Britney Spears – Britney - 2001 Dance Pop - Black Vinyl - Sealed LP

 

''But the strongest statement of Britney’s progressive aim came via its launching point, “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Several pundits willfully derided the single as nothing more than crass bimbofication—it was not.

She states at its opening, “I know I may be young, but I’ve got feelings too / And I need to do what I feel like doing / So let me go and just listen…” Subsequently, Spears lays out her missive to embrace a form of unrepentant self-expression through music and dance. In that context, Spears’ figurative surrender is empowering because she chooses to do so (albeit briefly). The lyrical intensity of “I’m a Slave 4 U” is affixed to an equally compelling track: a topsy-turvy slice of beat driven pop-funk. It was one of two uptempos—along with “Boys”—tendered to Spears by tunesmiths Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, known in aggregate as The Neptunes.''

 

What was different was that the sounds executed on Britney are richer and fuller. From the emotive balladry of “I Run Away,” to the pop-rock swing of “Overprotected,” around to the glitchy nu-disco of “Intimidated” (flipside to “I’m a Slave 4 U”), on over to the throwback pastiche of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Spears finally had more dimensional material to sink her teeth into as a singer. An example? Her singing on the LP iteration of “Boys” approximates a sensual, but intimate soulfulness one would have never expected to hear from Spears.' (Albumism)