Christina Aguilera Album: “Stripped”

I didn't know what to say when I first listened to this album. I'm not quite sure what I expected from it, but I am now thouroughly happy that I purchased this CD. Christina has successfully evolved from a catapillar with virtually no visible talent to a beautiful butterfly with an astounding voice and writing ability.Every track on "Stripped" is worth a listen and there are absolutely no fillers on this album. Here is my track-by-track review of Christina Aguilera's "Stripped".

1) STRIPPED INTRO - This is a lovely introduction to a great album. Here, Christina warns us that this is the REAL her. A great cut. ***91/100***

2) CAN'T HOLD US DOWN - In this song about women empowerment, Christina confronts the double-standards that women face today. A great message. Lil' Kim's rap in this upbeat track complete the song. ***90/100***

3) WALK AWAY - This is my favorite on the album. The haunting music and Christina's stunning voice mesh together beautifully to create a sad, and chilling song. You can definetely feel Christina's pain i this one. ***100/100***

4) FIGHTER - This is the third single from "Stripped". With Dave Navarro on guitar, and Christina's brilliant lyrics and powerhouse voice, this is a rocking tune with a powerful message: Be Strong. ***97/100***

5) PRIMER AMOR INTERLUDE - A nice 51-second interlude with Christina talking in spanish to an acoustic guitar melody. ***87/100***

6) INFATUATION - A latin song that sounds a little bit like Christina's 1999 debut; only much, much better. ***88/100***

7) LOVES EMBRACE INTERLUDE - This is a prelude to track 8 and is beautifully done. I think that she should have included this with track 8. But, nevertheless, its nicely done. ***94/100***

8) LOVING ME 4 ME - A very slow-tempo song with calm, soothing vocals that sound almost virginal (ha! we all know that's a lie! lol!). This is another favorite. ***99/100***

9) IMPOSSIBLE - A nice jazzy track with great lyrics and great music. You can't go wrong with Christina on the mic and Alicia Keys in the producer's chair. ***95/100***

10) UNDERAPPRECIATED - A flawless R&B song with a grooving bassline. Christina belts out nicely in this one. Another favorite of mine. ***97/100***

11) BEAUTIFUL - The second single released from "Stripped", this is another faovrite. Inspirational in so many ways, this song makes me feel great. Whenever you're feeling low, listen to this and within the 3 minutes 58 seconds of the song, you'll be smiling. The lyrics are meaningful and just down-right beautiful. ***98/100***

12) MAKE OVER - No, this song isn't a song about giving makeovers. This is an English-hard rock sounding song with lots of screaming and the word "bulls**t" is thrown around a lot. You get a lot of energy coming from this one. ***92/100***

13) CRUZ - A beautiful ballad about leaving everything behind and just driving down the highway toward a new life. Beautifully done. ***86/100***

14) SOAR - Another excellent inspirational song. The song's message is simple: Be Yourself. ***98/100***

15) GET MINE, GET YOURS - Well, well, well. This song is interesting. The song's subject is casual sex. Even though, some might call Chrisitna trashy for doing a song like this, I think it's a nice step forward. Almost all of Americans have casual sex, so why shouldn't Christina express something that we all do through song? This song just makes you feel sexy. With the sensual lyrics and the cool music, this is a favorite. ***97/100***

16) DIRRTY - The first single from "Stripped", this is my 2nd favorite, aside from "Walk Away". Even though this video (quite raunchy; I like!) was an instant hit on MTV, the song absolutely flopped on radio. It peaked at No. 48 in the US. But it spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK. Nevertheless, I love this song. Can anyone say "PARTY ANTHEM!"? I dance wildly to this one in my room. ***100/100***

17) STRIPPED PT.2 - A continuation from the introduction (track 1). In this one, Christina informs us that she's not a virgin, nor a slut. Good for you, Christina! ***96/100***

18) THE VOICE WITHIN - This one gives me chills. A somewhat sad song about...well, I'm not quite sure what it's about! But, you can tell that this song means a lot to Christina. ***93/100***

19) I'M OK - This is a scary, thruthfull, chilling song about Christina's abusive childhood. She confronts her father about his abusing her mother. You can hear Chrisitna cry in this song. I shed a couple of tears after my first listen of this song. ***98/100***

20) KEEP ON SINGING MY SONG - A great way to close an astounding album. A great message to all of her fans that says: No matter what, I will "Keep on singing my song." Christina belts out a really long beautiful note in this one and her vocals are just amazing. ***99/100***

All in all, Christina Aguilera's "Stripped" is a 5-star album that shows the ups and downs of her life. I am looking very forward to Christina's next project. You go get 'em, woman!

FAVES SONGS:

OVERALL GRADE: 99/100

So, here she is again. Now, with a seventy-something minute long album. If there's one word that does not describe this cd at all, then that would be "homogenic". The variety of styles and moods of the cd is astonishing.

Despite this, Christina shows she can handle most of it really well.

1- Stripped intro : This is obviously a introduction to the album, where she states that you would meet the real her.

On the whole, this is a great album. Pretty different and much more mature than her previous releases. Christina's a gifted singer, and she shows she can sing almost anything!. Give this a try, you won't regret it!.

Something of this quality, especially from someone labeled as a teenybopper bubblegum pop singer that won't last, doesn't come along often. Well Christina Aguilera is still here and she managed to break away from the pop scene and become her own artist, a true artist I've really become fond of. I'm convinced that this girl has a lot more to offer us in the future. She may even become the next biggest icon up there with Madonna and Janet. Appropriately nickname Xtina, with her wild and sometimes outrageous sense of style, Ms. Christina "Xtina" Aguilera has giving us a real, raw, honest album full of real, raw honest emotions coming straight from her own experiences. She herself penned 14 out of the 16 songs and did quite an impressive job at writing. 5 points on why this is a 5 star album.

* Vocally impressive.

Her voice does not disappoint on any of the songs. She gives it her all, but this time, it's not about hitting every note possible, but using her voice to convey emotions in each song very convincingly. In some parts, she sounds vulnerable, in some she sounds angry, and in some she's sound very peaceful and heavenly. She jumps from a soulful bluesy number (Walk Away) to a rock-tinged vocal fest (Fighter) effortlessly. She has amazing versatility and is able to sing many different types of music genres.

* Lyrically impressive.

As said before, Christina herself penned 14 out of the 16 songs. Her writing skills were never unleashed before, but 'Stripped' has proven she is capable of writing deep material without sounding pretentious or contrived. The lyrics are real and come straight from her heart and from her experieneces. The either tell a convincing story or give strength and hope to others. Very impressive for a first time writer.

* Excellent variety of subject matter.

Each song on this album conveys a feeling or a ventilation of emotions. Each song is about completely different subjects and ranges from many different topics. She talks about double standards in society, inner beauty, inner strength, building of character, domestic violence, love, heartache, change, independence, backstabbing, and even casual sex. She's got almost every answer for all of your questions and problems. There is not one song on here that is filler. Each song has it's own place, has it's own niche.

* Excellent variety of music styles.

"Stripped" runs the gauntlet with music styles and surprisingly this doesn't make the album fall apart, but instead keeps it tightly together with each song. She has rock, r&b, blues, hip/hop, country rock, neo-soul, pop, and even a little funk, gospel and alternative. If you have eclectic musical taste, this album is sure to tickle your fancy.

* Just great, real, raw, honest music.

You can tell this album is all Christina and her experiences has lent us some great songs. "Beautiful" is sure to be a classic" You can honestly call this "her music" instead of the manufactured pop songs she was forced to sing before. She wrote it, this is from her, this is what really happened to her and you can't deny that from her and she won't let you deny it either. "Stripped" is definitely stripped of all the things that make manufactured pop so hated. In the end, I felt like I've actually listened to an album instead of just 1 or 2 songs that are good and the rest are fillers. She is baring her soul quite heavily. She's speaking her mind, but at the same time giving inspiration, love and hope to others as well. Now that's what I call true music and a true artist.

Standout tracks : Walk Away, Fighter, Cruz, Loving Me 4 Me, Beautiful, Soar, The Voice Within, I'm OK, Make Over, Keep On Singing My Song

Some people have a lot of issues about the way she dresses. If you don't like the way she dresses or they way she portrays herself, then don't look at her. It's the music she puts out that matters and that alone has it's own merits. We all know Christina Aguilera can do just as fine without her sex-driven image, but that is her. You can't deny her sexuality or the freedom to express herself. You can't deny that from her. It's called self expression. Without her outrageous nature and boldness to speak her mind, she wouldn't be the huge superstar she is today. She's a woman, she's grown, and she's liberated. She can do whatever she wants. When you sit down and listen to her music, all the superficial nonsense fades away and you're left with awe as she takes you into her world.

Okay, her self titled debut album was great. She showcased her beatiful vocals. But on the 2nd album Stripped she dives deep into pitfalls of stardom, her maturity,her past, her sexuality, and her overall womanhood.

1)Stripped Intro -a nice way to start off the album , letting everyone know,that finally this is the real Christina. 8/10

2)Can't Hold Us Down - I like this track, it is one of the few uptempo songs on the album. I wish we could have heard more from the guest-starring lil' kim, but its a good song and expresses women empowerment. 8.5/10

3)Walk Away- my favorite song on the entire CD. You feel C.A.'s pain on this one. And the thing that makes it great, is that the message in the song is something we can all relate to, leaving something that we love, but we need to leave.10/10

4)Fighter - It took a while for this track to grow on me but it eventually did. I love the different type of style Christina took on this one and her vocals standout over the rocking guitar. 9/10

5) Orimer Amor Intelude- I like, becuase I know some Spanish so its nice to her. She sounds beautiful. 8/10

6)Infatuation - this track probably most resembles music from her debut. It's still real catchy, and she goes back to her roots with this latin beat. 8.5/10

7)This is a beatiful interlude, the smoothness of it is captivationg. 9/10

8)One of my favorite songs on the album. I love the soulfulness of the song. This song could have easily been done by soul divas, Erykah Bady, Jill Scott, or India Arie. Christina flawlesy flows over the music. 10/10

9)Impossible - Alicia Keyes wrote this song. It definitely sounds like her even with Christina singing. I love it though, very bluesy Christina sounds powerful. 9/10

10)Underappreciated - I like it . probably the only song on the c.d. that could be classified as filler. It's aight, an uptempo. 8/10

11) Beautiful - Is what it is called...BEAUTIFUL!! I'm so glad that her management company and her have decided this to ber her second single, she has never sounded better, but the only problem I have with this song is that ...It wasn't the first single! 10/10

12)Make Over - even though I'm not much of a rocker, Xtina pulls it off and I really enjoy it. She sounds like a mix between Gwen Stefani,Shirley Manson and Alanis Morisette. 8.5/10

13)Cruz- another beatiful song on the album. The first song that first captivated me. I really enjoy it. A wonderful ballad. A journey song, xtina is on her own and loving it. 9/10

14)Soar - Another beautiful ballad (all the ballads are beautiful) very inspirational. Very uplifting, could have easily been done by Celine Dion.

15)Get Mine Get Yours- very r &b and I love it. It took a while for it to grow on me, but it did. Its just about casual sex and no strings attached. Its aight,Xtina can get her freak on too. 9/10

16)Dirrty - everyone knows this controversial song and video. I really enjoy it but after hearing the c.d., it relly doesnt fit in. I like the vibe her and Redman have, but i'm really upset that she released this as her first single, There were abot 5 songs that would have represented the album better and have been more succesful. But I dont care what no one else thinks...the video is HOT!! 8.5/10

17)Stripped part 2 - I like this interlude more than the first one. She proclaims what she likes dislikes and that she's not a ......., well you'll have to find that one out for yourself. 9/10

18)The Voice Within - Another one of the best songs on the album. Very inspirational, but better than "Soar", listen to yourself and no one else. 9.5/10

19) I'm Okay- probably the most revealing ad powerful songs on the album, equivalent to Pink's "Family Portrait" It's wonderful it mixes the pain and talent of Christina Aguilera. She is actually crying on the record. It's great, it would be wonderful if she released this one. 10/10

20) Keep on Singing My Song - Most albums tend to end the c.d. with any old song, but the this one keeps on the message of "Stripped" beleive in yourself and never give up. 9/10

Overall "stripped" is a 10/10!!!! ITs wonderful if u love Pink's "Misundaztood", you'll love this one. She is so true and sexy and smart, and confident, and strong. She has grown as an artist as a woman and person. She is beautiful and I hope this cd continues to propel her into the limelight that she continues to deserve. And don't let "Dirrty" fool you, the cd is great.

Every Christina Aguilera record has become an event worth anticipating, if only for the reason that shes one of the few young women in the business at the moment who can actually sing. While 'Stripped' technically is her fifth album (counting her debut 'Christina Aguilera', 'My Kind of Christmas', 'Mi Reflejo', and the unauthorized 'Just be Free'), its clearly the most polished, most slick and decidedly the best solo female record since Madonna's 'Music' a few years ago. However, while that record was criticized for being too short, this one excels in that department. Clocking in at 80 minutes, 'Stripped' is one of the longest single-disc-CDs ever released, and makes its mark by giving us one quality track after another.

Christina's strength has always been her voice and its clear that she respects this talent. The songs all showcase her breathtaking vocals, and save for the single 'Dirrty', this is probably an album you could gift your aunt or grandmother who has a fondness for Aretha Franklin. Yes, its THAT good and that diverse. I'm especially picky about pop music these days and tend to steer clear of 'teen-pop' as the entire genre reeks of Occidental marketing at its' worst, but when a quality product such as 'Stripped' hits the shelves, you can't help but notice.

The range the singer displays on this record is amazing. It bears mentioning that after the release of this album, any comparisons to moppet Spears will prove nonsensical. In places, the songstress reminded my of Gladys Knight and the Pips, and some of the melodies hark back to the era of the Supremes. Like I said earlier, the fact that this is a very varied record gives it that much more credibility. If you liked Alicia Keyes' 'Songs' album, you will undoubtedly fall in love with this one. Its much better that Keyes' effort simply because it bears no signs of confusion or directionlessness. Each track flows into the next with ease, and the result is a sparkling pop masterpiece that is well worth anyone's time.

Lead single 'Dirrty' turns out to be the weak spot on the album. While it is certainly a mediocre tune, it sounds much better on CD that one would image. The track is multilayered with instrumentation that is completely lost in the music video. The album has its fair share of ballads (especially the soaring 'Beautiful', and the poignant 'Walk Away'). There are Pink-tinged tunes such as 'Underappreciated' and 'Make Over' and even a collaboration with L'il Kim that isn't as bad as one would think. While Christina has collaborated with a multitude of performers, at no stage is it a case of 'took many cooks spoil the broth'. And I cannot remember the last time an album had no 'fillers'. At the end of it, I felt I had listened to an ALBUM, which is more than I can say for other new artists such as Avril Lavigne or Jessica Simpson.

'Stripped' could get five stars, but I'm holding out on one star due to the image that Christina has chosen to portray. Granted that a beautiful young woman has every right to flaunt it, but this may serve to alienate listeners who would, for example, also listen to Norah Jones 'Come Away with Me' (my personal favorite of the year so far). If the image wasn't so tarty, 'Stripped' could well been the musical story of the year.

There are a few albums that share the same qualities and vibe that 'Stripped' does : 'Janet' by Janet Jackson, 'Come Away with me' by Norah Jones, 'Misunderstood' by Pink, and 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession' by Laura Nyro. It also has the same spirit that Courtney Love's band Hole sported on their last album. This is a very urban and contemporary record, yet it has its own classic, almost jazz-like flavor.

If you are looking for one album this year that covers all musical genres and delivers on the vocal front, let it be this one. And in case you were always somewhat interested in what young people these days were listening to, give this one a listen. It may open doors to areas of new musical interest for you.