On today’s docket: Ciara’s Fantasy Ride and Peaches’ I Feel Cream.
Fantasy Ride
Ciara
LaFace Records
Everyone loves an underdog. Everyone loves a superstar. But almost no one’s got love for an underdog superstar.
That’s how I’d describe Ciara, the 23-year-old R&B star responsible for over ten million albums sold in only five years. While her latest outing, Fantasy Ride, will likely provide no help in separating CiCi from RiRi (and I dare say, from Beysus), it’s a worthy contender.
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On paper alone, the album already reads like a smash: From Missy Elliot to Darkchild, Dr. Luke to Danja, and Ludacris to Chris Brown (boo, hiss, etc.), the girl’s simply got it written in the stars. Well, by the stars. But as you might have expected from such a list, the music can get a bit … messy. In fact, it’s the only thing keeping this Ride from lift-off.
Still, much of the album’s got the grit to inspire some sweat: “Work” and “Pucker Up” are the purest definitions of club bangers, while “G Is For Girl (A-Z)” offers C’s best attempt at ‘tude yet: “N is for
nothing, boy I do this in my sleep / O is for original, cause I’mma O.G.” She’s not nearly “gangsta” enough for me to buy it, but with that clang-a-lang beat, I don’t care if she’s about as hood as Asher Roth.
As we’ve gathered from 2006’s Promise, C knows how to command a ballad. With an Aaliyah-like disjointedness, she tip-toes along “Like A Surgeon,” floats all over the lush chill of “Keep Dancin’ On Me,”
and swoons atop the fluttery “Lover’s Thing” — all while obeying the restrictions of her voice.
Fantasy Ride isn’t quite the stuff of fantasies, nor is smooth sailing throughout. But with a string of floor burners and some truly killer baby makin’ grinds, it’s probably one of the better trips worth taking
this year.
I Feel Cream
Peaches
XL Recordings
Peaches, Peaches, Peaches … check out your Chrissy behind now.
On her fifth album I Feel Cream, the Queen of Electrocrap has decided to let her hair down (way down if you’ve seen the video for “Talk To Me”) and invited some super cool collaborators into the creamery.
Among them? A slew of the most exciting movers and shakers of alt-electronica, including Soulwax, Digitalism, Drums of Death, and most extensively, Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford.
As with all of Peaches back catalog, the album is lined with skittish, electro up-tempos, including the sugary-sweet bounce of “Trick Or Treat,” the noisy “More,” and the faithfully minimal “Serpentine”
(2009’s contemplative response piece to 2003’s “I Don’t Give A…”).
While the album is rife with allusions to her age (having turned 40 in November), Peaches keeps her Teaches as sexified as ever, urging listeners to suck that fat and lick her crow’s feet: “Almost as old school as me / Im gonna send you back to school,” she taunts in “Mommy Complex.” Did I forget to mention Peaches was an elementary teacher once? Too real.
But perhaps the greatest surprises here are the numerous mid-tempos including “Lose You,” the best song Annie never recorded, and “I Feel Cream,” a gritty re-interpretation of Donna Summer’s signature “I Feel
Love.”
It’s only with the plodding “Billionaire” that the artist seems to get mired in the super-slick production from her buddies, sounding as though she were deflating atop uneven electro slaps.
Though the album’s production value is at an all time maximum, the Queen of Nazzty holds her own against the torrent of hard synths and drippy electronica. It’s not the greatest album she’s done, but unlike
some of the other reigning Queens of the music industry (Pop, perhaps?), the songstress keeps it legitimate with this undeniably Peaches affair.
Aside from being a full fledged star, Bradley Stern is an up-and-coming young sprout who enjoys chocolate teddy grahams, organizing his Britney Spears singles in reverse chronological order, and musing about music on his pop music blog, MuuMuse.
omghi2u
C-Error is an underdog? LOL.
She had a shitload of promo, a song with Justin Timberlake, performed on SNL, whored herself out in all kinds of ways and still couldn’t beat some random Neo-Soul singer on the charts.
The CD is utter crap.
And someone needs to get fired. There has to be better music out there than Fantasy Ride.
Hm
Neither Ciara or Beyonce can compare to Rihanna, she is the queen!!! Beyonce is fulgy and Ciara is not that great of a singer, but Rihanna is gorgeous and can sing her ass off.
sal(the original)
gosh i feel for her….Ciara seems really nice and her music is cool……felt her new video with justin was kinda desperate but the song is growing on me.i think she’s tryin to do what she thinks the majority wants……..my two cents
mb00
I don’t know who this Ciara person is (r&b isn’t my favorite type of music), but she’s been on just about every tv show from snl to Leno to gawd knows what else, and I’ve had the misfortune of catching her every time. She’s bad and not in a good way either. I couldn’t handle her off keys and really bad choreography.
I mean, yes, my favorite for the last couple years has been Amy Winehouse, but at least she doesn’t hide the fact that she’s a mess, but in spite of her messiness, she’s got some real talent.
mb00
these chicks, what do they have to offer other than overly studio produced cds and shopping mall bought talent?
Anomaly
@mb00:
Peaches overly produced? You obviously have never listened to her music.
rick
i saw ciare (that was a name of a perfume back in the 70’s) on sat. night live.
the 80’s and the 70’s called, ciare, they want their beats and music back.
mb00
@Anomaly: Actually, you’re right, I don’t listen to Peaches. I’ve tried, but not my kinda music. I should’ve been more specific with my comment. It was directed towards Ciara and all those girls like her, that’s whom I meant where over produced and talentless. I am aware that Peaches is very talented, my cousin loves her and he’s always trying to get my listen to her, but I just can’t get into her music.
Either way, sorry for the misunderstanding.