Stripped

To some Christina Aguilera is just another manufactured pop puppet, to others the epitome of iconic cool and to yet more (particularly Eminem and Fred Durst) the target for some particularly unpleasant slurs. She hasn’t exactly done herself too many favours of late either, appearing to unravel before our eyes and popping up in a series of increasingly bizarre outfits – culminating in the X-rated video for new single ‘Dirty’. All of which is bound to overshadow the release of Stripped.

This would be a shame for it’s actually a great album. Aguilera sets her stall early on with the jarring noise of the intro, mixing media snippets with a defiant stance. Sure, we’ve heard it on a hundred hip-hop records over the years, but the effect here is still electrifying. As too is the Lil’ Kim collaboration ‘Can’t Hold Us Down’, with it’s thinly veiled references to certain other artists (“it’s sad you only get your fame through controversy”).

Aguilera emerges as an artist of no little depth. ‘Walk Away’ is the first in a series of almost Motownesque ballads, sung with amazing power but also incredible subtlety. The Alicia Keys collaboration ‘Impossible’ is a smoky, almost jazzy number, while Linda Perry steers her through the emotive ‘Beautiful’ and the stark tale of domestic violence ‘I’m OK’.

It falters on more than one occasion certainly, and the ballad card is played perhaps a touch too often, but Stripped proves that she is a major talent. Perhaps she should just put her clothes back on and let her music do the talking.