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AMG Review:
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Most snickered when Jennifer Lopez made her
pop move in 1999, figuring that it was no more
than a one-off vanity project. As it turns out,
she was as serious about her pop career as she
was about acting, and even if she didn't possess
a particularly distinguished voice, she was earnest
and had some good mainstream pop singles, delivered
with some seriously sexy videos. On the Six was
big enough of a success to raise expectations
for its sequel, J-Lo, the first self-styled blockbuster
of 2001. Essentially, this is the same album as
On the Six, only a little longer with a little
less focus and not as many memorable songs. This
lack of winning singles becomes a drag, since
at over an hour, the record meanders much longer
than it should. Yet, meander isn't really the
right word, because the album sets its tone from
the start, with the ingratiating "Love Don't Cost
a Thing." From that point on, the tinny, skittering
drum machines, smooth midrange, and alluringly
thin vocals remain the same from song to song,
with the occasional Latin cut thrown in to vary
the rhythm somewhat. Since both the production
and Lopez play it cool, not hot, and there's not
that many hooks, it all tends to blend together.
Those that have hooks need a couple of spins before
they catch hold, whether it's the aforementioned
lead single "Love Don't Cost a Thing," "I'm Real,"
"Play," or "We Gotta Talk." Lopez's strong suit
remains dance tunes, not ballads, which tend to
disappear in this reserved production and mannered
vocals (no more so than "Secretly," which never
seems to gel). So, J-Lo winds up as musically
a mixed bag. Its longer running time makes it
a little less appealing than its predecessor,
yet it has just about the same number of strong
songs, all of which sounding of a piece with On
the Six, which makes it a success on a certain
level. Still, there's this certain feeling of
staid complacency and ordinariness that makes
J-Lo feel less fun than her debut.
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2004, 