Search - Christina Aguilera :: Greatest Hits (W/Dvd)

A Die-Hard Fan Weighs In

G. L Matlock | Chicago, IL USA | 11/12/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I distinctly remember the first time I heard "Keeps Gettin' Better", Christina Aguilera's first single since her Back to Basics album. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, chatting with a friend online over an instant messenger. My friend, knowing I was the biggest Christina Aguilera fan he had ever met, told me he couldn't believe that he almost forgot to send me the YouTube link to the audio recording of her new single. I was immediately full of anxiety. While Christina had steadily earned more of my respect and trust (beginning with her appearance on the reinterpretation of "Lady Marmalade" and culminating in an earth-shattering performance of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at the 2007 Grammy Awards), I was both excited by the possibility of a new moving recording and nervous about the chance that she might finally make a big mistake. My immediate impression was that the song sounded too much like the rest of what is on the radio, which tends to compensate for the singer's lack of developed talent by focusing heavily on production and synthesizer sounds. This was absolutely confusing to me because Christina is clearly booming with talent, and I felt that this song was far too mainstream and stifling for her abilities. Yes, the song is fun electro-pop, but hasn't the girl proven she deserves better by now?



I immediately grew concerned that this might be the first track of her upcoming official album, but was relieved it was simply a promotional track for her greatest hits album. After all, most artists probably don't put nearly as much into a promotional single to be tacked onto a greatest hits album as they do for a lead single of a full-fledged album, right? Then, I found out that this album was going to be a Target exclusive, and I would not be able to simply purchase the songs separately as mp3 downloads (which is the usual way I go about circumventing the obnoxious recent practice of using a few new tracks to sucker people into purchasing an entire greatest hits CD or repurchasing an album in its "deluxe edition" format that is released some months after the original edition). This made me very mad. As a fan of Christina's, I obviously own all of the old tracks on this album, and I am not going to be pleased about having to buy the entire album just for the four new tracks added onto the end. Regardless, I gave in and bought it tonight because I was too curious not to.



The four new tracks do seem to give me a better understanding of Christina's artistic vision for her upcoming album (assuming they are meant to be a preview). The first new track is "Genie 2.0"--a swirling techno-style interpretation of the breakthrough single. Christina admits that this single has been both a blessing and a curse, as it springboarded her career into the stratosphere, yet it is part of the reason why many people resist labeling her a serious artist. However, instead of distancing herself from the song and refusing to perform it anymore, she has chosen to take control over it and twist it to her liking. She first did this in her Stripped tour, where she performed the song as a rock reinterpretation with demonic sexual aggression. In this instance, the song is brilliantly realized with a subdued, yet unrelenting sexuality reminiscent of Madonna's Erotica album. Next is "Keeps Gettin' Better", which is probably the only new track that would have been best left out in lieu of something more convincing. It was clearly created both to promote the concept of the greatest hits album and to stand as a song representing for strong women in relationships, but it's too much the former and not enough of the latter. "Dynamite" is easily the strongest of the bunch, and would have been a much better single to release. And while it sounds better suited to the likes of Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, or Madonna, Christina interprets it within the constraints of futuristic dance music very well. The final new track is "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)", which is a reinterpretation of her most praised single, to date. The track sounds almost nothing like the original, and seems to be more about sonic experimentation than maintaining the message of the song. It's interesting, but the monotone, computerized nature prohibits it from having anything close to the emotional impact of the original.



While this greatest hits album is a bit premature (considering that Christina only has three full-fledged albums under her belt), it does provide some interesting new work to listen to. While the new songs fit into their intended genre very well, they could easily have been performed just as convincingly by someone of far lesser talents. In fact, there is sometimes so much manipulation of Christina's voice that it's anyone's guess as to who is singing. And that's the problem. The point of listening to Christina Aguilera is her voice. It's what defines her. It's the very reason she has a legion of fans. What's even more odd is that Linda Perry produced all four of these new songs, and yet she is the one who coached Aguilera to use her voice to its greatest potential during their sessions recording for the Stripped and Back to Basics albums. Hopefully, her reported upcoming "futuristic" album will allow her to accomplish her goal, yet retain the rich voice she is known and loved for."

Missing some gems

Papichulo | Chicago, IL | 11/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"MISSING THESE HIT SONGS:

1. Reflections

2. Nobody Wants to Be Lonely with Ricky Martin

3. Lady Marmalade

4. Can't Hold Us Down with Lil' Kim

5. The Voice Within

6. Car Wash with Missy Elliott

7. Tilt Ya Head Back with Nelly



It's hard to consider this a complete collection when there are such obvious misses here. Lady Marmalade was a huge #1 hit. Also it could've included some other rarities like her Duet with Tony Bennett "Steppin Out", "A Song for You" with Herbie Hancock or the cover of John Lennon's "Mother." Also why not throw in some live songs that arent on CD like, "At Last", "It's a mans World", "Run To You" Next



I want to see a Live album maybe an MTV unplugged. I'd be happy with a Back To Basics live tour CD too. XTina has an amazing voice, I can't wait to see what she does next."

This is exactly what I was looking for

Doc Shred | 06/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I waited a long time for a "best of" Christina Aguilera, and now there is finally one available with this CD/DVD set. I'm not a die hard fan, but I like several of her songs and admire her vocals. I didn't like her enough to buy any of her regular albums but always thought if she released a greatest hits I'd check it out. All the familiar radio hits are here. The DVD of her popular MTV videos is a nice bonus, but I won't really watch it much I'll listen to the CD. I was disappointed to discover after I got mine that there are other versions of this release with more tracks. My CD only has 14 tracks, others have 16 or 17. A Decade of Hits also only covers three albums, which is interesting. It used to be bands would put out 10 albums in a decade, now Christina can get away with only three. If you want to get her hit songs without buying all the CDs, this is a good disc. It suits my Christina Aguilera needs perfectly."