Lo and behold (J.Lo - Jennifer Lopez)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	J.Lo - Jennifer Lopez
Date:	01/03/01 (473 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not so many ballads this time around

Disadvantages: Not enough Latin songs as I would have liked

After the commercial success of “On The Six” it was inevitable that a follow-up album would not be too far away for Jennifer Lopez. I had, and still do have mixed feelings about that album, some of the tracks are fantastic whilst others are a bit dull and lifeless. Now she has also jumped back into the movie actress role yet again, so when “J-Lo” came out I didn’t really expect too much from it. In fact, I waited quite a while until deciding to buy it (I managed to sneak a quick listen at a Virgin store, one of the few remaining advantages of high street shops!).

By the time I got around to ordering my copy she already had a number one in the singles chart with “Love Don’t Cost A Thing”. Not a bad song in itself, but I’m sure the video managed to sell a few more copies. It certainly got enough airplay. I wonder why? Surely not the fact she sheds a few items of clothing in it? Tsk tsk …

So, what can you expect from this latest album? More of the same? The biggest criticism I had personally with her first album was the large amount of ballads on it. It seemed to jump from a Latin dance track to a slow ballad every other track. Not a problem normally but her strengths are not in the ballads. This meant I had to keep skipping every other track (very annoying). Happily, “J-Lo” is a vast improvement on this, and I have not yet skipped one single track. The overall quality of the tracks is superior and slickly produced this time. The track order makes more sense and flows well, but don’t expect groundbreaking lyrics. This is pop music and shouldn’t be taken too seriously!



Tracklist Review:


- Love Don’t Cost A Thing
The opening track, and the first single released off the album (it went straight in at No.1). Heavily produced with a very catchy chorus, just don’t take too much notice of the lyrics, as they are, well kind of du
mb and a bit cheesy really. Example “Baby, credit cards aren’t romance. Still you’re trying to buy what’s already yours. What I need from you is not available in stores.” A classic (throw away) pop song, which is good to listen to for a while, but can then become a little tedious with time. A solid album opening track though.

- I’m Real
A strange one this, it reminds me a little of Janet Jackson(!) in places, and for me it is a bit of a hark back to Eighties style pop songs. A light bouncy song that is catchy but fairly forgettable. It’s good background music, and slots into the album well but I can’t see it making it as a single.

- Play
Just when I was starting to have doubts creep in about where this album is going, it starts to pick up a gear. “Play” has a heavy electronic backbeat, overlaid with Jennifer’s vocals. It’s a simple enough dance track, which is quite catchy and will get your fingers tapping along to it. Oh dear, a naughty “f” word sneaked into this one too!

- Walking On Sunshine
No, it’s not a cover of the similar titled song by Katrina and the Waves. A faster paced track, again with the electronic beats in the background. Nothing special but it’s one of the shorter tracks on the album. Co-written and produced by Sean “Puffy” Combes, you wouldn’t have guessed this without looking at the inlay notes.

- Ain’t It Funny
This track starts off with a very typical modern Latin style intro, with much more emphasis on the guitar here. For some reason it has a bit of a Mexican feel to it. This is one of the few songs on the album with reasonable lyrics, and gives an upbeat positive feeling.

- Carino
This one is a far slower, soulful song about longing to be with someone. Nice touches include the trumpet in the chorus and the solo towards the end of the track. Not a track that re
ally stands out but is good background music.

- Come Over
This is the first track on this album that I would label as an out and out ballad. It’s better than the standard of ballad from her debut album, if you ignore the rather corny lyrics. I’m not going to give any examples here (just look at the song title and you will get a big clue!). Again, ballads still aren’t her strongest style but this isn’t too bad an effort but does seem to drag on a bit.

- We Gotta Talk
A mid-paced number that is not a ballad or a dance number. It sounds like the background percussion almost drowns out the vocals. One of the tracks on the album that I’m sure in time I will be pressing the forward button on the remote to skip.

- That’s Not Me
Another slow starter, but this time building up into a decent mid-tempo tune. Quite heavy on the (fast) vocals, with lots of background vocals thrown into the mix, and a steady drumbeat complimented sporadically by a Spanish sounding guitar. Reasonable lyrics for once. Hmmm, Jennifer isn’t on the writing credits for this one. I can see a pattern emerging here.

- Dance With Me
Woah! This one hits you with a shock. After a run of mid to slow tempo songs comes a belting dance tune. Reasonable lyrics (Jennifer not credited again! Shock!) and quite catchy. I can’t help but sing along with this one now! You can hear the signature style of Sean “Puffy” Combs throughout this one, he co-wrote and produced this track. I really like this one the more I hear it, and won’t be too surprised to see it issued as a single.

- Secretly
Oh no, another ballad. However decided to put this track after “Dance With Me” needs sorting out sharpish. The slowest track on the album following the fastest! Not a good idea. Extremely corny lyrics (Oh, Jennifer IS credited this time!) with annoying finger clicking but still not a bad song. I&
#8217;m just getting a bit picky.

- I’m Gonna Be Alright
Another mid-tempo track, which would have been far better coming straight after “Dance with me” that “Secretly” was. A catchy tune with strong background vocals competing with Jennifer’s lead vocals. There is also a sample taken from “8th wonder” by the Sugarhill Gang used in this track.

- That’s The Way
A slow starter, with a punching drumbeat in the background, leading into more of a dance number with background rapping in places. It seems to be a bit heavy on the mixing here, using multiple layers of her vocals and lots of background vocals in and around the lead vocals. It doesn’t spoil the song at all. This one is mixed, co-written and produced by Rodney Jerkins, with background rapping by LaShawn “Big Shiz” Daniels.

- Dame (Touch me)
Very Latin, and sung purely in Spanish. The Spanish lyrics, which I am not going to attempt to translate here, but basically revolve around the usual love song topics (love, passion and desire), are written by Manny Benito (no credit to Jennifer again). A quick paced and passionate duet using guitars and horns (!). I know, sounds a bit odd, but it really is one of the better tracks on the album.

- Si Ya Se Acabo
Another purely Spanish song (meaning “If I finish it”) in terms of the lyrics, but even better than “Dame”. I only wish the whole album could have been full of this type of musical style. You will find yourself desperately trying to sing along with it, even though you most likely won’t understand a word of it. Unfortunately this is one of the shortest tracks on the album! Must start up those Spanish lessons sometime …


A small/minor disappointment for me is that she has writing accreditation on only seven of the fifteen tracks for “J-Lo”. After her debut album I expected her to get a l
ot more involved in song writing this time around. It has to be said that the four songs that she co-wrote the lyrics for on “On the 6” were not the best tracks on the album. Here she continues the same pattern, with the stand out tracks being written by others. I strongly suspect she prefers the ballads (from the writing perspective). Maybe I shouldn’t have expected her to write so much after all, as leaving this part to others seems to produce the best results.

Her musical style seems to be moving a little away from the Latin style and more towards a general type of R&B/Hip Hop. This is going to be due in part to the record producers and writers she uses, who predominantly make this genre of music.

The CD presentation is nice enough, with a fold out inlay sheet with all the lyrics and credits and a half dozen glossy pictures of Ms Lopez. There is nothing outstanding or original here, but I suppose it’s better than nothing at all.

Overall, “J-Lo” is a good album, and is slightly better and rounded than her debut album “On the 6”. I can’t see her having as many chart hits from this album but at least I can listen to this album in its entirety (no skipping so far). Just a shame that she doesn’t produce a few more of the Latin style tracks that really stand above the more mainstream songs that only hints at this influence. It’s a good album to have on in the background, but won’t get me up on the dance floor. It will get you singing along in places though.

Four stars would probably be heaping too much praise on this album, but three would be a little harsh. I’m going to stick on the cautious side and give it a three. Not bad, but could do better. Just try sticking to the singing next time Jennifer and leave the writing to the others …

You may also want to check out her website at www.jenniferlopez.com for a bit more news, pictures and video
clips. Not the best music website I’ve ever looked at but it’s interesting for a one off visit.

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