In The Zone - Album Review

Alternate Cover

Some basic stuff: Released on November 16th, 2003, little over 2 years after her last studio album. By having her 4th consecutive album debut at #1, she broke her own record of being the only female artist in history to do so. To date, it has sold about 3 million copies in the U.S. and over 10 million copies worldwide (source).

Tracklisting as it appears on the European edition.

1. Me Against The Music (featuring Madonna) - The album's opener and first single was written by a mouthful of people; Britney Spears, Madonna, Christopher Stewart, The-Dream, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Penelope Magnet, Gary O'Brien with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart producing with Magnet. The hard hitting track mimics the organic, yet club feel of "I'm A Slave 4 U" and "Boys" from her previous album and features vocals from the iconic Madonna. Looking back, I'm surprised that this song wasn't more successful as the track and it's music video rode the wave of controversy resulting from their VMA kiss, and it's a decent track. Not a lot of singing to be found here, a lot of rap-singing though, but she occasionally she'll sprinkle some vibrato. The production on this song has Stewart's typical hip-hop & rock-edge (Umbrella, Baby, E.T.) and features some real cool vocal snipping mixed into the beat. - 9/10

2. (I Got That) Boom Boom (featuring the Ying Yang Twins) - I'm not really sure what to say about this song, it's not a combination of pop and hip-hop, this song is full on hip-hop, and it's not that she can't carry it off, she's got swagger on the track, and oozes attitude, it's just a little left of center for Britney. That said, the song is bangin, solid drum beat throughout and a "shawtayyyy" shout out from one of the Twins keeps the pace rapid and energized, and little twangs of banjo (I think) punctuate the song.  Roy Hamilton produced the song as well as co-writing with Chyna Royal and the "Ying Yang Twins"; De'Angelo Holmes and Eric Jackson. - 7/10

3. Showdown - Here is the first of Britney's co-writing on this album, assisted by Cathy Dennis, a Grammy award winning songwriter, producer team "Bloodshy & Avant" (consisting of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg), and Henrik Jonback, who has worked with Bloodshy & Avant on many of their Britney tracks. For a B&A track, it's pretty tame, using guitar and very light synths, with some breathy vocals for Spears. The desired effect may be sex appeal, but the track reads more sleepy, which is hard to do with electric guitar riffs. There are glimmers of the spacey-electro synths that would soon be B&A's calling card, but the track does fit in with the rest of the album, very organic sounding, a lot of guitar and drums. - 7/10

4. Breathe On Me - The echo-y opening to this track is pretty unique, even 7 years later, and though the beat is nothing new at first listen, there's a great texture to be found there, sharp metal clicks with a foot-tap beat, it bears some resemblance to "And Then We Kiss", which was originally included in the tracklisting for the album. Written by Steve Anderson, Lisa Green and Stephen Lee and produced by Mark Taylor, this track is one of the more sensual ones on the album, proving the point that less is more; she says "we don't need to touch, just breathe on me", and the song's Middle Eastern vibe combined with her vocals reminds of "Boys", but taken to another level. - 9/10

5. Early Mornin - The first thing to be said about this track is that it's pretty original, combining flutes, strings, drums and Britney out all night partying, something that she didn't seem too familiar with at the time, but she would come recording for her next album. Written by Britney, Moby, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Penelope Magnet, and produced solely by Moby, the song is interesting. It has Britney's moaning vocals that are pretty easy to find on this album and some racy lyrics, and that seems to be what she's going for on this album. - 7/10

6. Toxic - There's not much that can be said about this track that hasn't already been said. It's a classic Britney track, and despite not being terribly successful in the U.S., peaking at number 9 on the Hot 100 and only being certified Gold, it is generally regarded as one of, if not, her best song. Written by Bloodyshy & Avant with Cathy Dennis and Jonback with B&A producing, the song is maybe one of those more known for it's music video (I'm A Slave 4 U), but there's no denying that it's a hit. Musically, everything is wound tight and all the fat trimmed, the production doesn't rely on gimmicks or bells and whistles, it's a pretty bare instrumental, relying on the infamous strings and electric guitar riff. This is the one song that even non-fans love. - 10/10 

7. Outrageous - R. Kelly wrote and produced the song, which fits in with most of this album's Middle Eastern-sensual feel, with some rap-singing by Britney, guitar, vocals-as-beats, flute and guitar. The track is a bit of an eye-roller, with Britney braggin' and takin' 'ish on a track that doesn't really go hard. She probably could have revised the chorus, but it was intended to be he giving the finger to the tabloids. The song's pace is established as the song opens with the chorus, and besides a little taste of old-school Britney on the bridge, stays pretty constant throughout sadly. - 7/10

8. Touch of My Hand - Written by Britney, Balewa Muhammad, Jimmy Harry and Shep Solomon, with the latter two also producing, this track is truly unique in the Britney universe, combining Asian harps in reverse for the intro, metallic-sounding AutoTune, strings, hard electric guitar and drum-brushing, this track is as artistic as Britney had been (until Mona Lisa of course). The song is about masturbation, confirmed by Britney herself, but it's said in a non-obvious way. The song is beautiful, the wording, " another day without a lover, the more I come to understand the touch of my hand", the instruments, it's a great example of the evolution of her sound. - 10/10

9. The Hook Up - This track, written by Spears, and the writers behind "Me Against The Music", Thabiso Nikhereanye, Penelope Magnet and Christopher Stewart, with the last two producing, is a return to the dominant sound of the album; sexual hip-hop with an Eastern flair. The track musically presents nothing new, and sounds like it's missing a rapper-of-the-moment. This song is one of the albums low points, and highlights a flaw in many of her albums and that's tracks that sound the same. The album is less about diversity than it about being different from her older material, and this song demonstrates that, but provides nothing new. - 4/10

10. Shadow - The album's first ballad opens with slow strings and some disjointed piano notes, and some spacey synths. The track plays like an interlude from "The Legend of Zelda", emphasized by video-game electro bleeps. "II'm watching you disappear, but you were never here, it's only your shadow", the song's tone is remorseful, but doesn't quite stir you the way a ballad should. Written by Britney Spears, Charlie Midnight and The Matrix, consisting of Lauren Christy, Scott Spock, Graham Edwards, who also produced the track. - 7/10

11. Brave New Girl - Here we see the Dream-Team, Brian Kierulf and Joshua Schwartz reunite with Britney, who served as a co-writer alongside songwriting veteran Kara DioGuardi. The track picks up the pace and is and electro-"Anticipating", featuring some blatant AutoTune, combined with a Disney theme song. The rap-singing and breathy vocals over tambourine and guitar fit in with the album, and the dragging synths make it clear it's Brian and Joshua. While not as great as their previous work, the song is a good, uplifting filler track that's not really about anything in particular, but rather a mix of any and all Britney song topics; boys, feeling trapped, getting free, traveling to cool places, uncovering her eyes, ect. - 7/10

12. Everytime - This song is unique in that it was written by Britney Spears and her background singer while on tour, and the piano melody was composed solely by Spears, which you can see here. Produced by Guy Sigsworth, who has worked on several ballads for Britney, the song is haunting, from the whispering filter placed on her voice to the echoing piano melody, this song is so well written and is a ballad done right, I don't know how anyone could not like this song. Allegedly written about Justin (as a response to his "Cry Me A River"), the song seems to confirm that she feels guilty about doing something wrong, speculated as cheating. However, neither of them have ever said what really happened, so we can only speculate. Whereas some previous songs on her albums ("Overprotected", "Lucky") have alluded at being about her life, this song almost certainly is. - 10/10

14. The Answer - Written and produced by P. Diddy and Kyron Leslie, with the Puff Daddy providing background vocals, this bonus track is right in line with the rest of the album, with a bit of a different direction musically, with an African drum beat, electro harps, sharp synths. The song's lyrical content is also rather unique, though it is about a man, she says "you're the answer, all this time I've tried to find ya, I've been yearning, you're the answer to the question that's been burning when they ask me who I love". I'd say it belongs on the album, it's a step above some of the weaker points of the original tracklisting. - 8/10

15. Don't Hang Up - This bonus track for me is such a highlight on the album, written by Spears, Brian and Joshua, the Dream Team. Sadly, this is the last time they worked with Britney, and from the sound of the track, it might've been a leftover from "Britney". The song's production is beautiful, swooshing synths and sharp drum machine laden beats support Britney's light-as-air vocals as she croons "don't hang up, just when it's gettin' serious". It's somewhat of a continuation of "That's Where You Take Me" as she sings "I still wanna take you there", and with the same co-writers and producers, that's very possible. - 10/10

*Girls and Boys - Written by Linda Perry, this song was only included on a bonus CD on the European release of her "In The Zone" DVD which included her ABC special and several music videos. The song's sound is electro-hip hop, which fits in with the album as a whole, however it was cut because it was thought to be not cohesive. The song sounds a bit rough and un-finished, but it's decent enough, and sets the tone for her Greatest Hits album that followed "In The Zone", with Britney asking "can you handle this?" - 7/10

Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex - Bloodshy & Avant, Cathy Dennis and Henrik Jonback were behind this track that was originally meant for Britney to record and was written specifically as a response song to "Cry Me A Rive", but, perhaps for that very reason, Britney turned it down. It was recorded by ex-S-Club 7 member Rachel Stevens and was sucessful in the U.K., peaking at #2 on their singles chart. You can listen to the song here.

Overall: This album is my least favorite Britney album. Not that it's a bad album, it's actually a fairly decent album, and Britney had a lot of creative control over the producers, songs and album feel, however it was a total departure from her pop sound, opting for an edgier hip-hop tone. This record was received positively, with critics complimenting her change in sound and maturity in lyrics as well as her increased creative control. This album was an important one for Britney, as it really marked her shift in image from girl to woman. Though the pop was missing from this bump n' grind album, everyone will always remember  the quintessential "Toxic". - 7/10

Highlights: Toxic, Touch of My Hand, Don't Hang Up

Fun Facts: The original title of the album was "Get In The Zone", which can be heard on "In The Music", similarly originally titled "In The Zone". The album shipped with a yellow cover in some areas. "(I've Just Begun) Having My Fun" from her Greatest Hits album and "Chaotic" and "Over To You Now" from her "Someday (I Will Understand)" EP were originally recorded for this album. The original mix of "And Then We Kiss" was intended to be released as a bonus track from this album, however to this date, the track has yet to be released or leaked. "(I've Got That) Boom Boom" was possibly intended for a Ying Yang Twins album.

Sources: Album booklet, single back covers, YouTube and Unreleased Britney Spears.