L.A Times: two stars...

[foxmonkey]

From stamplet's journal.



From the 2/29/04 Sunday edition
More Slippery Than Smooth

JC Chasez
Schizophrenic
2 stars (out of 4) = fair

Maybe the title is supposed to explain the daffy stylistic jumps contained in the solo debut album from the second 'N Sync member to break out from the pack. Chasez is like a kid racing a car without a steering wheel through the pop landscape, and his unpredictability makes Justin Timberlake's "Justified" seem narrow and stodgy.

But it would take more than a diagnostic title to give this sampler of pop confections any coherence or concentrated effect. By the end, you don't feel you've gotten to know someone, beyond the slick hedonist who struts from most of the songs. Ultimately, all his genre-grazing makes him seem slippery rather than adventurous.

He's at his best when the setting is light and simple and his singing direct and natural. More often he's swamped by the concepts, and the album rises and falls on the listener's tolerance for the superficial, synthetic pleasures of contemporary pop craftsmanship.

Chasez starts off like a Michael Jackson (circa "Off the Wall") acolyte with "Some Girls (Dance With Women)", a Maxim magazine-level nightclub fantasy that's packed with melodic and production hooks. Then it's off into that array of retro R&B, electro-reggae, synth-heavy new wave, slick corporate rock, teen-pop balladry...

Ultimately, Prince emerges as the album's presiding spirit, with Chasez spinning into falsetto passages and airing sexual scenarios with more graphic detail than anyone needs. If people thought Timberlake was trouble, this guy isn't going to get anywhere close to Super Bowl XXXIX.

Richard Cromelin

Comments

[jc4life.livejournal.com]

Ehh.. not surprising. The LA Times hated Justified too.

[scot-ty.livejournal.com]

There's a cute picture of him though. ::smiles sweetly::

Again, looking at the actual newspaper page, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's in a section called RECORD RACK and they review two other albums. Only one fared better than JC, a new female artist named Nellie McKay. She has a two-disc album, plays the piano and cites Bob Dylan as her inspiration. Very artsy. She has yet to tour or have any major performance. Hilburn gave her three and a half stars. The other album mentioned was by AIR (a French duo) and that got two stars like JC.

I mention seeing the article in its natural habitat because it's very telling. This critic could have blown off his album in one or two paragraphs, but instead he gave it five. And the fact that he mentions Prince again is a very good thing. No one ever says that JC is a Poor Man's version of Prince. They say that Prince is there, in spirit. That's an enormous compliment.

The last comment about the Super Bowl was just a cheap dig. Richard Cromelin can suck our collective big toes for that one. ;-)

[foxmonkey.livejournal.com]

There's a cute picture of him though. ::smiles sweetly::

You, missy, are pure evil. ;-) I won't push my luck by asking for a copy of this as well. :-)

[big anime eyes and cheesy grin]

But seriously, I'm not asking for a copy. I'm really not!

And the fact that he mentions Prince again is a very good thing. No one ever says that JC is a Poor Man's version of Prince. They say that Prince is there, in spirit. That's an enormous compliment.

I doubt that Prince would do it, but since he's shopping a new disk around and getting back in the public eye, it'd be lovely if he decided to feature Mr. Chasez on one or two of his tour dates. Dude. I'd *die.*

[scot-ty.livejournal.com]

Prince is scheduled for a one night only show at Staples Center in LA on March 29th. He has a full-page ad in the Times today. I'm sure our boy will have VIP seating if he's still in town.

[foxmonkey.livejournal.com]

I'm sure our boy will have VIP seating if he's still in town.

If there are reports that the Purple One invited (JC needs a nickname!) JC onstage...well. You'll hear my fangrrrl screams all the way on the left coast. ;-)

[scot-ty.livejournal.com]

I'm just thinking about the pictures. If Prince has any kind of party after the show, I hope JC can wangle an invitation and do some schmoozing. Those pictures would be priceless.