Review: “Christina Milian” by Christina Milian (CD, 2002)

Today’s Pop Rescue from a fate uncertain is the 2002 eponymous album Christina Milian by American singer and actress, Christina Milian. Will this album be one in a Milian, or will you Look At it with horror? Read on…

Christina Milian - Christina Milian (2002) album. — Christina Milian – Christina Milian (2002) album.

This 13 track CD opens with Get Away featuring her old collaborator chum Ja Rule, and we’re plunged straight into a nice plodding R&B meets garage sound, where Ja Rule’s vocals taunting Christina’s soft and delicate singing works in great contrast. The music gives the pair some space to show off their lyrical performance. It’s off to a nice steady start.

Next up is lead single AM To PM which gave her a #3 hit in the UK singles chart. Here, we’re met by a much more tuneful sounding Christina, backed with dramatic garage beats and bleeping synths. Vocal harmonies join her in the chorus helping to add weight to the catchy chorus. I seem to remember some weighty remixes of this track, but here the track stands well on its own accord. Great stuff!

Then it’s second and final single When You Look At Me. A gentle beat joins a bouncing bass line, and almost comedy guitar/synth sounds. Christina’s vocals sit close next to the bass, and here she sounds her most like Mis-Teeq/Billie Piper so far. Again, this track took Christina to #3 in the UK charts, although it lacks the energy of AM To PM.

That leads on to Spending Time which featureds Charli ‘Chuck’ Baltimore (why not just ‘Chuck’ if he wants you to know his nickname?). Lazy guitars usher us into a much more mellow song, as Charli raps us in. Here, Christina is full of ‘ooh‘ and ‘yeah yeah‘ and breathy vocals. It’s a plodder, and probably quite nice late at night, but the synth riffs do sound a little too repetitive after a while and the track could do with a bit of an injection of a mid-section.

Following that, chime bars and vinyl crackle usher us into It Hurts When…. We’re soon met by finger snaps and heartfelt lyrics. It’s ballad zone, and it’s a paint-by-numbers American female ballad, in which you could easily switch the voice for Mariah, Whitney, Janet, or someone else. Christina does get to show off a little vocal range here amongst her sad soft lyrics.

The tempo rises back up for You Make Me Laugh and we’re back to up-beat R&B/garage. Christina’s lyrics rattle off rapidy, and she’s flanked by small children laughing in the background (which reads more sinisterly than it sounds), which matches the lyrics referencing the ‘sticks and stones may break my bones…’ rhyme. The vocal riff that Christina drops in during the chorus makes it also feel quite playful. It’s a pretty nice song, but feels very light without a stronger bass until the second half.

That leads on to A Girl Like Me featuring Jermaine Dupri, and whilst we’re still in garage zone, within gentle beats, and delicate acoustic guitar sounds, vocally this very much reminds me of Britney Spears. Jermaine’s vocals are perfectly placed, and whilst he sounds like he’s probably 15, he carries a confidence and contrast in sound that works well alongside Christina’s vocals. The melody is pretty catchy though.

Twitch is next, and tucked in the co-writer credits here (and in backing vocals) is Montell Jordan. There’s a really catchy acoustic sequence playing in the undercurrent, and it reminds me of a very familiar song but I can’t quite place it. Montell holds back until the 1m 55s mark, where Christina takes on a robotic voice. With the tracks electronic beeping and retro sound, the track is really quite catchy.

Then it’s Until I Get Over You, and this pitches Christina’s tiny breathy vocals alongside a piano and string section. Musically it sounds rich, and Christina seems to have a fairly easy time working her way through the lyrics, gaining some big breathy vocals towards the end. It’s not the most ground-breaking track here, particularly considering the previous song, but it’s nice enough.

Following that, the beats drop back in for Satisfaction Guaranteed, as we return to that more garage styled sound. The track is filled with gentle shuffling beats, stabbing synths, and empty spaces for Christina’s rapid delivery of lyrics to sit perfectly. Again, the little riffs in the music helps to make it catchy.

That’s followed by Got To Have You, and once again this picks up the beat, and we’re given a more pop-ish garage sound. The track is laden with synth strings, and vocal harmonies, and it’s also fairly minimal at times, allowing us to hear Christina’s vocals, which she seems to deliver with great ease. This really should have been a single.

Somewhat prematurely Christina decides to Thank You as the penultimate track, which sees another plodding ballad, with pseudo-harpsichord, saccharine lyrics, and generic ballad sound. At times Christina is a bit too creaky-vocaled here, and it just makes this song a bit too predictable. I can imagine an X-Factor judge eyeing up this track for a winner’s auto-album.

The album closes with Your Last Call (Bonus Track) thus ruining what was probably the intended end with the previous song. The phone rings, an answerphone kicks in, a gurgling modem sound, dramatic garage beats and robotic sounds converge on the ears. Christina drops in with some more Mis-Teeq and Britney-esque vocals. It’s a playful track, and audibly interesting track – a fun way to end the album.

Christina Milian’s lead single ‘AM To PM’ (2001).

Verdict

Over all this album has a bit of an identity crisis, but manages to deliver a warm and often catchy set of songs.

I was apprehensive with 13 tracks of Christina Milian ahead of me, having not recognised any from the track listing, but it turns out that I did recognise the singles. These are amongst the highlights here, alongside Twitch, You Make Me Laugh, and Got To Have You.

The weakest tracks here are the more ballad tracks, where Christina could easily be swapped out for another American female vocalist without anyone noticing – Until I Get Over You and Thank You lead the low points here, and you could probably skip these without any impact whatsoever.

Surprised by what I heard, it was a fun trip back to 2002, and hearing the R&B/garage blend that dominated the charts at the time in the UK – no wonder she had these two #3 hits. The album deserved another single at least (Got To Have You), and then it probably would have reached more ears. Give it a spin.