King Baby Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)," the opening track from Ciara's new album, starts with a syncopated guitar riff lifted from "Eye of the Tiger." The track is half fight song, half apology for Fantasy Ride's lack of a chart-destroying hit: "See I was on the red carpet/When I shoulda been in the studio, layin' down hot shit." Self-awareness turns out to be a good look for Ciara, though the song works because the muscular track totally undermines her self-critique, like she's come out swinging because we were all too stupid to realize how hot her last album actually was. She even directs some preemptive sass at her would-be haters on the net (it's like she can see us dusting off our Sharon Stone jokes), snarling, "You can go and write your blog, I don't need your feedback." J'accuse! Emphasizing her unfuckwithability is actually a pretty savvy way to raise the curtains on Basic Instinct, in part because Ciara's a survivor in an industry that eats aspiring divas alive and, at that, entitled to a bit of swag, but also because she's a performer who has appeared to take her star-status for granted. She's like the Citrus Fanta of female R&B singers: nobody's first choice, but a serviceable alternative when you can't find Sprite or 7-Up. Basic Instinct won't change that, but it's a damn convincing effort. Eleven tracks long and curated almost entirely by pop-R&B's most reliable songwriting duo, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, it's a svelte and cohesive collection that serves up one glitzy guilty pleasure after another. If Basic Instinct turns out to be a bit frontloaded, then, it's only in the best way: There's pretty much nothing wrong with the first four tracks on the album. At the two-minute mark, the brittle rock track behind "Basic Instinct" gets washed out by The-Dream's stately synths, locking a groove that extends through singles "Ride" and "Gimmie Dat," gradually raising the tempo in anticipation of album high-point "Heavy Rotation." It's the masterful type of pop confection at which The-Dream is truly unrivaled, with Ciara vamping on hook after generous hook until, nearly a minute-and-a-half in, you realize that the song hasn't even come to its chorus yet. Surprisingly, the only songs on the album's second half that sound like placeholders are the same ones that sound like potential singles. "Yeah I Know" is pretty transparent as "Goodies" rewritten for today's disco-crazed climate, while the Usher-featuring "Turn It Up" sounds like a leftover from Versus. Those numbers suggest that Ciara could do respectable business as a Euro-disco fembot (no revelation, since she's always favored R&B of the synthetic, as opposed to sultry, variety), but they're less appealing than the surrounding tracks, which hue truer to Ciara's urban-radio origins. Best of all, the album strictly observes a no-ballads policy; historically, slow songs have proved nightmarish for Ciara, and she compensates for their absence here with a robust offering of slow jams, nearly all of which she hits out of the park. Color me impressed. It's pretty rare that a singles artist decides, seven years into her career, to make her first concerted effort at an album that works as a front-to-back listen. Suddenly, the underachieving diva starts to look like real competition for crossover starlets like Rihanna and Leona Lewis. About time too: It's not like she's been banging out classic singles on the reg, and in between full-stop smashes like "1, 2 Step" and "Promise," she's often coasted on the good will derived from her highly circumstantial association with Aaliyah. All the same, when she tosses off the more-groove-than-hook chorus to the show-stopping closer "I Run It," does she not succeed at capturing a fraction, if only a fraction, of that singer's effortless charisma? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzebabe Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I want Ciara to do well, but I can't get with this album...it's just way to repetitive for my liking...I still hope she has a good first week tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I can't with the Citrus Fanta comparison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I want Ciara to do well, but I can't get with this album...it's just way to repetitive for my liking...I still hope she has a good first week tho I want her to be successful too but she won't. She hasn't performed at all on TV and the album comes out this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Y2K Malone™ Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 it's cute but very mellow she need more club bangers she was on wendy today she looked very good my boy Clark Vincent did her hair and makeup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I want Ciara to do well, but I can't get with this album...it's just way to repetitive for my liking...I still hope she has a good first week tho She won't. There are other real big name acts that are going to effortlessly shit. Let's not forget Taylor and SuBo are still perched on top of the charts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EphraimAdamz Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 It's a step up from Fantasy Ride. I Run It Gimme Dat Ride Heavy Rotation Yeah I know Speechless You Can Get It Wants For Dinner Are all enjoyable tracks. It throws you off a bit though because the album is a summer jam. No one will be blasting this during Christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Baby Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 Plus she is going up against the new Michael Jackson record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotboy06 Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 FLOP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtraordinary Xternal Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I don't know why ciara threads get made on here I feel like ride could have been bigger with more promo and without the ban... the song did well despite all of the hate it got... even the radio personality here was trying to hate on it but still had to play it on the regular... She has tons of potential she doesn't have the strongest voice but knows how to dance circles around her peers... I would have thought her record label would force her to become the janet of this generation since thats who shes most similar to... Chris, Neyo, & Ciara keep the Michael- Janet type videos alive with all of the dancing none of the other artists of today can channel it like them... and even they fall short... Lets face it alot of gay dudes don't bang with ciara because they either really defensive over bey or rihanna.... and feel some type of way. I don't understand why its ok to support all three... not that serious... oh well wish u the best cici love u! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetDAYZ Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I want her to be successful too but she won't. She hasn't performed at all on TV and the album comes out this week. Which is strange because the last project her ass was out there performing her ass off on all the late nite shows INCLUDING SNL ..during her release week...she still has time,I believe she suppose to perform "Gimme Dat" live for the first time on Ellen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*~WhitePicketDreams~* Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzebabe Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I don't know why ciara threads get made on here I feel like ride could have been bigger with more promo and without the ban... the song did well despite all of the hate it got... even the radio personality here was trying to hate on it but still had to play it on the regular... She has tons of potential she doesn't have the strongest voice but knows how to dance circles around her peers... I would have thought her record label would force her to become the janet of this generation since thats who shes most similar to... Chris, Neyo, & Ciara keep the Michael- Janet type videos alive with all of the dancing none of the other artists of today can channel it like them... and even they fall short... Lets face it alot of gay dudes don't bang with ciara because they either really defensive over bey or rihanna.... and feel some type of way. I don't understand why its ok to support all three... not that serious... oh well wish u the best cici love u! Ciara has the worst set of people backing her...true, she is by far not he best singer, but she can perform...she needs new people...who the hell is advising her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*~WhitePicketDreams~* Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I feel bad for CiCi. It started with her last era....and now....she's fading quickly. So sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I feel bad for CiCi. It started with her last era....and now....she's fading quickly. So sad. It started after "Like A Boy" was released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatOtherFan Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 It started after "Like A Boy" was released. She's fading, but I think she still has a devoted core fan base. She may be dropped from her label after this project, but maybe that's what she needs...another label, and a better team around her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 She's fading, but I think she still has a devoted core fan base. She may be dropped from her label after this project, but maybe that's what she needs...another label, and a better team around her. She needs a better team, but she also has to be willing to put in work. Interviewers were asking her about her music, and she kept switching the topic to being happy about modeling and shit Maybe she should listen to that "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)" track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotboy06 Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 She needs a creative writing team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatOtherFan Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 She needs a better team, but she also has to be willing to put in work. Interviewers were asking her about her music, and she kept switching the topic to being happy about modeling and shit Maybe she should listen to that "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)" track I saw her on Wendy Williams today and she was pretty good...I was actually kinda shocked at how well she handled herself during the interview (then again, I think this my first time actually watching her being interviewed ) I was scratching my head over her not performing though...considering her album is coming out tomorrow and all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrietta. Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Which is strange because the last project her ass was out there performing her ass off on all the late nite shows INCLUDING SNL ..during her release week...she still has time,I believe she suppose to perform "Gimme Dat" live for the first time on Ellen. Can't wait to see it. But she knows she's not big enough to promote only during the first week of release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaria Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SianGracious Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I want her to be successful too but she won't. She hasn't performed at all on TV and the album comes out this week. Her promo is kicking in this week starting tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock & Roll Hall of Game Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 i need to review albums... i'm sure those bribes be BANGING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetDAYZ Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 Basic(ly) (Ex)Instinct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedElegance™ Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 It started after "Like A Boy" was released. I've been saying that for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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