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Britney Spears
Hit your momma, one more time!
Albums
...Baby One More Time (1999)
7/10
Producer: Way too many to mention
- …Baby One More Time
- (You Drive Me) Crazy
- Sometimes
- Soda Pop
- Born To Make You Happy
- From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart
- I Will Be There
- I Will Still Love You
- Thinkin’ About You
- E-mail My Heart
- The Beat Goes On
…Baby One More Time is the debut album by pop Princess Britney Spears and was released in 1999. It is hard to dispute that for a number of years Britney changed the Pop music scene and that for many people she was the representative of bubblegum pop, lending a voice to hundreds of teenage American girls. Even if her main market was in America, her success reached further - this album reached the top 5 in almost 20 countries the world over.
The lead single from the album was the title track and opening song. Written by Max Martin, it is a strong pop single and certainly deserving of the notable success that it had – it reached number 1 in a vast number of countries and was the biggest selling single of 1999. Everybody recognises the introduction, signalled by crashing piano chords and a funk guitar circling in the background. I also hear that the video for this song caused quite a stir back in the day...
Second song on the album, (You Drive Me) Crazy, is unquestionably the best moment on the record. As the title so capably points out, the song is about somersaulting head-over-heels in love with someone. The lyrics aren’t going to win any awards but the song is really well designed, with some great percussion at the forefront. To be fair the small guitar solo is recklessly implemented, but meh, I’m not complaining. The track reached number 5 in the UK chart.
Soda Pop is very grim and apes the style of Madonna circa 1989. A party-time beat is set upon by a squelching bass loop; all the while a Rasta treats us to some free-flowing rap. Lord help us. I wasn’t a fan of this kind of music when Madonna churned it out 10 years before Britney did, so age has only withered the formula further.
The fourth single to be released from the album was Born to Make You Happy and it was the second single from …Baby One More Time to reach number 1 in the UK chart. It’s a well deserved victory too, as the song still stands up well today. The song is a mid-tempo ballad that details the end of a relationship. Britney admits during the chorus, “I don’t know how to live without your love; I was born to make you happy!”
Out of the sickly-sweet and over-the-top ballads, Sometimes comes off the best. The bridge into the chorus with the group of backing singers is used to great effect, as are the synths and decent keyboard work. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart is the worst song on the album and with a title like that it is half-expected. The sugary production is everything that I hate about music and it is a calculated attempt on the song writer’s part to interfere with impressionable teenagers’ minds. HEY GIRLS – If you like music JUST like this, you’ll go far in life. I Will Still Love You fares no better and is made significantly worse by a duet with a nobody who goes by the name of Don Phillip. It is truly fear-inspiring to hear something so wretched, and how it made the final cut of the album I will never know.
The flamenco acoustics in I Will Be There make for a great introduction. Additionally, the emotive slide guitar work is superior and put into action for maximum impact. It is one of the stronger songs on side two of the album and Britney is in great voice throughout. Thinkin’ About You was tailor made for dance-floors in the new millennium, albeit ones in European clubs where the barman wears a red beret and offers you a small umbrella in your cocktail. There’s nothing wrong with the song, but it certainly does little to inspire.
I approached E-mail My Heart with a degree of caution. The title of the song alone invokes fear of potential disappointment, yet, when that bouncy little intro starts with the funky bass work, I am intrigued, drawn toward the light… and I like it, but I feel wrong for doing so. Things come to a close with a fun cover of Sonny and Cher’s The Beat Goes On. The tempo is fast paced and driven by the distorted guitar riff that loops over and over. It certainly adds nothing to the song’s legacy, but it doesn’t take anything away from it either. It was produced by British electronica group, All Seeing I, who had released a cover version themselves in 1998.
I bought …Baby One More Time when I was 9 years old. In the time since then I have discovered many musicians, many artists, and have cultivated a love of the music industry. I had put off re-listening to this album for the fear of disappointment, yet I found such apprehension was unnecessary.
This is certainly one of the best albums from a commercial pop artist in the last 10 years.
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Britney Spears
