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Poll: "Britney" album vs "Aaliyah" album
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View Poll Results: Best self titled album of 2001?
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Britney
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37 |
54.41% |
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Aaliyah
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27 |
39.71% |
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Can't decide! both are great!
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4 |
5.88% |
Member Since: 5/18/2010
Posts: 3,104
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Aaliyah album is great but overhyped to death. Edit: (no pun intended) I never heard Britney album so I'll pick Aaliyah
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Member Since: 6/5/2009
Posts: 13,743
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Member Since: 3/18/2008
Posts: 40,057
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I'm not here for local acts 
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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Quote:
Originally posted by Cobato
Aaliyah album is great but overhyped to death.
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Review. Before she died. By the music bible.
Album Review 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Aaliyah is an R&B seductress of the highest order, the undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on. She works her voodoo on a bed of diamond-precision beats and densely sculptured grooves: Starting with her R.Kelly-produced debut album, 1994's Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, and continuing through 1996's One in a Million, which began her fruitful association with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, her impact on contemporary R&B - and therefore pop - has been enormous. Long before Britney scandalized a nation by winking at dirty old men everywhere, the teenage Aaliyah was romantically linked with the much older R. Kelly and singing the erotic, precocious lyrics he'd written for her. One in a Million proved she wasn't a fluke by heightening the contradictions that made her resonate: She was the B-girl with supermodel looks, simultaneously distant and down-to-earth. That blend of the familiar and the exotic was reflected in her singing, which was both aloof and inviting. Her voice - small, often tinny - was rendered supple when couched in Timbaland's barrage of beats and off-kilter studio flourishes. She sang with an authority at odds with the fragility of her instrument.
On Aaliyah, a near-flawless declaration of strength and independence, she ups the ante for herself and her contemporaries - as well as for her musical heroes. Aaliyah is Control, Velvet Rope and Jagged Little Pill all rolled into one. It's the album Janet should have made with All for You, the manifesto that Beyonce thought she was penning with Survivor. Timbaland produced only a handful of the disc's fifteen tracks, but his Afro-sci-fi influence is everywhere: layered and oddly tweaked vocals, beats lovingly laced with techno-electro strokes that threaten to shatter your system, arrangements that harness sonic non sequiturs and give them a cohesion that's breathtaking. Missy Elliott's So Addictive or OutKast's Stankonia are the only recent hip-hop/R&B/pop records as overflowing with ideas and experimentation. An even more fitting comparison, though, would be to Sade's 2000 comeback, Lovers Rock. (Aaliyah has stated in interviews that Sade is her heroine.) Aaliyah has the familiar crisp production and staccato arrangements that we've come to associate with Sade; like Lovers Rock, Aaliyah tilts forward in its sound but also reaches back to old-school soul music to flesh out its slow jams.
The tone is set with the opening track and first single, "We Need a Resolution," which is driven by a stop-and-go drum pattern, hand claps and a male-vs.-female take on the dissolution of a love affair. Aaliyah's voice snakes through the intricately sparse arrangement with cool confidence. That assurance is the foundation for the entire album. "What If" is a Detroit-techno-meets-industrial-rock workout that nods to Trent Reznor (another Aaliyah hero). Where too many R&B artists who decide to rock out affect a laughable rasp (Janet's "Black Cat," En Vogue's "Free Your Mind"), Aaliyah channels rock's aggression and attitude without resorting to caricature. She does the same with "Extra Smooth," which vaults somewhere beyond hip-hop and drum-and-bass, tapping into reserves of funk and playfulness that popular R&B hasn't accessed in ages. And the withering kiss-off tune, "U Got Nerve," is drenched with palpable F-you vibes. At the opposite end of the spectrum is a trio of dazzling ballads, "I Care 4 U," "Never No More" and the piano-driven "I Refuse." All have a deep, bluesy, jazzy undertow that pulls Aaliyah into soulful performances showcasing a bruised knowingness. They're the best she's ever been vocally, reflecting a stronger technique than is found on her previous albums. Another lesson Aaliyah has learned from hanging with Missy and Timbaland is the importance of humor, which permeates the new disc in ways both sly and subtle. Timbaland playfully dismisses her concerns on the give-and-take of "We Need a Resolution"; on "Read Between the Line," she lets her vocals get stretched in a jokey, elastic way. The wit in the production and dollops of lightheartedness balance the eroticism, outrage and heartbreak in the lyrics.
The album's highlight, though, is "Rock Da Boat," a masterpiece of unbridled salaciousness. Aaliyah breathlessly purrs sexual commands ("Change positions," "Work the middle," "Stroke it for me . . .") over an airy groove whose instrumentation swells against and then falls away from her voice. The hypnotic rhythm churns with erotic heat; beats both soft and hard tumble gently over one another as synth effects flutter and swoop. This track is sex, pure and simple.
The irony is that at the start of her career, the unapologetic, blunt sexuality in her music marked Aaliyah as R. Kelly's studio creation, a contrived plaything. "Rock Da Boat," unblushing in its frankness, shows that she has come into her own as a woman. She's at the wheel, steering her sexuality and using it to explore her own fantasies and strengths. And the joy you hear in her voice, in the grooves, is rooted in independence. R&B's reigning ice princess is starting to thaw.
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gui Blackout
I'm not here for local acts |
I bet you are here for a warning. Reported.
Oh and btw, Britney was a fan.
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Member Since: 6/1/2010
Posts: 65,177
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
I bet you are here for a warning. Reported.
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Member Since: 6/9/2010
Posts: 9,802
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ace Reject
You got that right.
Aaliyah is one of the best R&B albums of the 21st century; ten years on a number of tracks still sound fresher and more inventive than what's on radio today. (Seriously, call me back when someone attempts a I Can Be.)
Britney has four really good tracks max (Slave, Boys, Anticipating, the one with Justin on backup), 6 if you count the BT songs (which have dated.) Everything else is fillerific!
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exactly. so why the random comparison? Why not compare Britney's album with a self-titled pop album or Aaliyah's with a self-titled R&B album?  So many random comparison threads are being opened
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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Quote:
Originally posted by Reed
exactly. so why the random comparison? Why not compare Britney's album with a self-titled pop album or Aaliyah's with a self-titled R&B album? So many random comparison threads are being opened |
It's not really that random. Both are their 3rd albums, both are self titled, both of them was a change in image, both of them used snakes for these albums, and most of all both were released in the same year.
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Member Since: 6/9/2010
Posts: 9,802
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
It's not really that random. Both are their 3rd albums, both are self titled, both of them was a change in image, both of them used snakes for these albums, and most of all both were released in the same year.
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ok...
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Member Since: 3/18/2008
Posts: 40,057
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
I bet you are here for a warning. Reported.
Oh and btw, Britney was a fan.
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Did i lied about something here? You can be mad as long as you want, but she IS only known in the US, and only in the R&B community.
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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Quote:
Originally posted by Reed
ok...
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gui Blackout
Did i lied about something here? You can be mad as long as you want, but she IS only known in the US, and only in the R&B community.
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Dummy, who's mad? you are the troll in here starting trouble. what does her being known have to do with the topic at hand?
Britney knew her, so that's all that matters. 
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Member Since: 3/18/2008
Posts: 40,057
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
Dummy, who's mad? you are the troll in here starting trouble. what does her being known have to do with the topic at hand?
Britney knew her, so that's all that matters. |
Troll? I'm sorry if you can't take others opinions, especially if it's true 
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Member Since: 6/1/2010
Posts: 65,177
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gui Blackout
Troll? I'm sorry if you can't take others opinions, especially if it's true |
Who cares who's "local?" That's not the point of the poll and makes your opinion useless.
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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"It could have easily been myself, or someone else. It's definitely a very sad thing to happen, especially since she was so young and she was just getting her foot in the door of her career. I think she had a very long way to go, and I feel for her family and fans. I have her first two albums, you know, they were just amazing, and I can't believe how fast something so good can be taken away from you, its just...(shakes head) just very very sad..."
--Britney Spears on Aaliyah
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 3/18/2009
Posts: 35,164
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ace Reject
Aaliyah is one of the best R&B albums of the 21st century; ten years on a number of tracks still sound fresher and more inventive than what's on radio today. (Seriously, call me back when someone attempts a I Can Be.)
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I think a lot of Aaliyah is incredibly inventive (hello, "We Need a Resolution"!) and "U Got Nerve" may be my favorite Aaliyah song ever. But there are a few too many sultry R&B ballads that make the album drag like molasses at parts.
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Britney has four really good tracks max (Slave, Boys, Anticipating, the one with Justin on backup), 6 if you count the BT songs (which have dated.) Everything else is fillerific!
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You did not just call "Overprotected," "Lonely," "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," "Cinderella" and "Bombastic Love" fillerific!
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Member Since: 4/30/2009
Posts: 4,574
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^^ the only lackluster ballad on the album is "it's whatever". Never No more, I care 4 U, and I refuse are all interesting ballad songs. That's just my opinion though, lol.
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Member Since: 6/5/2009
Posts: 13,743
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gui Blackout
Did i lied about something here? You can be mad as long as you want, but she IS only known in the US, and only in the R&B community.
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More Than A Woman went number one in the UK...
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Member Since: 6/5/2009
Posts: 13,743
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
^^ the only lackluster ballad on the album is "it's whatever". Never No more, I care 4 U, and I refuse are all interesting ballad songs. That's just my opinion though, lol.
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I Refuse is the bomb! Especially the ending part where the instrumental turns into this epic-movie soundtrack sounding anthem. Brilliant! My favorite ballad by Aaliyah.
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Member Since: 5/18/2010
Posts: 3,104
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lasers
Review. Before she died. By the music bible.
Album Review 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Aaliyah is an R&B seductress of the highest order, the undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on. She works her voodoo on a bed of diamond-precision beats and densely sculptured grooves: Starting with her R.Kelly-produced debut album, 1994's Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, and continuing through 1996's One in a Million, which began her fruitful association with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, her impact on contemporary R&B - and therefore pop - has been enormous. Long before Britney scandalized a nation by winking at dirty old men everywhere, the teenage Aaliyah was romantically linked with the much older R. Kelly and singing the erotic, precocious lyrics he'd written for her. One in a Million proved she wasn't a fluke by heightening the contradictions that made her resonate: She was the B-girl with supermodel looks, simultaneously distant and down-to-earth. That blend of the familiar and the exotic was reflected in her singing, which was both aloof and inviting. Her voice - small, often tinny - was rendered supple when couched in Timbaland's barrage of beats and off-kilter studio flourishes. She sang with an authority at odds with the fragility of her instrument.
On Aaliyah, a near-flawless declaration of strength and independence, she ups the ante for herself and her contemporaries - as well as for her musical heroes. Aaliyah is Control, Velvet Rope and Jagged Little Pill all rolled into one. It's the album Janet should have made with All for You, the manifesto that Beyonce thought she was penning with Survivor. Timbaland produced only a handful of the disc's fifteen tracks, but his Afro-sci-fi influence is everywhere: layered and oddly tweaked vocals, beats lovingly laced with techno-electro strokes that threaten to shatter your system, arrangements that harness sonic non sequiturs and give them a cohesion that's breathtaking. Missy Elliott's So Addictive or OutKast's Stankonia are the only recent hip-hop/R&B/pop records as overflowing with ideas and experimentation. An even more fitting comparison, though, would be to Sade's 2000 comeback, Lovers Rock. (Aaliyah has stated in interviews that Sade is her heroine.) Aaliyah has the familiar crisp production and staccato arrangements that we've come to associate with Sade; like Lovers Rock, Aaliyah tilts forward in its sound but also reaches back to old-school soul music to flesh out its slow jams.
The tone is set with the opening track and first single, "We Need a Resolution," which is driven by a stop-and-go drum pattern, hand claps and a male-vs.-female take on the dissolution of a love affair. Aaliyah's voice snakes through the intricately sparse arrangement with cool confidence. That assurance is the foundation for the entire album. "What If" is a Detroit-techno-meets-industrial-rock workout that nods to Trent Reznor (another Aaliyah hero). Where too many R&B artists who decide to rock out affect a laughable rasp (Janet's "Black Cat," En Vogue's "Free Your Mind"), Aaliyah channels rock's aggression and attitude without resorting to caricature. She does the same with "Extra Smooth," which vaults somewhere beyond hip-hop and drum-and-bass, tapping into reserves of funk and playfulness that popular R&B hasn't accessed in ages. And the withering kiss-off tune, "U Got Nerve," is drenched with palpable F-you vibes. At the opposite end of the spectrum is a trio of dazzling ballads, "I Care 4 U," "Never No More" and the piano-driven "I Refuse." All have a deep, bluesy, jazzy undertow that pulls Aaliyah into soulful performances showcasing a bruised knowingness. They're the best she's ever been vocally, reflecting a stronger technique than is found on her previous albums. Another lesson Aaliyah has learned from hanging with Missy and Timbaland is the importance of humor, which permeates the new disc in ways both sly and subtle. Timbaland playfully dismisses her concerns on the give-and-take of "We Need a Resolution"; on "Read Between the Line," she lets her vocals get stretched in a jokey, elastic way. The wit in the production and dollops of lightheartedness balance the eroticism, outrage and heartbreak in the lyrics.
The album's highlight, though, is "Rock Da Boat," a masterpiece of unbridled salaciousness. Aaliyah breathlessly purrs sexual commands ("Change positions," "Work the middle," "Stroke it for me . . .") over an airy groove whose instrumentation swells against and then falls away from her voice. The hypnotic rhythm churns with erotic heat; beats both soft and hard tumble gently over one another as synth effects flutter and swoop. This track is sex, pure and simple.
The irony is that at the start of her career, the unapologetic, blunt sexuality in her music marked Aaliyah as R. Kelly's studio creation, a contrived plaything. "Rock Da Boat," unblushing in its frankness, shows that she has come into her own as a woman. She's at the wheel, steering her sexuality and using it to explore her own fantasies and strengths. And the joy you hear in her voice, in the grooves, is rooted in independence. R&B's reigning ice princess is starting to thaw.
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As I said album is most likely Aaliyah's best album but it's nothing that amazing to me. :scary:
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