I am in LOVE with Jennifer Lopez’s 7th studio release, “LOVE.” You have all heard “On The Floor” feat Pitbull, but have you heard the rest? I have and once again JLo sets the bar even higher for those artists going the electro digital track style. It is all about Love, Betrayal, Hope Of Love, Breaking Up and then Starting Over. The hard bass pounding dance phenom, “On The Floor” is one of four such styled tracks on the new release. “Villain,””Invading My Mind,” “I’m Into You” and “Good Hit”, are the others that will leave you begging for the beats to continue. “(What Is) Love” slows it down, and asks the same question we all have about love. Will it be good, great, the trouble of dating and will it last?
“Run The World” brings back the old school feel from “Jenny On The Block” and also returns the feel and style that made “The Girl From The Block” so famous, nice drum synchs with a real throw back feel, will get you tapping your foot and swaging back and forth. the keys are a little lost and the synth clapping is a little over used, but the breaks are amazing and the lyrics have something to say.
“Papi” – While a great beat at 120 Bpm the lyrics get a little lost in the overpowering electro echoes, the breaks are really what is going to set this song to number one soon, as the rhythm has a total Latin feel with a real nice high swing. The bass beat breaks are amazing and really set this song apart from the rest of the CD. Look for this one to chart fast!
“Until It Beats No More” – She slows it down to 100 Bpm here and really sets the tone for the song right away. Lyrics are spot on and the winds are fabo, the keys and key breaks in this one really allow her vocal sense to come out and shine. If you have been looking for a new love song, this could be your pick.
“One Love” is my least favorite song on the CD, The beat is offset at 87 Bpm and seems disconnected from the vocals. The lyrics are great and are the saving grace of this song. The vocals are also great and have a great message. I wish the rhythm and drum track was as good.
“Invading My Mind” – Let’s jump back up to 130 Bpm. While almost a duplicate rhythm to “On The Floor” the electro keys are a little more prominent and breaks have more of a groove feel to them. The Dysphasic voice synthesizer is put to good use on this track, the lyrics are a little repetitive to be a feature single, however it is a great follow up to “On The Floor” if you want to listen back to back and keep dancing.
“Villain” sets the perfect mood for a opening song to any DJs set. The 120 Bpm has a deep key line that drives the bass and electro keys. The lyrics are great for those who have felt the “turn the table” hardship of a break up. The “it’s all your fault” feel and dark vocals are a nice turn for this track.
“Starting Over” gives us that nice summer breeze feel with a serious, “Let’s get on the beach and dance” tempo. At 116 Bpm it is ready for the radio and the beach ball and brings images of a blooming romance gone bad at Oceanside. Fall in and out and in love with this track.
“Hypnotico” at 119 Bpm is a dub style track and has some great breaks and a serious electro key line. The bass is very repetitive. The girls are going to love the lyrics. It brings total sex appeal and groove that starts the hips swinging and is so meant to break the set into a dark drive and into sensual exploration of a grind close contact dance rhythm.
“Everybody’s Girl” – OK, we get a little teen bop from JLo on this track, but the lyrics are drenched with the desire to be just a regular girl who no one knows (if that is possible for her). The song has an actual drum track with some real nice tempo to it. The electro keys are a little out of place on this and the electric guitar is almost not heard. It is a great tune for the car cruising down the highway and almost makes you think you can not believe it’s Jennifer Lopez singing it.
“Charge Me Up” – At 130 Bpm with a slow intro, I was expecting more from it then what the title suggest. The breaks for the synthetic keys are nice but could have been more. The tubular echoes give that club feel but fails to produce the BIG BOOM you would think would be there. The High Tempo is exenterated by the lack of hard bass in the track, the remix I have heard by Megabass DJs is much better that the CD Original offering.
“Take Care” – Can we say bass dub track at its best! Swag is the theme here, slow it down to 99 Bpm and get the sexy out. It is all about how she feels good with her baby and wants to get close and I do mean close. The bass the echo and drop low recursion drum line makes you want to grab that special someone and get REAL close.
All in all Jennifer Lopez takes us from fast pace dance epic songs, to slow grind and dub smooth highs. “LOVE” is all about the highs and lows of Love, and everything in-between. This is a must have for any Jolt Fan and a definite keeper for those who may only know her “On The Floor.” Either way you will be a fan as I am for the Bad Girl From The Block, Jennifer Lopez gets a 0verall 9.2 from yours truly.
DJ Shane Phoenix is a independent music review writer and is featured in many music magazines around the world and on the radio.
