Brandy hasn't been around for a year or two, possibly due to the birth of her child, so this album is basically heralding her return to the music world. And what a return!
I only got this cd a few days ago, but I thought i would review it cos I already feel it is a great cd (and its rare for me to feel that so quickly!). I reviewed "Full Moon" previously and gave it a really good review, but I already think that this cd is better than that! I'm actually sitting listening to it as I review this.
Who I Am - a fairly midtempo r & B tune which has lyrics reminiscent of Jamelia's "Thank You" and is a good start to the album. Its not a particulary strong song, but is enjoyable all the same. I think it was best for her to not start with one of the stronger songs and build up gradually as the album progresses.
Afrodisiac - the title track and the latest single from the album - if you've not heard it its got a great hook and is extremely catchy and sexy, which is helped by Brandy's husky yet sweet vocals.
Who Is She To You? - laidback but uptempo r & b about something
most of us will have experienced at some point in our lives - the green eyed monster. You may notice the little ad-libs done by a male voice sound a little familiar, and that it sounds like something the late Aaliyah might have sung, which will all makes sense when you realise it was written by Timbaland (now probably more famous for his appearance on the Trousersnake's single "Cry me A river"!).
Talk About Our Love - the first single release from her album, which features the slightly overexposed but fairly impressive Kanye West. This is a great tune, very uptempo and nice to sing along to. It sounds different from the other stuff on the album cos it seems slightly more old-fashioned, probably due to the music more than anything else.
I Tried - Another Timbaland effort, which is even catchier than the last despite the fact it is a fairly slow song. She also name-checks Coldplay in it, but don't hold that against her!
Where you Wanna Be - this features some rapper called TI (nope, i dont know who he is either). Reminds me a lot of J-Lo and LL Cool J's "All I Have", mainly because its ballad style featuring a rapper who actually sounds fairly similar to LL himself. Its nowhere near as catchy though, but I think it may be a grower.
Sadiddy - Not sure what this title is supposed to mean, not really up on my american-urban slang, I'm afraid, and I can't even reallly get it from the context of the song (if anyone knows, I'd appreciate a heads-up!) This is a really cool up-for-a-fight song with a fairly angry chorus. I really enjoy this one!
Come As You Are - Is this the new "We Need a Resolution"? The snake charmer style music at the start sounds extremely reminiscent of that, although the singing style is fairly different and certain lines like "I was just a girl" and "Now I'm a woman" are used over and over again mixed in with other lyrics. It's certainly an interesting track, which seems slightly experimental, but it works somehow.
Finally - another slow but catchy song and one of the rare ones that Brandy has contributed to lyrically on this album, and is about walking away from a relationship which she should have walked away from a long time ago, but which has made her a stronger person (another one which I guess is similar to the Jamelia song). I think this may end up being one of my favourites as it has great lyrics and a great tune.
The main disadvantage for me is that there are no lyrics supplied with the cd (making it harder for me to sing along until I've learned the words by heart!), and instead it's covered with tons of pictures of Brandy posing in skimpy clothing, presumably to show off how she got her figure back post-pregnancy (she does look extremely in shape, so I can perhaps understand it!) I also would have preferred to see Brandy co-writing more of the songs on the album, because I always find it more impressive when the artist did that. I don't quite understand why she has put at the end of her acknowledgements "all songs are inspired by my life experiences", if she didn't really have a hand in writing most of them.
A lot of the tunes on this album are fairly slow to mid-tempo but still remain catchy in spite of this. I think this may have to do with the fact that a lot of Aaliyah's production team seems to be behind it, and this was probably the kind of music she specialised in. However, that makes me wonder one thing - are they trying to reincarnate Aaliyah's style in Brandy? Aaliyah is even name-checked in the song "Turn it Up" when Brandy sings about missing "baby girl", which really makes me wonder what is really going on here. However, it is enjoyable and if you enjoyed Brandy's previous albums, you should appreciate this one. I think one of the main reasons I like it even more is the fact that there is a definite dearth of ballads on this album, only about two or three. And, as I'm not into ballads, this means that it means far less of me skipping the cd! And that's always a good thing in my opinion, as I don't have a remote control for my cd player!
I would definitely advise this album, it is a really good investment if you like r & b!
ONLINE PRICE COMPARISONS www.cdwow.co.uk - £8.99 www.play.com - £9.99 www.amazon.co.uk - £8.97 (but not including postage and packing) www.whsmith.net - £11.99 (not including postage and packaging)
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