Song of the Album: "Touch Of My Hand". Alternate Title: "Maybe Next Time...If There Is A Next Time". Genre: Pop/Dance-Pop
Maybe Britney Spears will never, ever get music right.
That may be the conclusion many will raise after hearing Spears' latest foray into the music world, her fifth album and first in two years "In The Zone". The album was meant to be a comeback album, the one where Spears would finally reclaim all those disillusioned fans who moved on to more "real" pop stars like Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch and tell the music world that she intends to be a major force on the charts once again.
Well...it didn't work. "In The Zone" is a mishmash of ideas, some clever and some really dumb, never at all gelling into a coherent album or an enjoyable one, let alone the landmark she wants it to be (for the record, she co-writes much of the material here, and the album certainly feels like Spears had quite a bit of say in the final outcome). This isn't to say that there isn't anything worthwhile here- for example, "Touch Of My Hand", with its Delerium's "After All"-meets-Madonna's "Frozen" beat, becomes the album's most soothing and gripping moment, also becoming Spears' best song to date. There's also songs like "Breathe On Me", where Spears' Madonna influences really show through (it sounds quite a bit like, perhaps fittingly, "Express Yourself"), and "Early Mornin'", a drum 'n' bass-like track produced by Moby that provides some fresh moments (even if these moments are really culled from other artists, like The Neptunes in the latter track). However, every time Spears does seem to find her groove, she loses it with a clunker like the Elephant Man-reject song "The Hook Up", which immediately follows "Touch Of My Hand".
This is Spears' main problem: she's come in with ideas but not with a lot of focus. This is what makes "In The Zone" so troubling: as soon as you hit a rhythm, it gets pulled right from under your nose and you're stuck in at the very least confusion and not at all where Spears would want you to be: enjoying the album. Then there's also the fact quite a bit of the material here is just plain forgettable: "Outrageous", which is R. Kelly's contribution to the album, comes off as a really embarrassing sex song with an even sillier, contrived beat, just like songs like "Showdown". Plus, it's not very catchy at all, which isn't good if you're a pop star like Spears trying to get back on the charts.
Still, though, the good moments show that in Spears' first real extensive-writing foray that she can come up with a good pop song and, if given the chance, she just might be able to land the landmark she wanted. The problem is, though, will Spears get that second chance? This was supposed to be the one she was to nail, and frankly she didn't, so there's no guarantee she'll be able to come back. Maybe she will be able to have the opportunity to get an album right, but one can't help but think, "who cares about potential. You needed to succeed now; and you failed."
-DG