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Was 'Blackout' too overproduced and one-dimensional?


DignifiedLove

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Listening to this amazing Blackout Demo Megamix got me realizing that a lot of these demos (many of which were unreleased) actually sound more raw, personal and showcase more soul than what we got on the finalized version of 'Blackout'. 

Had 'Blackout' showcased this kind of vulnerability, I think it probably would have been my favorite Britney album of all time.

 Thoughts Exhale?

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It's a solid album, but the original plan for it was so much better. Obviously, we don't really know what the original plan was, but we can probably judge based on the demos. I think the songs that we did end up getting are better the way they are, but if Blackout consisted of songs like Let Go, 911, Sugarfall, Baby Boy, Dramatic, and Kiss You All Over... Oh boy, I would scrap the official tracklist in a heartbeat. :thirsty_britney_onyx_drink_flirt_drinking_sipping_fan_hot:

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I don't get the term overproduced, people use that term very loosely for everything 

this is mainstream corporate pop music of course its gonna be "overproduced", it's like selling an  energy drink, the can has to look perfect and appealing in order to sell

It was a crime to scrap State of Grace tho , considering the album had songs like heaven on earth who don't really sound like the rest of the album but they scrapped SOG cause it didn't fit the album?? please

how does heaven on earth fit the album but state of grace doesn't ?

 

 

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2 hours ago, iAlwaysSingLive said:

It's a solid album, but the original plan for it was so much better. Obviously, we don't really know what the original plan was, but we can probably judge based on the demos. I think the songs that we did end up getting are better the way they are, but if Blackout consisted of songs like Let Go, 911, Sugarfall, Baby Boy, Dramatic, and Kiss You All Over... Oh boy, I would scrap the official tracklist in a heartbeat. :thirsty_britney_onyx_drink_flirt_drinking_sipping_fan_hot:

kiss you all over proper mastered would be a smash Drunk Amy Schumer GIF

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When the album was considered to be finished, Bloodshy & Avant were persuaded by her A&R Teresa LaBarbera Whites to work on a new track. Winnberg commented that it had always been an unwritten rule not to write songs about Spears's personal life since the label rejected "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", a response track to Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River". However, the duo wrote "Piece of Me" with Åhlund and sent it to Spears, who loved it.

I think it was the label yet again thinking Britney's personal written songs (Let Go, Baby Boy,...) were not good enough compared to the songs from the producers. Honestly the album is perfect the way it is. But I feel like they should have released another album with all the slower songs. I'm sure it would have been even more well received.:yaknow_britney_xfactor_X_factor_talk_tell_chat_you_know:

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The thing is, all of her albums since 2001 are over-produced to some extent. Her vocals been especially over-produced since then and it got worse over time. For the first two albums they bothered to actually give her time to record and actually used those raw-ish tracks. Then in 2001 her voice became sounding thinner and they probably paid more attention to getting ger to sound a certain way. Blackout was the first time they used demo vocals and simply edited and tuned them to sound "perfect" which made her sound robotic and over-processed. It is only on Glory that she somehow managed to sound human but at the same time when you listen to all the multitracks, her vocals are also very over-processed with lots of reverb and layers.

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1 hour ago, Kartofelek said:

The thing is, all of her albums since 2001 are over-produced to some extent. Her vocals been especially over-produced since then and it got worse over time. For the first two albums they bothered to actually give her time to record and actually used those raw-ish tracks. Then in 2001 her voice became sounding thinner and they probably paid more attention to getting ger to sound a certain way. Blackout was the first time they used demo vocals and simply edited and tuned them to sound "perfect" which made her sound robotic and over-processed. It is only on Glory that she somehow managed to sound human but at the same time when you listen to all the multitracks, her vocals are also very over-processed with lots of reverb and layers.

For Toxic she did like a million takes and in the final product, we still end up with the original demo vocals from Cathy Denis mixed in the main vocals. So no matter how many takes Britney does, it's up to the producers.

 

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13 hours ago, ColdAsFire88 said:

She was gone for a minute and Britney isn’t known for songs like Let Go, State of Grace, Sugarfall. Those are some of my favs but Britney needed to remind the world why she was crowned The Princess of Pop. Blackout did that for Britney. 

 

Yes but State of grace should've made the tracklist. The same goes for Sugarfall too

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Blackout is flawless sonically and artistically. The discarded demos, some of which could have made the album, are perfectly fine in their obscurity, and only add to the mystery, lore, and brilliance of the final product.

Remember, Britney executive produced Blackout, personally seeking out and handpicking those she wanted to work with, presumably also deciding on the final track list (and order). Even if she didn’t compose, write or produce songs that were meant to mirror her inner and public life, Blackout’s singular vision (or one dimensional-ness as you mention) is purposeful within the context of who Britney’s persona was back then....dark, primal, ***ual, erratic, and if you are to believe Rolling Stone’s infamous article “The Tragedy of Britney Spears an “animal” (according to Paris).

This vision is further elevated by the album’s overpowering (not overproduced) left field production, perfectly complementing its muse by also creating an erratic, dark and **** (for pop in 2006/7) soundscape. Blackout is a production led album for a reason.  Emulating the audacity of Madonna, Britney tried to bury her princess of pop southern girl next door persona once and for all, which had proven almost too hard to shake on In The Zone. She meant to create a new version of her self, even if it resulted in sounding like a distorted pop-cyborg, she succeeded.

In away, Blackout’s true brilliance lies in the fact that it could be considered the first hybrid visual album, with each and every song simultaneously destroying and expanding Britney’s referential hyperuniverse further and further, aurally and visually. As Britney’s over exposed and extremely documented public (and private) life payed out on TMZ et al, these feral anti-anthropomorphic “documentaries” fit almost too perfectly with the albums core narrative. Being young, free, and not giving a ****. Blackout is literally art imitating life, imitating art.

The fact that the album still sounds fresh and exciting after all these years is a testament to its greatness. Had it gone in too many directions, with too many different sounds and vibes, it would have turned out like Glory, a good album, but not nearly as cohesive, progressive or visionary. Which is why Britney (as exc. producer) may very well have personally chosen to leave her intimately self penned work “off the record”.

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