Considering that Christina Aguilera came to prominence as part of the boom of frothy, fairly untalented teen pop stars, the public can be forgiven for expressing astonishment that seven years into her career she has released a double disc album that is not only great, but is also the work of a truly focused and inspired artistic vision.
If you haven't already, it's time to start taking the genie in the bottle seriously. With Back to Basics, Aguilera successfully merges her girl-next-door, Mouseketeer persona with the open sexuality of Xtina to create a persona she is referring to as Baby Jane, a 1930s-style chanteuse still ready to get nasty, but capable of being far more interesting and subtle about it. Alter-egos aside, Back to Basics is a complete winner on musical terms: It mixes vocal jazz, Bessie Smith-styled blues and modern dance-pop to create an album that is original, enjoyable and above all else, convincing.
""Back in the Day"" is Aguilera's statement of artistic intent on Back to Basics: ""If you've got soul, let the world know / We're gonna set the mood / Gonna go back to an old school groove."" Baby Jane wants to remind popular music how much it can learn from the greats who started it all, and when she says old school she's not talking Run-D.M.C. or the Sugarhill Gang. Name-checking everyone from John Coltrane to Billie Holiday to Miles Davis, Aguilera knows her pre-rock music history and is clearly drawing on more than its retro-chic. Her music isn't cheap revivalism: Back to Basics is a genuine, heartfelt attempt to meld the music of Etta James with that of Madonna, and Christina succeeds wildly more often than not.
""Slow Down Baby"" is exactly the kind of song that makes this album work. Aguilera couples her Mariah-esque vocal beltings with a shuffling hip-hop drum beat, and throws in back-up vocals and grooving horns that make ""Slow Down Baby"" sound like a long-lost outtake from Memphis' Stax Records.
The first single, ""Ain't No Other Man,"" is simply one of the greatest songs released this year and proves that Aguilera is having no trouble whatsoever making the transition from teen pop idol to R&B diva. This song is her impassioned, exuberant ode to her new husband and inspiration, and the music perfectly mirrors what makes any new love so affecting: It's fun, irresistible and it makes you want to dance. Punctuated by a fantastic horn hook and remarkably non-glossy, restrained production, ""Ain't No Other Man"" is simply too good to ignore. It's the kind of song everyone is just happy to have in their lives.
Not all the tracks work so well, however. ""Oh Mother"" is sufficiently enjoyable but far too sappy, and ""Understand,"" which samples Diana Ross' heavenly croon, primarily serves as a reminder that Aguilera is still not in the same ballpark as the female vocal greats she idolizes.
But ""Still Dirrty"" restarts the winning streak. It's an old school funk joint which finds Aguilera assuring her audience that though she no longer sports that perpetual I-just-got-gangbanged look, she hasn't lost an ounce of her ‘edgy' sexuality. While the title and sentiment of this song betray a rather obvious attempt to appeal to every aspect of her fan base, Aguilera's lyrics—note that she co-writes every track on Back to Basics—on ""Still Dirrty"" prove she is up to the task of bringing Xtina into a more mature world. ""There's some women out there who talk and stare / who never seem to let down their hair / Like to pass judgment, but they're just scared."" The song is a surprisingly successful riposte to her detractors, one that plainly puts them down without ever stooping to playground insults.
Disc two finds Christina wholly losing herself in the Baby Jane persona, and though the results are as variable as those on disc one, it's impossible not to be astounded at the sheer audacity of a major label pop singer taking so many creative risks by reaching back to the musical styles that remain virtually untapped even by ‘hip,' music history-savvy alternative bands. Aguilera heavily channels female vocal greats like Holiday and James without devolving into mere hero worship.
One of the best songs on Back to Basics' second disc, ""Candyman,"" combines seamless vocal harmonies with a bouncing beat and ends up sounding more like the Andrews Sisters than it does dance-pop. Another stunner, ""Nasty Naughty Boy,"" is a fantastic mash-up of '30s-style burlesque music and modern pop. Its jazzy music drips with a sweet, naA_ve sexuality that practically sears the image of Betty Grable's gams into your mind.
Save Madonna's foray into '30s female vocal jazz with her Breathless Mahoney persona, this style of revivalism has remained underrepresented in a musical world obsessed with the styles and aesthetics of decades past. If Back to Basics is any indication, Aguilera is just getting started as a fiercely unique musical voice and master pop architect.
