In The Zone : Britney Spears : Review : Rolling Stone

Say goodbye to Britney the virginal tease, and say hello, bay-bee, to Britney the freakazoid. None of that "not yet a woman" stuff this time around. There's no question that Spears wants In the Zone to be erogenous, so she lays on the heavy breathing and offers herself for hookups on and off the dance floor. Madonna shows up in the album's first song, "Me Against the Music," as if endorsing Spears' foray into come-hither posing and club-land beats. Nearly every song on In the Zone is a brittle, programmed rhythm track. This time, Spears promises to follow through on her come-ons: "I'll let you touch me if you want," she husks in the clever pop-dancehall "Showdown."

High-risk behavior is fine with Spears. In "Brave New Girl," she borrows Madonna's "Material Girl" to praise a girl who goes out to get picked up. Spears succumbs to sexy guys in "The Hook Up," "Breathe on Me," "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Early Mornin'," which has throbbing Moby production. And if there's no lover available, there's always "Touch of My Hand," an ode to masturbation.

But the harder Spears tries to be Madonna or Janet Jackson, the less convincing she is. Her voice is so processed, its physicality almost disappears. R. Kelly can't resist mocking her in his "Outrageous," letting her boast about "my sex drive" and "my shopping sprees" with equal emphasis. In the Zone offers strip-club, 1-900 sex, accommodating and hollow. Beyond the glittering beats, Spears sounds about as intimate as a blowup doll.

JON PARELES

(Posted: Nov 19, 2003)

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Review 1 of 10

2of 5 Stars

Actually, I was so disappointing with this album. I thought it could be as good as her previous album, but it's worse. I translated that this album was her fucking sadness after breaking-up with Justin. I heard that, and "Everytime", "Touch of my hand", and "Shadow" were talking about my translation.

And then, her no.1 singles, "Me against the music" and "Toxic" do better maybe. These can discover the bad of this album.

Ok, The Conclusion is
THIS ALBUM IS ABOUT HER FUCKING SADNESS AFTER BREAKING UP WITH JUSTIN, AND HER LIFE IS GETTING WORSE THAN EVER. EVEN UNTIL NOW.

May 2, 2008 07:04:58

Review 2 of 10

5of 5 Stars

it's the best album ever! it's full of ... of... sex! when u listen to this cd u feel just an orgasm! this is so hot! I wanna thank God to sand Britney Spears here on earth! thanx again!
love ya
*s*

Apr 28, 2007 07:21:25

Review 3 of 10

4of 5 Stars

Remember, this ain't the little teeny bopper she was in 1999. Oh no. Now she's a woman. Right of the bat with Me Against The Music, she shows her toughness. With I Got That (Boom Boom), she is out with the Ying Yang Twins and is ready. Then she descends into tease mode in Showdown, when she laments, "You lookin' good when you're half-dressed". Sexy. And now, with Breathe On Me, she is very erotic saying "Just put your lips together and blow". And now, it's Early Mornin'. She says how she was "shaking her ass in the streets and moving" but now she's tired and is guilty. Mediocore. Toxic is about a dangerous guy. Cool! Then she goes into hip hop with Outrageous, a heavily producd Hollaback Girl with the sound of Britney. Classy. Ladies and gentlemen, Touch Of My Hand. The ode to masterbation. Yes, masterbation. She doesn't say "Masterbation", but it's implied. The Hook Up is reggae junk that should be a B-side. Shadow is a slow moving ballad which doesn't stand to expectations. Brave New Girl is to remind us that she still has that Baby One More Time vibe in her. Even though it implies a girl getting a room with a guy. Then the teary eyed ballad Everytime. She has fragility in this sweet plea to an ex as she sings "I guess I need you, baby". Now, the remix of MATM. It's OK, but the originals better. All in all, it's pretty damn good!

Apr 3, 2007 16:49:31

Review 4 of 10

4of 5 Stars

Britney Spears has really hit rock bottom in '07. But back in '03 and half of '04, everything she touched just turned to gold. With hits as big as "Toxic" and "Me Against the Music," she was at the top of her game than ever before. Then she got married to a life-long friend. Got married again, had a few babies, and the rest is history.

Although all this has happened, nobody can't forget what she's done for us before. Ex-hubby K-Fed might have stolen her away from us all [so not forgivable] and helped her on her way down to the bottom.

But enough about her career and more on her 2003 return to the spotlight. AFter 2 years from Britney, Spears took a break. Returning with the huge hit "Me AGainst the Music" featuring her make-out buddy Madonna caused countdowns on MuchMusic to premire the video. Oh, please. Calm down, people.

But the album is way more than that. It has many sexually-charged ["Showdown"], dance-floor ready club tracks ["(I Got That) Boom Boom"] and songs that are literally heavy on the breathing ["Breathe on Me"], odes to dancing all night ["Early Mornin'"], songs for the hot guys ["The Hook Up"], even if there isn't a hot guy, there's always "Touch of My Hand," the ode to masturbation. The masturbation song does have the lyrics for one, but not the vocals.

The best tracks here have to be "Me Against the Music," "(I Got That) Boom Boom," "Showdown" and "Toxic." The only flaw here is "Touch of My Hand," the ballad "Shadow," produced by the Matrix, stands out better than the Guy Sigsworth production "Everytime," the first song Spears has practically wrote herself.

With all the glitterized beats and hip-hop duos and a bit of New Wave, Spears just might succeed as a successful pop artist, and possibly, a writer. As long as she never raps.

Mar 19, 2007 18:58:36

Review 5 of 10

1of 5 Stars

I'm not a Britney hater but I'm very sick of her. I love music but I don't like her and her music. For 'In the zone', all I wanna say is 'it sucks' except 'toxic' and 'every time'. The album is full of sexy sounds. You can't find very agreeable songs in it. In brief, it is one of the rubbish albums.

Jan 19, 2007 07:40:25

Review 6 of 10

1of 5 Stars

Let's face the truth!!! The ones who give this LP five stars may be foolish. This LP is not worth to give above 1 star cos' this LP contains no real music but full of sexy naughty nasty sound. Thanks God! she's really down!!! I'm very sick of her type of describing her music. She is no real singer and one of the singers who just want to be famous without musical knowledge, can't play any of musical instrument and can't really sing. She's just famous for her sexiness. I don't see Britney as a singer but a pros.

Jan 19, 2007 07:05:06

Review 7 of 10

4of 5 Stars

THIS FOURTH STUDIO OFFERING FROM BRITNEY IS IN YOUR FACE. HER LYRICS SUGGEST HER BLUNTNESS IN EITHER BE ALONE OR SLEEPING ABOUT. ITS DARING ENOUGH TO STATE THAT SHE HAS MOVEN FORWARD FROM THAT YOUNG ADULT ERA. THERE AREN'T AS MANY TRACKS AS HER PREVIOUS ALBUMS THAT ARE ALL ABOUT MARKETING. ITS PROVACATIVE. DIDN'T INSIST ON THE "BRAVE GIRL", WHICH IS A SOLE REMINDER OF HER BEING TEENIE BOP. I LIKE THE IDEA THAT SHE IS TAKING A GUY TO THE MOTEL/HOTEL IN "EARLY MORNIN'". HER HEART SPILLS ON "EVERYTIME" AND SHE STILL CAN PARTY HARD ON "BOOM, BOOM". THIS PIECE IS A MIX OF GENRES. HER MUSIC INSTINCTS HAVE EXPANDED. WHILE HER VOICE CLEARLY WANTS HER AUDIENCE TO KNOW SHE IS THROBBING WITH JUICE.

Dec 18, 2006 15:39:59

Review 8 of 10

4of 5 Stars

I'll admit it: I happen to like Britney Spears. She might not have the best of singing abilities, but her talent for entertaining is better than any of her peers hands down. In the Zone (her fourth studio release) happens to be a mishmash of pop inklings and experiments--combining elements of disco (on the bland "Brave New Girl") to Hip Hop (the club-ready "I've Got That Boom, Boom") and innovative pop (the Grammy-winning and best song on record "Toxic"), In the Zone is an eclectic mixture of genres and styles. Part of it are just plain horrible ("Early Mornin'" is by far the worst song here) but for the most part Britney succeeds as she is trying to grow up musically. The two ballads ("Everytime" and "Shadow") showcase Spears sounding the best she has in a long time (the latter track being the better of the two--in my opinion) and show a softer, introspective side to the storm that is the infamous Britney Spears. Iconic? No. Ground-breaking? Hardly, aside from the Grammy-winning superb "Toxic." Respectable? Shockingly, YES. Who knows? You yourself might be surprised.

Nov 25, 2006 12:17:58

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