[back] |
| 3/4/04 |
Richmond paper Schizo review Nsync member, J.C. Chasez, is stepping out on his own with his debut solo CD, Schizophrenic. The album is aptly titled. Chasez moves all over the musical map on Schizophrenic— from reggae, to rock, to R&B. Along the way he manages to tip his hat to his varied musical influences, which include Prince, David Bowie, Robert Plant, UB40, and the Police. As a member of Nsync, Chasez helped define the sound of nineties, teen pop. But with its heavy use of techno synthesizers and disco beats, Schizophrenic is the ultimate eighties party album. Chasez even cribs the hook from Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night” on the seductive “Come To Me.” There’s a song on Schizophrenic for every guest at the party. For the rocker, there’s the Lenny Kravitz-styled “If You Were My Girl.” For the guy who’s looking for some loving, there's the R-rated “One Night Stand.” For the girl drowning her heartbreak in her beer, there's the wrenching ballad “Dear Goodbye.” And for the partygoers who just want to dance the night away, there’s the thumping “Shake It.” Unlike fellow Nsyncer, Justin Timberlake, Chasez forgoes the use of super-producers like the Neptunes on his solo effort. Instead, he opts to work with edgy, under-ground producers like the Basement Jaxx, Rockwilder, and Alex G. His choice of collaborators brings a freshness to an album that could easily have become a derivative mess. Make no mistake; this party is definitely for the eighteen-and-over crowd. Chasez fills the album with vivid descriptions of his carnal cravings. Unfortunately, the explicit lyrics are at risk of overshadowing the album’s stellar production values and amazing musicianship. With his provocative album, J.C. Chasez sheds his sweet boy-band image and proves he's all grown up. Here's hoping that his fans have grown up with him.
Once again, boy bands say 'bye, bye, bye' Hello (hello hello hello) — any boy bands out there? Just
a few years ago the charts and airwaves were dominated by the pop
stylings of ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and lesser
boyish lights like O-Town and Five. Where did those precision drill
teams of harmonizing heartthrobs go? While “Schizophrenic,” the solo debut of Timberlake’s ‘N Sync-mate J.C. Chasez (pronounced sha-zay), enters the album chart this week at No. 17 after selling a respectable 52,000 copies, fans clutched 439,000 first-week copies of Timberlake’s “Justified” in their sweaty little hands when it debuted 16 months ago. Chasez has spent much of the last 10 years toiling gamely in his
friend Timberlake’s shadow since they appeared together on
“The New Mickey Mouse Club” in the early '90s. In keeping
with the theme, Chasez’s own duties as halftime entertainer
at the Pro Bowl were the first casualty of Timberlake’s notorious
breast-revealing Super Bowl halftime stunt with Janet Jackson. It
figures. Grammy-winner Timberlake’s success has been based upon a combination of a calculated forsaking of his wholesome, color-coordinated, boyish ‘N Sync image for that of a sexual young bachelor on the prowl, sowing his wild oats with the steamy likes of Britney Spears, Alyssa Milano, Cameron Diaz and the nasty Miss Jackson. Musically, Timberlake has been able to convince a skeptical world that he isn’t a posed popster, but is in reality a gritty soul man, charting his own course down a path rich with funky, organic grooves. Thus far, his fellow boy band alumni have been left behind. The cycle is hardly new In the '60s, the Monkees were handpicked as a telegenic American version of the Beatles (Stephen Stills was famously rejected for bad teeth), and while their run yielded enduring hits like “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Stepping Stone” and Daydream Believer,” they didn’t write or play instruments on any of them, and only Michael Nesmith had any kind of post-Monkees solo career. Menudo — constructed of cheerful young Puerto Ricans in the late '70s primarily for the Latin youth market — ran through more than 30 members in a 20-year period, ruthlessly booting each out as he inexorably turned 16, yielding only Ricky Martin as a solo star. The '80s saw outstanding success from New Kids On the Block (“I’ll Be Loving You Forever,” “Hangin’ Tough” and “Step By Step” all reached No. 1) and New Edition (“Cool It Now,” “Earth Angel,” “If It Isn’t Love”), both manufactured and coordinated by Boston impresario Maurice Starr. The success of NE alums Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Bell Biv DeVoe (Ricky Bell, Michael Bivens, Ronald DeVoe), and Johnny Gill, as well as their hit reunion in 1996 (“Hit Me Off”), is the exception that proves the rule: serendipitously, the members grew from pawns into strong singers, songwriters and producers in their own right, at least for a time. Only Bobby Brown is still in the news, and that is primarily due to his tumultuous marriage to Whitney Houston and legal problems. Loss of Inncense Heightening this trend in recent years has been the explosion of reality television, which like a visit to the sausage factory, may be fascinating in the short term, but can kill one’s appetite for the product in the long run. While Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync at least made the effort to be perceived as authentic musicians, O-Town reveled in its artificiality as the formation of the group was chronicled in the ABC reality series “Making the Band” in 2000. Gleefully fabricated on-camera by former Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync manager Lou Pearlman, the process of assembly may have made for some interesting television, but its stark revelation also doomed the group to about zero artistic respect and a very short shelf life. While it is centered on individual singers, “American Idol,” now in its third season, has also contributed to the public’s awareness of the nuts and bolts of the star-making machinery: industry-insider judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and former pop star Paula Abdul critique the contestants and chat revealingly amongst themselves about song selection, image-shaping and non-musical elements such as stage presence and charisma. There is still magic in a performance that clicks, but we are all much more aware of where the magic came from, whether we choose to be or not. There was also a flap immediately after “AI’s” first season when an artist contract became public, revealing that show creator Simon Fuller’s company owned the careers of contestants — like competition winner Kelly Clarkson — from their heads to their toes into the distant future. With all of this media exposure, fans, even very young ones, are on some level sadder but wiser and their enjoyment of pop perfection will never be pure again. We may never again see a boy band era succeed like the one just past.
JC #59 debut in Canada ...Of the week’s many debuts on the Top 100, we’re most delighted to see that — though he has yet to prove himself a commercial equal to his buddy, Justin Timberlake — former *NSYNCer JC Chasez finds himself at a respectable #59. Chasez’s solo debut is called Schizophrenic, although we think he should’ve copped from Prince and called it Dirty Mind, ‘cause it’s one of the most sexual — yet disappointingly unsexy — records we’ve heard in a while.
Orlando City Beat Review ARTIST: JC Chasez
Which is only the first of many surprises on the album. While JT showed us that he had flava to burn, JC shows us that his strengths are his sly sense of humor and his eclectic taste in music. New wave, reggae, Latin grooves, old-school R&B, and disco intermingle with JC's nod-and-wink sex-crazed persona, to varying degrees of success. "100 Ways" combines Prince's hair-trigger sexuality with JC's half-smirky delivery of semi-cheese lines to a gorgeous siren who's more than his match. Combine that with a "Bryan Setzer "-like rockabilly riff and the track crackles with carnal electricity. However, JC stumbles on slower cuts like "Lose Myself" and "Build My World", trading in his quirky lothario persona for hangdog earnestness (read: less fun). Like I said, "Schizophrenic" is pretty damn good, but it could've been pretty damn great. Its weakness is its inconsistency. When JC is unabashedly singing about love in sappy, sub-par R&B tracks, he's a cardboard cutout. But when he's singing about sex, and the love of sex, and the give-and-take of sex, and the pure reckless abandon of sex...the songs take on a fun, campy, sexy charge. He's the rare male singer who can let his sexuality emerge without the obligatory power play of relegating women to "bitch" and "ho" status. His lyrics (he co-wrote all of the songs) celebrate women: their breasts, legs, asses, and, (a rarity these days) their minds. And he's not afraid to tackle male sexual power in witty, non-misogynistic ways. This CD isn't the coup de grace that Justin Timberlake's "Justified" was, but JC's definitely got potential. When his talent, wit and tongue-in-cheek sexuality catch up to his ambition, we'll have a worthy superstar on our hands.
Q&A with BT (Dude, where's my laptop?) ...You also collaborate with 'N Sync refugee JC Chasez. Who approached who? JC loves dance music. He was like "Dude, I want to sing on one of those big progressive tracks that are like 10 minutes long" I'm like: "You do?" Then JC says he loved (BT and Vincent Cavello's 1995 club hit) Loving You More. And I'm like: "Dude, it's so f***ing random, and not even funny, that you know that song let alone like it. You knew JC's vocal style when you worked with 'N Sync on their POP album. How was it different working for your album? I got to know that JC has the largest vocal range out of any guy singer I have ever met. He can sing higher than Justin (Timberlake), lower than Justin, and Justin has a big range. With JC, you don't need to call the girls for the backing vocals. He does that castrato s..seven octaves over everybody. How did you rate 'Nsync before you worked with them? I judged them the way everyone else did. I thought it was cheesy, corporate fodder. But when I met them, I realised they were talented guys stuck with doing things they didn't enjoy that much...
*NSYNC Singer Causes Stir With 'Schizophrenic' Album Cover The singer who was dumped from the Pro Bowl halftime show is angering a publication dedicated to people who suffer from schizophrenia. J.C. Chasez is causing a stir with the publisher of the Schizophrenic Digest over the cover of his debut album "Schizophrenic." On the cover, Chasez -- a member of the pop group *NSYNC -- is pictured in a straight jacket. Bill MacPhee, himself a schizophrenia sufferer, said the cover does nothing to help eliminate the stigma of mental illness. Calls to Chasez's representatives were not returned. The NFL pulled Chasez from the halftime entertainment lineup of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in February as a cautious move sparked by the breast-baring incident involving his fellow *NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. The NFL instead asked Chasez to sing the national anthem, but since the singer said he was asked to switch song choices and change lyrics before being dumped from the halftime show, he refused.
ALBUM REVIEW - Schizophrenic Forget wardrobe malfunctions: Justin Timberlake’s bandmate has come up with a much better way to surprise America. Instead of outrage, N*SYNC’s number-two man offers a smartly schizophrenic solo debut filled with the anything-goes dancefloor abandon of the ‘80s, where the giddiest moments make Justin seem like Sting. One listen to the sophomoric “A.D.I.D.A.S.,” which sets the crusty grade-school joke to an irresistible techno-metal stomp, should prove Chasez isn’t just chasing adult credibility the old-fashioned way. And the guest production -- provided by Basement Jaxx and Rockwilder, among others – seems less the usual attempt to amass big names and more the result of a real desire to slip the straitjacket of N*SYNC. Granted, Chasez hasn’t completely outgrown his vinyl-soul roots; ballads like “Build My World” summon the synthetic squeak of the vanishing boy bands, and while his everything-but-the-public-urinal update of George Michael is certainly accomplished, it’s a little too close to Timberlake territory now. “100 Ways,” a twanging, rapping, rocking mess of froth brilliant enough to have come straight out of Beck’s blender, confirms it: for JC, schizo is the way to go.
Lone member sings out of sync Justin Timberlake wants to be Michael Jackson. Britney Spears wants to be Madonna. And now, JC Chasez wants to be Prince. “Schizophrenic” is a new solo album from JC Chasez, one of the guys from N*SYNC. The album is eclectic with many different voices and sounds from Chasez — hence its title. Opting to write the album alone with Basement Jaxx and with Dallas Austin producing, “Schizophrenic” is a mix of dance, electronica, pop and R&B that makes a throwback to the funky, former-symbol Prince himself. So what is the popular topic of the album? Sex, of course! There is no subtlety when it comes to sexuality in the derived beat song “All Day Long I Dream About Sex” and the funky rhythms of “One Night Stand.” “Come to Me” would be an excellent song, with its clever callback to Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night,” if it wasn’t so lewd and dirty in its references to solo sex. The tribal beat of “Everything You Want” makes for one of the best songs on the album. The track’s simplicity and vocals have the makeup of a hit. Maybe Chasez should have stuck to raunchy dance songs; the ballads are hard to believe and poorly contrived. Slow songs like “Build my World” and “Dear Goodbye” sound dishonest as if they were thrown on the album to show Chasez’s softer side. Chasez’s sincerity is exemplified through the upbeat, less-generic ballad “Right By Your Side”and in the song “Something Special.” “Schizophrenic” is an affected, flawed album that might leave you hearing voices from the past.
Eat your heart out, Justin - this *NSYNC star is way better Schizophrenic Forget the late-'90s teen pop backlash; there's no pinning this one down. JC Chasez's debut solo album, Schizophrenic, is a rowdy, raunchy collection of songs that catapults the former *NSYNC singer out of any lingering boy band pop image he may have. Instead of singing to the teenagers of America about promises of everlasting love, Chasez tackles one-night stands, sex in different positions and masturbation, as well as other fun and racy topics. And instead of sticking to one genre, as former fellow bandmate Justin Timberlake did with the R&B/pop album Justified, Chasez can hardly find a category that will contain all of his different songs. Chasez takes more risks with his solo album than Timberlake, stepping completely out of any shadow he might be under from his days with *NSYNC. He co-wrote almost all of the tracks on the album, and his unique style comes through. "100 Ways" starts with an enthusiastic guitar riff that emphasizes the rock/pop feel of the song. Another rocking track, "If You Were My Girl," plays with guitars and thumping drums along with the synthesizer in the background. The songs on the album have been influenced by all kinds of music. "Shake It" samples a popular '70s song. A little bit of reggae is nice to hear in one of the more intense tracks, "Everything You Want." Chasez keeps the lyrics simple but still meaningful. There's a real focus on the music, in contrast to the over-produced songs found on popular albums today that keep the chorus pumping until the song dramatically ends. Chasez slows things down and leaves time for the instruments to show off, ad-lib and frame his voice. The ballads on the album are a nice complement to the high-energy tracks without lacking in their own appeal. They focus on more than mindless romance; they also have themes of heartache and longing. "Dear Goodbye" is especially powerful, with its simple melody and the focus on the words of the song, "a love defeated." "Build My World" is a melancholy story for anyone who might relate to the lyrics "Someone for everyone/But no one for me." When the tempo slows down, the songs are still worth listening to. Chasez experiments with unusual topics in his songs, as well as non-standard beats. "Come to Me" has an otherworldly feel to it, enhanced by the pulsing keyboards in the background as Chasez sings about missing a lover. He doesn't shy away from controversial topics such as drugs; his album has many sexual lyrics and a few noises that are quite common on cable channels late at night. These frank expressions of sexuality don't cheapen the album. Instead, it helps the album come across as more honest. The references are no worse than the typical music video on MTV. What little shock value it contains comes from Chasez's squeaky-clean image he maintained in *NSYNC, and the music business is clearly over that. With all of this experimentation, there are bound to be a few tracks that do not quite work. "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," a song that is mostly a monotone chant that repeats the title over and over again, is only saved by the techno dance instrumental break in the middle that lasts almost three minutes. "Something Special" is overpowered by the handclaps, and the country music feel doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the material. Still, the album is strong even with these minor setbacks. It's obvious that a lot of work was put into the album. Schizophrenic is a solo album that traverses musical genres and styles, and will appeal to a variety of audiences. JC Chasez can thank *NSYNC for putting him in the spotlight, but this is wholly his album. With music different from most out there today, Chasez forges new ground and is well on the way to making a name for himself as a solo artist. If you're looking for a strong album with a rich variety of music by one person breaking away from the pack, Schizophrenic is it.
Schizophrenic Bares Chasez's Influences Having been largely ambivalent toward *NSYNC during their 90s heyday, JC Chasez's recent solo release is less to me a continuation of a career closely followed than it is a chance to get a better taste of an intriguingly diverse and talented young artist who has recently recorded some cool tracks with BT and Basement Jaxx. To be frank, I'll admit that I expected to find a few listenable tracks and a lot of filler; fodder for the used record store pile. Much to my delight, the reality is quite the opposite. To begin with a broad generalization, Schizophrenic is an immensely listenable collection of well-crafted pop tunes. More specifically, this is a varied collection of pop tunes in a variety of styles that indicate that the artist is able to draw from an extensive vocabulary of contemporary pop styles without losing the game by merely imitating, like certain other former boyband singers have been known to do. Not that I'm naming names, mind you. Much of the press given this album so far has been over-concerned with comparing Mr. Chasez to one artist or the other. In truth, it is fair to remark that he wears his influences on his sleeve. 70s R&B, catchy 80s electro-pop, white boy reggae rock anthems and power ballads are all in evidence here, to one degree or another, which gives him a generous palate to work from; one that in less competent hands could equal an unseemly aural mess. Thankfully, due to JC's limber vocals and some very talented producers, the album swings from mode to mode without a blink or a shred of self-consciousness. From the deep-in-clubland jaded gloss of the opening track, "Some Girls (Dance With Women)," we are then propelled down the Pacific Coast Highway, top down, with the breezy, acoustic guitar shuffle of "She Got Me." That gives way to the nasty retro funk of "100 Ways," which tumbles into the bubbling electro-dub of "Mercy"... and so the album goes. Well, no. To be honest, from there the album slams into one of three ballads that sound very like those he sang with *NSYNC. If you loved his *NSYNC balladry, then these will delight you. They are well written and certainly brilliantly produced, and JC deploys his lovely voice with great passion. Myself, I'm not a ballad fan, so they slow the pace a little for me - to be exact, they slow it down as long as it takes me to hit the forward button. As I said, very well done, but as willa has said before, they're "kinda schmoopy". Elsewhere, there are some excellent dance floor tracks that are certain to dominate every Spring Break DJ's playlist. In particular, the fantastically anthemic, fist pumping, "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," which will have the whole club chanting along for sure. The production is pure 80s dance mix - so dead-on, in fact, that during the instrumental break, I actually checked to see if my iPod hadn't spontaneously tripped over into some forgotten and obscure Depeche Mode remix. Definitely worth a mention is the surprisingly rockin', "If You Were My Girl" where... Okay, I said no comparisons, but I can't help it: JC can squeal just like Robert Plant, which I think is kinda cool! You'll also enjoy the decidedly funky bounce of "One Night Stand," wherein JC manages to weave in riffs from classic hits like "Cruisin'" or Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" without sounding self-conscious in the least - not an easy feat. I know the album's title was an allusion to the varied nature of the music therein; however, then it would be correctly titled Dissociative Identity Disorder. Didn't JC pay attention in Psych 101? Somehow, that's just not as catchy, is it? Luckily, though, the album itself is as catchy as it wants to be. I hope what we have here is chapter one in a very talented and varied artist's career. I can hardly wait for Chapter 2. Go. Buy. Now. But then, if you are reading this, then chances are, you already have. In that case then, by all means turn it up!
Justin just following Usher's lead? Usher has been having had a bit of a dig at Justin Timberlake. Usher's spent the last couple of years working on new material - a single called 'Yeah' which he's done with Ludacris and an album, 'Confessions'. Both are out this month, but in the last year Justin Timberlake appears to have stolen Usher's mantle. But Usher's adamant there's no way Justin could fill his shoes: "I think when you guys put Justin Timberlake in the category of being a follower it shows that he can't be a leader. That's not good." "It kind of worries me that everytime that question comes up, Justin Timberlake is taking the spot." "I wouldn't want to be a follower, would you? I wanna lead in my own category. So I'll go ahead and put it out there if Justin hasn't already." "There'll never be another Usher. There'll never be a spot filling if you know what I mean."
Right here waiting, as usual If anyone is in on the joke, it's Richard Marx. Grammy Award winner, hot producer-songwriter and all-around good guy, the Chicago native knows why some people don't like him. "Nobody gets the joke more than me," says Marx, who resides on the North Shore with his wife, dancer-actress-singer Cynthia Rhodes, and their three boys. "When I first started out, I had credibility because my songs were played on rock radio and Joe Walsh was playing guitar on it. Then within a year, I became the anti-Christ..." ...His clear voice and romantic style are such a trademark that when Justin Timberlake played a demo of "This I Promise You" -- a song that would become one of 'N Sync's biggest hits -- Timberlake's father was confused as to who was singing the song. "I remember seeing Justin before their record came out and he said, 'I always send my dad a tape of the stuff we're doing,' " Marx recalls. "And his dad called him up and said, 'I love this song, but why is Richard Marx singing it?' I wasn't, it was Justin, but we both have that same sandpaper voice. I was mortified because if it sounds too much like me, then I've failed the band. But it worked out OK for them, and me. I felt like I was on a runaway train with that song and was enjoying the ride..." |
[back] |
