Alli Flies Solo! - Now With VIDEO!

who the fuck is this doosh bag? she is ugly

Allie the Enabler needs to go back to her trailer.

whoopty-doo.

Maxim Unveils "Unsexiest Women" List: Sarah Jessica Parker Leads Madonna And Britney In Fug

YUMMY

She's even ugly as a man.

E! online says so

she abandoned Britney when she needed her the most. Instead of going out with her, she should have tried to guide her.When it got bad, she dissapeared and when does she pop up again??? when Britney goes to court and then to a club. I dont think she is a good friend at all.

You thing she just started porking the quarterback maybe??

Bravo to her for not dressing up slutty like the rest of the Hollywood shIT girls.

I thought Britney only liked loser guys like K-Fed.

people has the story

Britney ENABLER, And a wannabe whore! Has no talent or charisma.

'Blackout' Recieves Positive Reviews
Yahoo.com

""Blackout," her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it's her best work ever - a triumph, with not a bad song to be found on the 12 tracks."

People.com

"...there is plenty of hot music for dancing one's troubles away on Britney Spears's new album, Blackout, her first studio CD since 2003's In the Zone"

EW.com
B+
"Blackout — a collection of well-produced, thoroughly enjoyable dance songs — may just put this once-celebrated pop star back on top."

Msnbc.com

"Against all odds, Spears' album is her best. On 'Blackout,' Britney emerges confident, sensual and in control... Listening to “Blackout” is not only an energetic release, it’s also a relief: No, Spears hasn’t completely lost it, and yes, her career has a flicker of fire left --- actually much, much more."

Usmagazine.com

"...the CD shows that, overall, Spears still has sparks in the recording studio."

About.com

"One element that makes this clearly a Britney Spears album is the presence of a scattering of irresistible individual songs that are catchy enough to stick in the head like a wad of tasty bubblegum."

AP.org

"Britney Spears, "Blackout" (Jive Records): Just when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punch line only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us."

New York Daily News
No rating
"...the singer's first in four years, contains flashes of the zippy pop and propulsive dance beats Brit fans treasure..."

Timesonline.co.uk

"She is first and foremost a pop star. In a life not exactly saturated with joy, she should take a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that Blackout coheres far better than sprawling recent sets by her fellow Mickey Mouse Club alumni Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera."

Usatoday.com

"Britney Spears hasn't been able to lose the paparazzi in recent months, but she does joyously lose herself in music on her new Blackout."

Current 'Blackout' chart positions around the world:
Germany: #2
Ireland: #1
Australia: #5
Italy: #26
Austria: #4
USA: Soon-to-be #1

who is Tony Romo? Sounds gay

He's the QB for the Dallas Cowboys. Duh! Carrie's gonna be pissed. She's been parading that new boyfriend of hers all over New York trying to make Tony jealous.

Oh God NOoooo! Please don't tell us Britney f*cked Tony Romo in Les Deux's bathroom..

Eat it* Lick it* Snort it* F*ck it! Britney is a dirty-nasty skank!

re:October 28, 2007 2:26 PM

no agree with you. sorry

omg cmon...
http://www.mactanque.com

this enabler is fatter than BRITNEY!!!!

I like of you, Alli. Faithful friend!!!
Very friend. GOD BLESS THE 2!!!!!!
KISSES

this enabler is fatter than BRITNEY!!!!

great for letting EVERYONE know about the reviews. seems the HATERS only want everyone to know what the Wall Street Journal said (what the hay do they know--they are a business/stock newspaper) but of course, the haters have to focus on the bad review.
Blackout is a GREAT album and hope Britney shows all those haters who want her to fail.

Tony is so hot! Go Brit!

I like of you, Alli. Faithful friend!!!
Very friend of Britney. GOD BLESS THE 2!!!!!!
KISSES

TONY ROMO MUST BE A HOMO IF HE IS DATING THAT BEAST

Yuck, why are you wasting time on this bitch? She will only be known as being Briney Spears' former ASSisstant/enabler, if that!

BEAST 2:53??? Alli is a strong friend of Brit's and an attractive young woman. I don't know her so I can't comment about her personally, but every time I see her, she has been present in support of Britney. That's good enough for me until someone can show me that she has hurt Britney or any one else.

NO ONE GIVES A FUCK ABOUT ALLI THE LEECH. MOVE ON X17. THIS IS STUPID.

Carrie Underwood's new album comes out the same day as Shitney. Nuff said on that. lmao.

Yea Who gives a fuck.

I'd rather look at my own cock!

Yea Who gives a fuck.

I'd rather look at my own cock!

What is Ali doing?
She is starting to look really foolish.

Ali! You are not a celeb.... deal with it... have some dignity!!

If we didn't look at them, what would their self worth be??

tony romo is a stupid mother ******* !!!!!

carrie never dated this romo**** !!!

HET 2:52

TO BAD THE BAD ONES ARE MORE THAN THE POSITIVE.

WE JUST LIKE SHOWING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.BECAUSE THE SPECIAL ED BUNCH CAN'T READ THAT NEWS PAPER.IT GOT NO COMICS

I think Britney's album will bomb. she's a TOTAL joke now. who wants to listen to that bad mother.?

Hey Hercules>>>You must be one ugly person if you think that chick is attractive. She needs to go back to her trailer and you should stop being so hard up.

Alli, I´m so glad you help Britney!

Who's the man in the middle?

Anybody hear that Shady Sam Lufti aka Jeff
the follower, damaged two cars in the parking lot at the court room? He just loves to bash into other peoples cars.

There is no way Tony Romo would go from Carrie Underwood, to the mess that is Britney Spears....

Britney voted the 5th UNSEXIEST WOMAN by Maxim. LMAO!!

The girl on the right borrowed Shitney's pink wig as a part of her Halloween costume!!!!!

OK people here's the story, Alli had a crush on Tony Romo. Tony and the Britard are just friends. Alli wanted to hook up, but evidently it never happened with Tony. She is dressed up in the football getup cause it was his birthday. NO ONE wants homely Alli the Leech OR Unfit Shitney.
End of story...

Alli looks like an old woman, I mean man.

Jessica 2:26

I'm sorry to say it, but I have to agree w/ you. Both times now that Britney has left the courtroom w/ the judge contemplating his decision, the 2 of them decide to party the night away. I understand the pressure, and the desire to just go out & have some fun after a VERY stressful day, BUT.... damn, it just wasn't the time to be doing so!!!! They should have went for a night to a spa or something. Something that didn't portray Britney as being completely irresponsible. Regardless of who's idea it was, Alli is just too willing to get into the clubs on Britney's coat tails for my liking.

On a side note.... I just went to purchase some of Britney's fragrance, because I am absolutely hooked, BUT.... Belk in my hometown has decided to stop carrying the fragrance due to customers lack of interest given Britney's current image. SAD, SAD, SAD!!!! The bottles are the prettiest I've ever seen, and the fragrance was absolutely wonderful. It's so sad to see her sink this far!!!! I really hope things start moving in the right direction soon!!!

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

SHITNEY is the "6" and ALLI is the "9"

INCESTOUS "69"

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

SHITNEY is the "6" and ALLI is the "9"

INCESTOUS "69"

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

LEACH

SHITNEY is the "6" and ALLI is the "9"

INCESTOUS "69"

Y'all

SHE LOOKS LIKE LOHAN - FAT AND UGLY!
HAHAHAHHA POOR GIRL.

BRITNEY GOT ALL THE LOOKS IN THE FAMILY!

The girl with the pink hair looks like Jennifer Blanc.

Carrie's album came out October 23 and is doing very well. The rest os this is just BS and I don't mean Queen B either.

Alli is one of those people who seems close to Britney but who also is using her for the rub.

After a long court hearing for her custody battle on Friday, Britney Spears hit the town with her longtime friend, Alli Sims – and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

The pop star, dressed in a masquerade ball mask, and Sims, first made a quick stop at the L.A. restaurant Ketchup where Romo was having dinner.

"[Spears] walked around the restaurant into the lounge where she met up with some people," an observer tells PEOPLE. "She didn't eat or drink …[It] seemed like she was rounding up people to go to [out]. She was very friendly and smiley, in and out."

Another source says, "Alli was meeting up with Tony and his friends at Ketchup and Britney wanted to come along. Tony and Alli have been good friends. They've known each other for a little over a year. "

Later, Romo met up with Sims, Spears and other pals at the Hollywood hotspot Les Deux where they hung out for a friendly low-key night upstairs.

Spears was "sitting with her friends and Tony. Everyone was just hanging out. Brit was upbeat, really seemed fine."

The following night, perhaps in a nod to her friend Romo, a source says "Sims even playfully dressed as a quarterback for Ryan Cabrera's costume party on Saturday night."

At least Carrie Underwood is gorgeous and can sing. Shitney, on the other hand, looks like death warmed over can't sing a note.

3:12:
DUH! That's why she's called an enabler.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.
Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.
Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force behind its creation. A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle.

Many of today's dance-pop albums are built by committee, and when such an album works, it allows different textures to form an aural melange under the voice, as happened on Ms. Spears's 2003 album "In the Zone" (Jive), a smart, charismatic piece of commercial pop.

But 2003 seems a long, long time ago when listening to "Blackout." The backing tracks are terrific -- they're largely shaped by European rock-influenced electronica via Daft Punk and their artistic offspring Justice, as well as by the four-beats-to-a bar rhythms of Timbaland. But as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought.

It's not just an issue of how she was recorded, though her voice is sometimes enhanced beyond recognition by digital sound manipulators akin to Vocoder and Autotune. (If you're unfamiliar with the sound they produce listen to Cher's "Believe" for the Autotune effect, and Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for Vocoder.) That's how vocals for dance music are recorded these days. But the brightness in Ms. Spears's voice that's so winning on her previous albums is all but gone. When she ventures into the upper register, as she does in "Radar," she's surrounded by other voices. Only in "Hot as Ice," a snappy slice of pop R&B, does she assert herself. She sings mostly in the mid-range, where her presence is modest, her sound thin and nasal. At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat.

On several tracks, the strongest statements are made by R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and by backing vocalists like Corte Ellis of the production team SoulDiggaz, who adds a funny bit of licentiousness to "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." Check out Ms. Hilson on Timbaland's "Shock Value" (Blackground), released earlier this year, and compare her contributions to his songs where she's the featured vocalist with what she delivers on "Blackout." She seems just as much a presence here as on the Timbaland disc.

The crackling backing tracks give "Blackout" its allure. "Piece of Me" ventures into Justice territory with its heavy, snarling bottom and siren-like synths created by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish team behind Ms. Spears's "Toxic" hit single in 2003. Marcella Araica and Danja's "Get Naked" swings under a steady pulse that's mitigated by whirling keyboards and voices. For fans of Giorgio Moroder and '80s synth-pop, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi's foundation for "Heaven on Earth" will be familiar terrain. Would it be churlish to suggest karaoke versions of these tracks might be preferable to what's here?

Analyzing lyrics for most dance tunes is dicey. They're not the point nor are the likes of Leonard Cohen writing them. But on "Blackout," Ms. Spears makes the mistake of self-reference. "I'm Miss Bad Karma/Another day, another drama/Guess I can't see the harm of working and being a mama," she sings in "Piece of Me." One suspects Ms. Spears's losing custody of her two children had little to do with her work habits, and her story is too well known to her fans for such distortion. The song, which is the second on the disc, serves to remind us of the singer's seemingly unruly life. As Pharrell Williams, who wrote the disc's finale, "Why Should I Be Sad," told MTV about Ms. Spears, "You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction. The hit single "Gimme More" and the contributions we'll assume she inspired and perhaps coaxed from the producers suggest her career is far from finished. "Blackout" is more than serviceable as a dance record. If it isn't high-quality pop, it's not quite an utter defeat for the embattled Ms. Spears.

Britney Bested by Her Backups
WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 26, 2007;

It's unfair to suggest that Britney Spears is only a figurehead on "Blackout" (Jive), her fifth solo album. But she's such a distant presence on the recording that it's hard to accept that she was a driving force