Ok, I finished and I am stunned . . . completely stunned. Here is the rundown of what I think.
DISK 1 "Intro (Back to Basics)"--Good little ditty to start the album.
"Makes Me Wanna Pray"--I just want to say "HALLELUJIAH!" This is a great song, where you can picture a black church with a choir in the loft and Christina making people jump to their feet and get thier praise on.
"Back in The Day"--This is Christina listing all those singers that came before her that inspired her and giving those greats a musical shout out. Great, great song!
"Ain't No Other Man"--The song we all know and I still love it.
"Understand"-- A good song that is very soulful and a perfect sample in the background.
"Slow Down Baby"--Ok, this is headed for singledom. It is like the younger sibling to "Ain't No Other Man"
"Oh Mother"--This is a song that is about Christina's mom. If you remember "I'm Ok" from "Stripped" . . . this is like the sequel to that, but I like this even more.
"F.U.S.S."--This is a song about a producer and friend that turned his back on Christina. It is a short song and pretty much a filler.
"On Our Way"--This would have been perfect on a Lauren Hill cd. A pretty good song.
"Without You"--A sweet song about her husband, but not one of my favorites on the album.
"Still Dirrty"--Another song destined for Singledom. I love it! It's def. one of my favorites.
"Here To Stay"--It has a disco feel to it where Christina declares that no matter what they say about her or try to bring her down, she will always rise above it.
"Thank You (Dedication to the Fans)"--Very nice way to end the first cd. It has a sample of "Genie in A Bottle" where Christina thanks her fans for sticking with her. It includes a few recordings of actual fans saying nice things about Christina.
DISK 2 Before I go through each song, I just wanna say that this disk alone better win Christina the grammy for best album, because NO ONE can top this.
"Enter The Circus"--A neat intro into the second disk with a carnival theme. Christina doesn't sing on this track, but I really like it.
"Welcome"--It still has kind of the carnival theme to it, and very reminiscent of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band." Great song!
"Candyman"--This is WITHOUT A DOUBT my favorite song Christina has ever done. You can swear THE ANDREW SISTERS actually time traveled to the 21st century and laid this track down. It is genius and it's going to be here second single and it's going to make every other song on the billboard chart look like crap!
"Nasty Naughty Boy"--A very Burlesque, cabaret song of the 20's. It is very well done and it is one of my favorites. Love it!
"I Got Trouble"--Ok. This is the most "authentic" song of the era that Christina has been trying to go "Back to Basics" to. If you love Billy Holliday songs, then you will love this one. This is also another favorite of mine. Great, great song.
"Hurt"--For those that say they hate Christina riffing and shout-singing . . . you have to listen to this song. It is very intiment and wonderful. This is a side of Christina's voice that people really haven't heard before.
"Mercy on Me"--This is a song where she asks Jesus and God for forgiveness for all of the faults that she has ever done. It is very personal.
"Save Me From Myself"--This is even more of a intiment song for Christina, where it is just a piano and an acoustic guitar. There is no over dubbing or anything. Everything has been stripped except for her vocals (which is very subdued and heartbreaking) and those instruments.
"The Right Man"--The last song on the album is one of it's best. It is done over strings ALA "Eleanor Rigby" and it is about her wedding day and it is such a great song. For all those that say that Christina is just a "manufactured Kewpie doll" needs to listen to this song. I promise it will change your view of her.
Well, that's it for "Back to Basics." While I like the first disk, the second one is the best cd I have heard in a very long time from any artist. It is really a masterpiece. Even though I love the songs on the first cd, I wish it was just one disk. All the songs on the second disk and about 4 or 5 from the first. Still, it is a great album and Christina has really proven that she is an artist and will go down in history as one.
Thank you Christina for bringing back real music to the table instead of all the crap on the radio today. As most of you know, I am a gigantic fan of "old school" blues/jazz/soul like Etta, Aretha, Ella, etc. and I could not be happier.
"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2
