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Glory in retrospect


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The album cover is actually nice imo, despite all the flack it gets on here. :letitburn:

The album in general though... I can only name one other album of hers that is so uncohesive and that is Circus. The songs are just sort of all over the place, with no clear direction to define the body of work as a whole. :eheeek:

The songs, almost four years later, sound quite dated and mostly dont stand out in her discography... as opposed to Baby, Oops, Britney, which obviously contain songs from a certain time period, but can nonetheless still be enjoyed without feeling unimpressive or passe. :whatitellu:

These are parts of the reasons Glory has been so forgettable, especially to the gp. :)

Track by track, let's see how Glory has aged:

1. Invitation- a standout, this track was a very mature and unique-sounding addition to her catalouge. It has stood the test of time.

2. Do You Wanna Come Over- despite the production being slightly dated and not intricate enough, this is the most memorable song from Glory and the one most likely to be associated with Britney in the future. It's extremely Britney, and a shame that it didnt become a single to further cement its status.

3. Make Me- a perfectly good song, but not so special. It will likely be forgotten aside from its reverent fans.

4. Private Show- the vocals are quite strained especially in the chorus, and its a shame they didnt work on that before recording. Very forgettable.

5. Man on the Moon- very strange, uncharacteristic track. Ive personally never understood its appeal, her vocals are so processed and it just comes off as G-rated. Nonetheless, it is a unique song (and strange) some in her catalogue.

6. Just Luv Me- one of the most polarizing tracks on the album. The lyrical content is very mature and the vocals have emotion behind them. The finished version should have sounded simpler like the demo; instead we got a chorus with layers of vocals. It is quite timeless though.

7. Clumsy- this sounded dated even when it came out. 

8. Slumber Party- despite being monotonous, it is a unique song in her catalogue. Too early to tell if it will be remembered.

9. Just Like Me- vocals filled with emotion and an interesting subject matter. Unfortunately, theres nothing in the song that stands out, least of all production-wise.

10. Love Me Down- had the most potential in the charts. Generic yes, but still unique enough to stand on its own. It has stood the test of time, and is the closest to Blackout in sound.

11. Hard To Forget Ya- forgot ha.

12. What You Need- an interesting and very unique experimental track. It showcases her best and most flexible vocals on the entire album.

13. Better- sounds quite dated, but has nonetheless somehow stood the test of time, likely thanks to its production.

14. Change Your Mind- way too overhyped on here. Its a nice song, but nothing that stands out. The production sounds cheap and home-made.

15. Liar- the mastering on this song has always deeply bothered me. However, it serves as a 90s throwback song, and does that position justice.

16. Coupure Electrique- very unique and experimental, this track has stood out over the years, likely because of all the mixes it has participated in.

17. Mood Ring- say what you want, but the lyrics sound very unprofessional. I understand people connect to them, but this song has been almost entirely forgotten...

What do you think? :tiffdrink:

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I've always said that what makes a Britney album a good Britney album is variety.

That's why Blackout, FF and even BOMT remain my least favorite albums. I think "cohesiveness" is very risky. If you happen to like the style of the album, good for you, but if you don't, then there's a dozen of tracks you won't enjoy because they all sound the same / same vibe.

That's part of why I like Britney, Glory, Britney Jean, Circus, they feel like a rollercoaster, even Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, because they show different sides of Britney and her artistry. You get the uptempos, the ballads, the "weird tracks".

But that's me.

 

About Glory, I still listen to it to this day and I still find it fresh (maybe just because it's her last latest album) and I still believe there were many missed hits. Maybe not super hits, but singles that would've made a good addition to her catalog, like I mentioned in another thread yesterday.

Personally, I cried when I first listened to Man on the Moon :haha: It was just so beautiful, I had chills all over my body. I wish I could relive that again.

I know, and everybody that has seen me in here knows too, that I have a very weird taste and perception of things, and my opinions usually don't match the majority's (that's ok, it's always been like that my whole life). One of those things for example, is that I don't mind when songs are "over-produced" if the overall product sounds good. I think many people have these ideas attached like raw music, raw vocals, something more "organic" is automatically better than something that's been digitally processed, even if that digitally processed song sounds good. Kinda like how it's "better" if the singer writes their own songs, or how rock is better than pop, or deeper, rougher voice is better than something soft, high pitched.

I think the main flaw that most Glory songs have is the lack of strong choruses, and that's something we all discussed a lot since back in the day. But still, I think they could've worked for the 2016 scene.

 

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If they had Max Martin come in and be the Executive Producer of Glory, then I would've really liked it. It's not a bad album. The production was just not clean and crisp. I may prefer Glory than Femme Fatale but let me tell you FF is mixed very well. Almost as clean as Oops! :yeahhh:

I enjoy music that is mixed and mastered very well. I have a really good sound system so it kinda annoys me when I play albums like WitnessBritney Jean or Lotus - all 3 terribly mixed. :mhm:

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I respect your opinion and appreciate you writing all of this out. However, I don't think Glory has aged badly at all (except for Liar and Clumsy which sounded dated when the album was released, also Love Me Down has aged worse than others imo). To me, it still sounds fresh. I have made my own tracklist for the album that is more cohesive, so I agree with you there. However, I still think the original album tracklist is a blast to listen to. I agree with @PokemonSpears though that cohesiveness can be risky. It can also even make otherwise good individual songs sound boring when listened to in succession.

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9 minutes ago, Urbanney said:

I respect your opinion and appreciate you writing all of this out. However, I don't think Glory has aged badly at all (except for Liar and Clumsy which sounded dated when the album was released, also Love Me Down has aged worse than others imo). To me, it still sounds fresh. I have made my own tracklist for the album that is more cohesive, so I agree with you there. However, I still think the original album tracklist is a blast to listen to. I agree with @PokemonSpears though that cohesiveness can be risky. It can also even make otherwise good individual songs sound boring when listened to in succession.

What I also forgot to mention is that Glory's best tracks are mostly the bonus tracks.

I don't know if that's made on purpose, but I think the whole Deluxe version thing is redundant in this day and age, not to mention most of the times the reviews don't include the bonus tracks. 

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Besides BJ, Glory is her weakest album to date and very one-dimensional. The only 10/10 track is Slumber Party. Sure, MOTM is cute and songs like Liar/LMD are catchy but everything else fell short. I mean, a majority of it is quite unlistenable and disposable, especially for the naked ear. I mean - let's be real; none of it stood the test of time or is even remembered outside of a selected few delusional Britney stans. And don't give me that "iT nEeDeD a BeTtEr RoLlOuT!111!!" The SONGS off the album were bleak, stale and/or overdone. Besides Slumber Party (which was the most appealing track off the album), no song had potential to be even a semi-hit but I'll let you guys keep coming up with deluded scenarios that fit your parallel universe. At least it's entertaining. :cackling:

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I like this album a lot still, but I think it’s gonna wear off on me eventually like Femme Fatale did. It is VERY 2016. A track I LOVED when it came out which became a track that I skip now is Better. That song is so distinctly 2015/2016. It has those Justin Bieber sounds which were so popular but then so overdone. I never understood the appeal of Liar aside from the lyrics. Something about the songs mastering as you said is very offputting. It doesn’t sound finished. But didn’t Glory switch executive producers like super last minute? Which might explain why some tracks don’t sound as polished

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its weird. when Glory first came out, I genuinely absolutely loved it, played it nonstop and actually thought it was her 2nd best album behind In The Zone [ITZ for me is still fantastic even after 17 years, still sounds so fresh and I think it sounds like it could've been released today in 2020]. But I do agree with studlygeorge, I still have it on my phone and when I go swimming and I put all of my songs on shuffle [cant be bothered making playlists], and it does sound very dated. Plus, its a very one dimensional album, looking back 4 years on,  now to me every song sounds the same.  its missing a big 'Everytime' ballad and a big party anthem

I think also its because we've not had any  new music since 

 

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15 hours ago, jonloch1 said:

its weird. when Glory first came out, I genuinely absolutely loved it, played it nonstop and actually thought it was her 2nd best album behind In The Zone [ITZ for me is still fantastic even after 17 years, still sounds so fresh and I think it sounds like it could've been released today in 2020]. But I do agree with studlygeorge, I still have it on my phone and when I go swimming and I put all of my songs on shuffle [cant be bothered making playlists], and it does sound very dated. Plus, its a very one dimensional album, looking back 4 years on,  now to me every song sounds the same.  its missing a big 'Everytime' ballad and a big party anthem

I think also its because we've not had any  new music since 

 

It was probably just hyped so much that people were convinced it was better than it really was when it came out. :demi:

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18 hours ago, DanaDotte said:

The album cover is actually nice imo, despite all the flack it gets on here. :letitburn:

angry clint eastwood GIF

18 hours ago, DanaDotte said:

 

Track by track, let's see how Glory has aged:

1. Invitation- a standout, this track was a very mature and unique-sounding addition to her catalouge. It has stood the test of time.

2. Do You Wanna Come Over- despite the production being slightly dated and not intricate enough, this is the most memorable song from Glory and the one most likely to be associated with Britney in the future. It's extremely Britney, and a shame that it didnt become a single to further cement its status.

3. Make Me- a perfectly good song, but not so special. It will likely be forgotten aside from its reverent fans.

4. Private Show- the vocals are quite strained especially in the chorus, and its a shame they didnt work on that before recording. Very forgettable.

6. Just Luv Me- one of the most polarizing tracks on the album. The lyrical content is very mature and the vocals have emotion behind them. The finished version should have sounded simpler like the demo; instead we got a chorus with layers of vocals. It is quite timeless though.

7. Clumsy- this sounded dated even when it came out. 

8. Slumber Party- despite being monotonous, it is a unique song in her catalogue. Too early to tell if it will be remembered.

9. Just Like Me- vocals filled with emotion and an interesting subject matter. Unfortunately, theres nothing in the song that stands out, least of all production-wise.

10. Love Me Down- had the most potential in the charts. Generic yes, but still unique enough to stand on its own. It has stood the test of time, and is the closest to Blackout in sound.

11. Hard To Forget Ya- forgot ha.

12. What You Need- an interesting and very unique experimental track. It showcases her best and most flexible vocals on the entire album.

13. Better- sounds quite dated, but has nonetheless somehow stood the test of time, likely thanks to its production.

14. Change Your Mind- way too overhyped on here. Its a nice song, but nothing that stands out. The production sounds cheap and home-made.

15. Liar- the mastering on this song has always deeply bothered me. However, it serves as a 90s throwback song, and does that position justice.

16. Coupure Electrique- very unique and experimental, this track has stood out over the years, likely because of all the mixes it has participated in.

I agree with all of this, finally some unbiased and logical opinion 

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its a boring britney album imo. it's literally like she sat down with julia michaels & justin tranter and said 'i want to re-create revival' - it would've been a prime opportunity for britney to build on current trends (at the time) and make something fresh but instead she just made her own version of top 40 songs from the previous year.

i get why fans look back on it fondly considering the disaster that was BJ but for me its just meh :britstare11:

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I actually enjoy the album to this day and it's ranked 6th on my personal list of Brit's albums. I don't mind it being a little all over the place, I actually love this kind of albums (I stan Taylor's masterpiece, RED). While I agree that it contains some of her worst songs (Clumsy, Private Show, Love Me Down), I find it quite enjoyable and cute. I also consider it as her best 2010s album. Probably because I'm a big fan of midtempos and ballads :embarrassed:.

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22 hours ago, Roxxy said:

I enjoy music that is mixed and mastered very well. I have a really good sound system so it kinda annoys me when I play albums like WitnessBritney Jean or Lotus - all 3 terribly mixed. :mhm:

Aw me too! ❤️❤️

I think Glory is too loud and there's even clipping in some songs (DYWCO) but luckily there's no Britney album to sound as bad as Madonna's Hard Candy :trash:

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7 minutes ago, Nickey said:

Aw me too! ❤️❤️

I think Glory is too loud and there's even clipping in some songs (DYWCO) but luckily there's no Britney album to sound as bad as Madonna's Hard Candy :trash:

We been knew. Your taste. ❤

Wait what I never noticed Hard Candy being bad. I only bought this new sound system like 3 years ago and i think i've only played Hard Candy once and probably i wasn't paying attention. Really? Is it bad?

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I actually liked the album when if first came out but for some reason I never really listened to it on repeat. I dont think they are terrible songs but I could never get into:

  1. Invitaiton ( the effects on her beautiful vocals ruin it for me)
  2. Private show (overedited vocals)
  3. Love me down
  4. Hard to forget ya
  5. What you need
  6. Better
  7. Love Me down
  8. If Im dancing
  9. The French song.

So thats more than half of the songs on the album :unreal:

 

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16 minutes ago, Nickey said:

Aw me too! ❤️❤️

I think Glory is too loud and there's even clipping in some songs (DYWCO) but luckily there's no Britney album to sound as bad as Madonna's Hard Candy :trash:

I love some Hard Candy :mcry: It was the album that introduced me to Madge's iconic discography, that's probably why it remains as a favorite to me. I might be biased, but I don't think it is a bad album (and yes, I'm well aware that mine is an unpopular opinion).

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