Nelly Furtado was in danger of being forgotten. Her 2001 debut, Whoa Nelly!, launched her career fantastically with two big multinational top 10 hits, "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light." They established what Furtado was all about--a singer-songwriter blending traditional and cutting edge influences to make mature pop. Things didn't go as planned with the follow-up though. The more acoustic and rock-oriented Folklore failed to reach a big audience, despite having some pretty good singles in "Powerless" and "Try."
Enter hot hot hot producer of the moment Timbaland to jump start Furtado's career by infusing her blend of pop genres with a solid does of today's best hip-hop/R&B production styles. The results are a mixed bag of an album. When it works, it works great. But like a lot of beat-driven, rather than melody-driven pop, it's too easy to forget. After all, it's hard to sing a long to a beat.
The album opens strongly with its three best tracks. "Afraid" is a good opening track, establishing the R&B and dance pop influences that permeate the album. Sounds like something I've heard before, but can't place. "Maneater," also effortlessly blends R&B and dance pop influences with a harsh driving beat and chanting versus from Furtado. Third track "Promiscuous" is the album's gem. A flirtatious contest between Furtado and producer Timbaland set to an infectious beat with a hook-laden chorus complete with deliciously retro keyboard blasts. It's deservedly the biggest hit she's ever had.
Other good tracks include "No Hay Igual," her Latin-influenced dance number that was the album's first single in most Spanish-speaking countries. ("Promiscuous" or "Maneater" were the first singles in most other countries). "Say it Right," slated as the third UK single, has a cool, mysterious, worldly sound.
The album's few ballads mostly work well. Lovely ballad "Te Busque" is one of only two tracks not produced by Timbaland, and features Latino vocalist Juanes (there's also a Spanish only version of the song at the end of the album). The other non-Timbaland track, "In God's Hands," doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album, but is pretty good, even if it sounds like a reimagining of Jewel's 1999 single "Hands." "All Good Things (Come to an End)," penned by Chris Martin, has guitar and medieval-like flutes, along with a pretty melody.
There are a few duds though, tedious numbers lacking much musical interest. "Glow" gets on your nerves very quickly. Ballad "Showtime" is better, but still not very interesting. "Do It" seems to sample the sound effects from '80s video game Pitfall!, but has little else of interest. "Wait for You" throws in some Indian instruments but gets muddled down in too many competing sounds and lacks a killer chorus.
In all, a very sucessful ressurection that, courtesy of Timbaland, turned a middling popstress into an international phenomenon. Despite a few flaws, and an uneven sequencing, the album has some good highlights.
2 comments:
I feel like she turned into a hussy and sold out.
I would agree, except that her album was surprisingly better than I expected it to be. I never really liked "I'm Like a Bird" in the first place. I always preferred the darker, more electronic sounding "Turn Off the Light."
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