Wiretap: Back To Basics

The day has finally come. It has arrived and could operatorLA be happier? well, yes. Kinda.

Let's get to it. Christian Aguilera is back in fine form on her new double CD, Back To Basics. She is emerging as a great confessinoal artist of hip-hop, pop and r&b. That being said, operatorLA was slightly disappointed in this CD. Just slightly. All the promotinoal work Ms. Aguilera has been doing has sold this CD as a total throw-back to another time, updated for today's audience. This is not necessarily true. While there are certainly songs that catch that retro-vibe she was striving so hard for, Christina only hints at the influences on other tracks, which leaves this collection a little lopsided, especially on the first CD. All tracks produced by DJ Premiere are standouts and incorporate the vibe real well. The other songs, produced by Chris Martin seem like they were leftovers from Stripped, just slightly tweeked to meet this collection.

operatorLA's word of advice- start with the second CD first. Linda Perry produced the whole disc and this song cycle is where Christina's true vision and talent as an artist can be seen. Seems like she needs a strong producer like Linda to help guide her where she knows she wants to go. Songs like CandyMan and I've Got Trouble elicit perfectly the old-time style Aguilera was going for, while other songs like Save Me From Myself and Mercy on Me let Christina's voice soar.

operatorLA thinks this CD is good and can't wait for Christina's next release. Now that she is done mining the sounds that influenced her so much, she will be free to express the talent that she truly is.