December 21, 2006 @ 10:50 am
Ciara - Ciara: The Evolution (LAFACE/ZOMBA)
Ciara tries to go deeper on Ciara: The Evolution by following Beyoncé’s strategy: cowriting with reliable male hitmakers like Rodney Jerkins and Dallas Austin. But it’s a mixed bag: Her lyrics to songs like “My Love” and “Like a Boy” are credible, but never inspired. Occasionally they stultify: “I got a crush on you / I love me some you.... I don’t know what to say-ay-ay when I see you.”
Her membrane-thin soprano shines most when she exudes nympho-android chic on sizzlers like Jazze Pha’s pizzicato-laced “Get Up” and Polow da Don’s menacing “Bang It Up.” And the slow jams have been given more thought this time around. Quiet-storm throwback “Promise” finds Ciara’s Vanity 6–esque vocals nuzzling soft synth beats. Stripper poles everywhere will be worn down to this gem.
Evolution is interspersed with spoken interludes in which the 21-year-old navel-gazes about how far she’s come, designed to make her sound deeper than she needs to be, or perhaps is. Awkwardly reciting lines like, “My faith is stronger / I’m much more confident / Even my jeans fit a little different,” she sounds as if she’s reading from a book report, and her preachy “deep thoughts” segue into the album’s clunkiest bombs: will.i.am’s conformist “Get In, Fit In”; the Neptunes’ musically retrograde "I'm Just Me"; and Dallas Austin's wheel-out-the-gospel-choir finale, "I Found Myself." Ciara may believe that woman-in-the-mirror inspirational filler is the key to longevity, but she's better off looking at her reflection as she perfects her pop-locking.
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Article tags: Ciara, Ciara: The Evolution, Promise
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http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2006/12/ciara_ciara_the_evolution/
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