Britney Spears " In the Zone" is an attempt for the tabloid 22 year old to move out of the teeni bop rock and right into every strip club in the US. OK, so Britney is no Madonna, but this is a solid effort to change her image from schoolgirl to pole dancing woman in schoolgirl clothing.
First take on the album, "I get by with a little help from my friends." Without the likes of Madonna, Moby, and R.Kelly you are going to have another "Hit me Baby," or even worse the painful song number ten, "Shadow." If this had been the first song on the album, say no more and into the rubbish bin. However, there are 9 solid songs on this album. And I think I know the secret of Britney's success on Zone...the simple lack of Britney on the album. Leaving "Shadow" out of the picture, we have a whispering, seductive, throaty voice coming from Spears. She makes it work.
Let's face it. Spears is eye candy. For both women and men she serves a purpose. For women, another girl who has a great body and little to no brains. For men...fill in the _____. Her music however has always touched on issues that just didn't seem to fit with her image. Abuse. Challenges in life. Crossroads (and no I didn't see the movie). However Zone does something different, it focuses simply on her sexuality and very public lifestyle. She pokes fun, on the R.Kelly track, "Outrageous," by lyrically linking shopping sprees and sex drive. It is all the same for Britney...it simply fits the image and pays the bills at the local clubs. The track that is from Moby, "Early Mornin'" is a techno-dream.
If you take "Zone" simply from the surface, Britney will never have a better album. The lack of Britney on the album and the guest artists make the songs. I am sure for the true Britney fan, they feel alienated with this new change. However just like the most recent Liz Phair album, sometimes it is just all about the sexy image and money. Fortunately for Britney, she has em' both!
Positives: Tracks one through nine. Throaty vocals by Spears. Guest writers. Madonna. Spears in the black outfit in the liner notes.
Poor: Ballads. Re-mix of "Me against the Music" (not bad, just not a remix fan).
Worse yet: "Shadow"
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