really fun and reminded me of panic at the disco (this is a compliment). Candyman and nasty naughty boy are zero percent subtle and don’t do anything for me personally, but again at least it’s something new. Second half is way better than the first. I don’t love it but it’s at least its own statement. Yea man, give me the second disc only and this is a four, the first disc is a 2, does that average it to a 3? Yeah.

I hated this. Even DJ Premier could not save this. 78 minutes of her incessant whining. How does she have two albums on this list and neither of them are the album with Genie In A Bottle on it?

I love this woman's vocals, the rythm is very 2000's, so cool, yet not my type of daily music. Every song is great and lyrics works but as an album is to repeptitive.

Say what ya want, her voice is amazing, she has the "it" thing

2/5

Notable Textzeile: Well, everybody got an opinion now, don't they? But it ain't no thing to me It really don't make any difference now to me If you don't like what you see Ich habe das Album beim Putzen gehört, also relativ laut. Die Nachbarn waren vermutlich verwirrt. Dann habe ich das Handy vonwo es auf die Box gestreamt wurde im frisch gewischten Badezimmer liegen lassen. Nach Ende des insgesamt wirklich viel viel zu langen Albums hat Spotify eine Art Best-of-Strong-Female-Pop-Artists gespielt - und jeder Song war sowas von 10-100 Mal besser als die Sachen auf diesem Album. Die sind ja alle gut arrangiert und nichts nervt richtig, ist auch okay abswechslungsreich für das Genre, aber es ist doch ähnlich und Textlich manchmal gut, selbstbewewusst und dann doch wieder komisch weiblich-stereotyp-hetro-Lovesong. Echt hart fand ich den Track bei dem Lobpreisungen von Fans als Voicenotes eingespielt wurden. Why, ich meine wirklich why? Ohne den wäre ich glaub ich bei 2,5 gelandet, so eher 2.

Oh man, so viel zu entpacken. Also dies ist ein Konzeptalbum, aufgenommen zum Höhepunkt von Retro Soul mit den Protagonisten von Retro Soul, um den Ursprung des modernen Pop, nämlich Soul zu huldigen. Damit ist das kein Cash Grab, sondern ernsthafte Back to Basics Musik. Klar. Aguilera hat auch ungefähr die beste Stimme der Welt, darf - back to basics - aber offenbar nicht mit einer Band aufnehmen oder spielen. Klingt daher alles zusammen gesetzt, weil es das auch ist. Bezeichnend auch, dass das einzige Feature mit Steve Winwood ist, der nicht nur weiß und Britisch, sondern auch für schreckliche 70er und 80er Synth Pop verantwortlich ist - genau was man also braucht auf einem Retro Soul Album. Doch dann, Disc 2: Inception! Ein Konzeptalbum im Konzeptalbum, diesmal mit 4nonBlondes Linda Perry, und jetzt geht es um Zirkus, zumindest für 3-4 Tracks, weil... Warum nicht? Es ist ja sowieso alles egal. Viele Songs klingen dann irgendwie wie ein Hilferuf. Ob für die Künstlerin, für die Hörenden oder Musik insgesamt, bleibt unklar.

+ Ain't no other men Stimme Es sind viele Songs - Künstlicher Vinyl-Knister-Sound auf viel zu glatter Produktion Ist der Albumtitel ein Insder-Gag? Warum so viel stöhnen, nicht mal mehr singen mit der Stimme? Es sind viele Songs Candyman Ich befürchte meine Kritik richtet sich wenig gegen die Künstlerin, mehr gegen die Produktion (Aaaalter - 10 Produzent*innen am Werk gewesen). Halb so viele Songs ein wenig authentischer Produziert hätten geholfen. Mucho potential, aber so nervig 00er gemacht.

Her voice is fine for one or two songs, but a double album of this is just way too much. Absolutely no reason an album like this should be this long.

This was pretty decent. Was this groundbreaking? No. Is this the greatest pop album of all time? Also no. Did I have a good time listening to this album? Yes, and that’s what matters. Christina Aguilera’s vocals are so good throughout the whole album. It made me realize that I care a lot more about vocals than I previously thought.

Got no idea why this is on this list, but I really enjoyed it. For the haters: 3.6.

A double album, that's 80 mins long, is back to basics?! So if I could give this 2.25 stars, I would. I appreciate the piano, horns and choir. There was an interesting bass line at one point that sounded like it could've been a Talking Heads sample. And for those who care, I guess she can sing. I'm not a person who cares about singers and their abilities but to each their own. I felt this really lacked emotionally. It didn't stir anything in me and I didn't feel anything from her. Was this her attempt to break out of club music? Maybe. I just found it boring as heck.

We are back to basics. Too much film flam before. Getting down to the real stuff. Hold on.. I'm picking up something .. This is still kinda vapid and an imitation of a feeling. The Glee version of soul or funk. No, I don't think a 2nd Christina Aguilera record needed to be on this list, let alone a first.

There are no 2 words worse than "double disc", especially when it's an album that you already weren't looking forward to hearing. She has talent, and there are some good songs here, but does she have an hour and 18 minutes worth of material? No. There is no good reason for this being 5 minutes longer than Lonesome Crowded West. The first half of this album is pretty consistent in style and tone, but side 2 is just all over the place. If this was just disc one, I would give it a mid 3, but side 2 really drags it down, and bloats the entire album. mid 2.

Når man er i humøret så er det bedre enn andre slike damer

Review - this album isn't very good. I sort of preemptively liked the songs I'd heard as singles, but on relisten they're genuinely not very good. There are some decent songs here and she's a talented singer but the second half is a jazz album performed, written, and produced by people who clearly aren't particularly into jazz. Maybe they like the idea of jazz, the aesthetic. I don't know. In any case, it's not very good. Rating - 3.5/10 Need to hear? NO

Very interesting. Disc 1, I found almost unlistenable. Oversung, overproduced, overlong. Horrendous. 1 star. Disc 2 was a revelation. Wow can this lady really sing and write some great songs. 5 stars!