We got the beat
Music Pick of the Week: Britney Spears does it again
Britney Spears, “The Singles Collection” (Jive)
Normally, I would never dream of awarding "album of the week" honors to a greatest hits compilation. It appears, however, that the recording industry has shelved most of the new music for 2009 and turned its attention to stocking stuffers. So expect an avalanche of hits compilations and holiday-theme albums from your favorite artists for the next six weeks.
Several acts like AC/DC, The Killers and Snow Patrol came out with repackaged packaged hits this week, but none of these audio histories will create as much buzz as Britney Spears’ “The Singles Collection.”
And why not? It’s been five years since she last found a way to resell her fans the singles they already own.
Oops, make that four years.
I almost forgot about the “B In the Mix” remix album in 2005. No matter, it seems the appetite for her music and related gossip is insatiable.
The Britney Spears saga has been a voyeuristic obsession of you, me, MTV, E Television, the National Enquirer and pretty much every other news outlet for the last decade.
It was 1999 when the now 27 year-old (she’ll be 28 on Dec. 2) landed in the public eye and at the top of album charts around the world with debut album “… Baby One More Time."
We all initially cooed with delight at her puppy-eyed teen-pop innocence on songs like “Sometimes” (one of the few singles that didn’t make “The Singles Collection” cut) and “Born To Make You Happy.”
We collectively made Spears’ follow-up “Oops!... I Did It Again” (an album title which is not getting better with age; I audibly groaned as I typed it just now) the fastest-selling album ever by a female artist, nabbing 1.3 million copies in the first week. With songs like “Stronger” and the title track, it was like watching a teen angel become a vamp before our eyes.
Somewhere between being flirtatious, simulating sex on the hotel balcony with K-Fed, shaving her head and losing custody of her children, the Spears fairy tale turned into a nightmare. What makes this new chronological singles collection so interesting is that the scars of her life are reflected perfectly in her songs.
It’s all a bit creepy and riveting, like looking through Spears’ bedroom windows. As an album, however, I’m not sure “The Singles Collection” is necessary. If a fan already has all her studio albums (or even just 2004’s “Greatest Hits: My Prerogative” and her last two studio albums- “Blackout” and “Circus”) the only thing missing would be the one original track, current sexy No. 1 single “3.”
My advice to fans of Spears: Cut your costs and buy “3” off ITunes. Or just turn on your favorite top 40 radio station. It’s being played nearly non-stop right now.
