Blackout - Britney Spears

Did Britney have more foresight than Eskom and our government when she went to the studio to record her new album? Or did she hope by calling the album “Blackout,” it would take the media world’s attention away from her personal life? Either way, the CD sizzles with energy and should, if life was fair, get Britney onto the covers of magazines and newspapers for the right reasons again, letting our power supplier be the generator of negative news.
At first, it’s not an easy listening experience with Britney clearly trying out quite a few new things mixed with some older tricks from previous albums. She also goes all Madonna on a few tracks by letting the producer of the album adding effects to her voice, making every hot-blooded guy wish his alarm clock would greet him in that voice  every morning. After the second or third listen, the catchy hooks and refrains from songs like “Radar,” first single “Gimme More” and follow-up single “Piece of Me” start working their magic and you end up moving body parts that could lead to a physio treatment or two. One cannot help but wonder if the SPCA was present when “Piece of Me” was recorded as it features a very interesting little sound effect throughout the song that will have you wonder if the chicken they used was harmed.
On “Heaven on Earth” Britney can teach Kylie how to sound like Kylie again and it’s easily the radio-friendliest song on the album. Here and there cheap and nasty synthesizer sounds and gimmicks threaten to take over, but it’s just the right side of bearable. Just.
She’s come a long way since appearing on The Mickey Mouse Club and dancing seductively in a school uniform for her very first video “Baby One More Time.” She’s been married, has had 2 kids and lost custody of them both… she’s had hits and failures… she’s been hospitalized for being under the influence of unknown substances and she’s been held for psychiatric evaluation. She’s experienced more in her 26 years than most people are likely to experience in a lifetime. Yet, she still managed to release an album that sees her draw inspiration from the 80s and turn in a set of songs that are as forward-looking as they are retro.