Back To Basics (2006)

Artist: Christina Aguilera
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Product Summary
Label: Rca Records
UPC: 00828768263921
Release Date: 8/15/2006
Buy.com Sku: 202818700
Item#: M32KXR
Buy.com Sales Rank: 52680
Format:  CD

Song Listing

Disc 1
Song TitleSampleTimePriceDownload
1. Intro (Back To Basics) ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
2. Makes Me Wanna Pray - (with Steve Winwood) ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
3. Back In The Day ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
4. Ain't No Other Man ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.79Download
5. Understand ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
6. Slow Down Baby ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
7. Oh Mother ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
8. F.U.S.S. ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
9. On Our Way ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
10. Without You ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
11. Still Dirrty ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
12. Here To Stay ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
13. Thank You (Dedication To Fans) ~ Christina Aguilera------Song not available. Why?
Disc 2
Song TitleSampleTimePriceDownload
1. Enter The Circus ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
2. Welcome ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
3. Candyman ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
4. Nasty Naughty Boy ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
5. I Got Trouble ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
6. Hurt ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
7. Mercy On Me ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
8. Save Me From Myself ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
9. Right Man, The ~ Christina Aguilera------$0.99Download
 Download Album: $18.98


 
How long does it take to download a song?
Broadband: under 1 minute
56 kbps modem: 15-20 minutes

One of the most accomplished performers of the last decade, Christina Aguilera has sold well over 25 million albums worldwide and cultivated a fan base that crosses generational, racial and gender lines. Now, segueing from the audacious sexuality of her second studio album, Stripped, the chameleon-like performer pays tribute to the music that has inspired her with the August 15th release of Back To Basics (RCA Records).

A modern take on vintage jazz, soul and blues from the 1920s, '30s, '40s and beyond, her third studio album is wildly inventive, whose throwback style creates a sound that's gritty and raw. The album reunites her with producer Linda Perry and offers new collaborations with producers such as DJ Premier. The upbeat first single, "Ain't No Other Man," will be world-premiered on the MTV Movie Awards on June 8 prior to its debut on June 12.

"This is a concept album that follows a bold vision," explains Aguilera. "The touchstones are Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald - what I used to call my 'fun music' when I was a little girl."

The double album, Back To Basics utilizes an orchestra, choir, string quartet and jazz horns, as well as techniques that, according to GQ, "blends a vintage-soul sound with state-of-the-art beatsmanship to form a throwback/hip-hop showcase for her outsize voice." "I Got Trouble" incorporates a scratchy blues feel, while "Candy Man" recalls the tight harmonies of all-girl groups from the '30s and '40s "Save Me From Myself" is an emotionally naked, raw-sounding song dedicated to her husband. "Thank You," dedicated to her fans, features DJ Premier splicing bits of "Genie In A Bottle" with fan voicemail messages. Also sure to appeal to Aguilera fans is the risque song "Nasty Naughty Boy" (which has a '20s burlesque feel) and the sassy club track "Still Dirrty."
 
"No doubt the album of her career."  Dot Music
"Good taste in collaborators and a voice that has the capability to head heaven-bound..."  PopMatters
"A truly soulful pop album...one of 2006's best..."  Stylus Magazine

 

Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
This CD includes "Back To Basics" bonus video.
Christina Aguilera seemed intent on constantly reinventing herself over the course of her first several albums, and it's hard not to be impressed by her leaps from teen-pop sensation (1999 self-titled debut) to raunchy, sexually precocious R&B singer (2002's STRIPPED) to blues and jazz-steeped diva on 2006's BACK TO BASICS. With its smoky torch songs, occasional big-band arrangements, and allusions to seminal divas like Billie Holiday and Etta James, the ambitious double disc casts Aguilera in the soft, romantic light of vintage soul crooners.
Yet BACK TO BASICS is undeniably modern. In fact, the first disc, assisted by the hand of the always-stellar trackmaster DJ Premiere, thumps alongside any club bangers of the early 2000s. Aguilera's dirty-girl persona is still present here, but she's dressed up and fitted into better songs and productions. The nostalgia-hued vibe of the second disc--with the singer playing the breathy chanteuse--provides a perfect complement to the first, so that the album as a whole reveals an artist of increasing range, skill, and creative maturity.

Producer: Christina Aguilera; Chris "DJ Premier" Martin; Ben H Allen; Big Tank; The Blitzburg Group; L Boogie; Andrew Chavez; Coodie & Chike

Musical Guests
Steve Winwood

 
Artist Overview
Britney Spears proved that the same goldmine that Madonna and Cyndi Lauper mined in the 1980s was again ripe for the picking, and she was immediately followed up the charts by another female teenybop sensation, Christina Aguilera. Closely aligned with Spears's style early on, Aguilera hit the charts in a major way in the late '90s. However, by the dawn of the new millennium, Aguilera had transformed herself from a bubblegum sensation to a raw and raunchy vamp (STRIPPED), and then to a mature, platinum blonde pseudo-traditionalist (BACK TO BASICS), positioning herself as a risk-taker with little connection to her Mousketeer past.

Artist Influences
Billie Holiday | Deborah Gibson | Doris Day | Gloria Estefan | Janet Jackson | Madonna | Mariah Carey | Michael Jackson | Paula Abdul | Salt 'N Pepa | Samantha Fox | Selena | Spice Girls | Toni Braxton

Artist Contemporaries
98 Degrees | All Saints | Boyzone | Brandy | Britney Spears | Destiny's Child | Dream | Enrique Iglesias | Hanson | Jennifer Lopez | Jessica Simpson (Pop) | Melanie C | N Sync | Ricky Martin | Vitamin C


 

Compilation Appearances
Mulan
Radio Disney Jams: Vol. 2
2000 Latin Grammy Nominees
Moulin Rouge
Disneymania
Totally Hip-Hop
Kids Picks-Hit Mix
Remixed & Revisited
2004 Grammy Nominees
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Kids Picks Hit Mix 2
Totally Hits 2004 Vol 1
Park Hyatt Chicago: on The Seventh
Sweat (Explicit Version)
Sweat (Edited)
Shark Tale
Ultimate Christmas 2
Disney's Superstar Hits: Ultimate Collection Of Movie Hits
Love Rocks
Superstars No 1 Hits Remixed
Disney Girlz Rock
Hits For Kids Vol 7
Voices
Possibilities
Love Song Dedications Vol 5
Great American Songbook Collection (w/ Bonus DVD) (Limited Edition)
Kuschelrock Vol 19
Amore
Disney's Greatest Hits
Fired Up 3
Amor
Disneymania 4
Press Play (Explicit Version)
Christmas Classics:yesterday Today
Now That's What I Call Music! 23
Amor (Bonus Tracks) (Spec)
Amor (W/dvd) (Bonus Tracks) (Spec)(w/ Bonus DVD)
2007 Grammy Nominees
Wild Summer 2004
Pop Princesses
Ultra Dance 8
Heart(Bonus Tracks)
Christina Aguilera
Thrivemix 03 0107
Keep The Faith Second Chances
Disney Mania
Forever Tel Aviv
Thrivemix Presents: Dance Anthems
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur
Ultra Weekend 3
Love's Holiday:gosepl Christmas
Total Dance 2008
2008 Grammy Nominees
Shine A Light (Original Soundtrack)(Deluxe Edition)
Shine A Light (Original Soundtrack)
Amore:exclusive Version
Ultra Weekend 4
Merry Christmas Baby:sexy Songs For T
Princess Disneymania

 
Associated Artists and Works
Anthony, Marc
Babyface (R&B)
Backstreet Boys
Estefan, Gloria
Franklin, Aretha
A Tribute To Christina Aguilera ~ Genie Girls (The)
Gold Award: Christina Aguilera ~ Genie Girls (The)
Heart ( Bonus Track) ~ Genie Girls (The)
Jackson, Michael
Madonna
Michael, George
Ross, Diana
Sax Tribute To Christina Aguilera ~ Various Artists
Smooth Sax Tribute To Christina Aguilera ~ Various Artists

 
Technical Info
Release Date : 08/15/2006
Original Release Date : 2006
Catalog ID : 26392
Label : RCA Records (USA)
Number of Discs : 2
Studio/Live : Studio
Mono/Stereo : Stereo
SPAR Code : n/a
UPC : 00828768263921

 
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.96)
- "The spirit of old-school jazz, blues and soul inhabits the set....Aguilera succeeds in balancing references to jazzbos and soul singers...with over-the-top kitsch."

Entertainment Weekly (p.136)
- "[The] rugged dance tracks, mixing electronic beats with honking brass and other '70s soul samples, are perfectly suited to Aguilera's powerhouse belting." -- Grade: B

Q (p.120)
- Ranked #48 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[P]roducers DJ Premier and Mark Ronson helped Aguilera realise the mix of saucy soul and roaring gospel she envisaged."

Uncut (p.99)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he second disc is the more interesting....It's psychedelically strange and outrageously entertaining."

Entertainment Weekly 9 of 10
Aguilera doesn't have the gravitas of her heroes, and her forays into bluesy torch singing and '40s-style swing are stiff and mannered. But she needn't genuflect before the past - she can make her own glorious kind of 21st-century noise. CD 1 is helmed by DJ Premier (of '90s rap duo Gang Starr) and a host of other hip-hop producers, and their rugged dance tracks, mixing electronic beats with honking brass and other '70s soul samples, are perfectly suited to Aguilera's powerhouse belting...The second disc - a collaboration with Linda Perry, the writer-producer behind Aguilera's 2002 schlock-pop masterpiece ''Beautiful'' - ratchets up the bombast. - Jody Rosen
 
Now Magazine 8 of 10
If you take Aguilera's idea of the 2-CD set at face value, Back To Basics is the singer's tribute to pre-WWII-era jazz...Primo indulges Xtina's retro fetish with Jazzmatazz-y scratchy samples and raunchy 60s R&B loops, but it's wholly a contemporary soul-pop assault, with one killer track (lead single Ain't No Other Man), some standout floor-fillers, decent ballads and one gross misstep in fan-fellating (Thank You). And ultimately, Aguilera's the only one of her peers with the vocal prowess to pull it off. - Sarah Liss
 

 
Bio
Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera?s backstory is well-known. A native of Staten Island, the pre-teen began performing in local talent shows while growing up in Pennsylvania. In 1992, after appearing on ?Star Search,?

She joined the cast of the Disney Channel?s ?The New Mickey Mouse Club.? In 1998 Aguilera?s song ?Reflection? for Disney?s Mulan led to a record deal with RCA and the release of her self-titled debut album in Summer, 1999. The album quickly hit #1 on the strength of its first dance/pop single, ?Genie In A Bottle? (which dominated the charts for five weeks) and other chart toppers including ?What A Girl Wants.? It was a feat she would repeat the following year with Mi Reflejo, the smash Spanish-language version of her debut, followed by her hit holiday release, My Kind Of Christmas.

In 2001, Aguilera joined forces with Pink, Mya and Lil? Kim on the smash ?Lady Marmalade? single and video. That eye-popping slice of ear candy kept her front and center in the international spotlight even as she began, slowly and steadily, to lay the groundwork for her second album, Stripped. Released in October 2002, it sealed her status as an international superstar while transforming her previous squeaky-clean image into a fully sexualized woman with lots on her mind. Along with the superheated funk of the album?s provocative debut single, ?Dirrty,? came such standout tracks as ?Beautiful,? ?Can?t Hold Us Down? and ?Make Over."

Earning her first of three Grammy Awards in 2000 for Best New Artist, her subsequent trophies came in 2001 for ?Lady Marmalade? (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals) and in 2003 for ?Beautiful? (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). Among countless other honors, she is also the recipient of a 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Mi Reflejo (Best Female Pop Vocal Album), a 2000 Billboard Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and two 2004 Rolling Stone Music Awards (Best Female Performer, Readers? Pick; and Best Tour, Readers? Pick, ?Justified and Stripped?). Voted Sexiest Teen Idol in a VH1 poll, Aguilera?s beauty and charisma have also led Teen People to list her among its ?25 Hottest Stars Under 25? and Maxim to crown her Best International Female Singer (2000), one of the Sexiest Women of the Year (2003) and #1 on their ?Hot 100? List (2003).

Today, while devoting the lion?s share of her time to recording and touring, the 25-year-old is active in a range of philanthropy. A major contributor to the fight against AIDS, Aguilera has participated in the ?What?s Going On?? cover project for AIDS Project Los Angeles? Artists Against AIDS. In 2004 she became the new face