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| 4/24/04 |
Entertainment Today Schizo
review OK, so what reason could JC Chasez possibly have for naming his debut disc Schizophrenic? Do you really have to ask? It’s a no-brainer, people! Variety, eclecticism, well-roundedness —pick an adjective, any adjective (though any psych major would be quick to instruct that the title is a bit of misnomer; more on that later). Suffice it to say that Chasez seems to have gone out of his way to include as many compatible music styles as possible in this 16-song release — from the hip-hop of “Some Girls (Dance With Women)” to the rock-infused “100 Ways;” from the funk of “One Night Stand” (its chorus derivative of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”) to the pseudo-reggae design of “Everything You Want.” It’s all here! What’s more, for the most part, it works! The hands-down winner in this set is “Some Girls (Dance With Women”), an infectious percussive groove that immediately gets the listener’s attention, Chasez’s wordplay fast and furious, the tightly woven harmonies as alluring as silk and satin. Though it’s definitely the best of the bunch, charmers include the aforementioned “One Night Stand” (no explanation necessary) and “All Day Long I Think About Sex,” a throwback to new wave with a music interlude Kraftwerk should take as a compliment. (Speaking of throwbacks, let’s not forget “Come To Me” and its quasi-tribute to Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night”). Lest anyone worry Chasez might have strayed too far from his N*SYNC roots, fear not, that genre covered by “Dear Goodbye,” “Lose Myself” and “Something Special” (the latter a tad reminiscent of George Michael’s “Faith”). However, keep in mind the creativity in this disc does not rest with the tried and true (thank goodness), it rests in the adventurous excursions that exhibit other aspects of Chasez’s musical character. Which brings us back to the disc’s title—Schizophrenic, Greek for “split mind,” not as apropos as “multiple personality”—the mass of genres on this disc apparently representative of Chasez’s various influences and melded into a tight package by Chasez and producers (e.g., Riprock, Alex “G”, Robb Boldt). Gee, maybe this guy isn’t just “eye candy” after all!
Hollywood Reporter Review: JC Chasez HOB Sunset Bottom line: The solo 'N Sync star, though energetic and likable,
is sunk by generic material draped in dopey dance numbers and messy
musical arrangements. JC Chasez may well have the best singing voice of all the members of 'N Sync, but it's hard to tell because his solo material is so weak. And way too many silly dance bits with a backing troupe just made things more wretched during his first of two nights at the Sunset Strip House of Blues. Chasez was enthusiastic onstage and is certainly more personable than his insufferably smug pal Justin Timberlake, but his band -- wearing lime-green medical scrubs until halfway through the agonizingly long 90-minute set -- was cluttered, clumsy and overarranged, with two guitar players wrenching out solos that had no style and no substance and were poor attempts at injecting a "rock" element. The show opened with the pulsating "All Day Long I Dream About Sex," which cops in part from early-'80s New Order. But without a whit of any of that English band's sense of irony to the title hook line, it becomes fact and plain dumb. Chasez went on to change outfits so many times that one lost count, though a pimp wardrobe in black, including a fedora with a pink feather, was easily the silliest of all. Male dancers joined him for the most predictable choreography in unison. At least his writhing and strutting female dancers looked more like Pussycat Dolls-type burlesque strippers, which made them slightly different than troupes in most dance-pop acts and more teasingly appealing for guys in the crowd who looked like they'd been dragged along by girlfriends. As far as the music goes, there was just nothing there. Hmm. Let's do that math: If the girls were 14 and 15 screaming for 'N Sync in say, 2000, they're 18 and 19 now; so why are they so enamored of such bland pop-funk as the second-rate Michael Jackson falsetto style of "She Got Me," a bad Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" knockoff for "Come to Me," the near-tuneless and mechanical "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)" and overwrought ballad delivery in the soulless "Build My World"? Most of the numbers were forgettable rhythmic constructs rather than actual, crafted songs, made even more evident when Chasez covered an actual song in Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" -- though his version, which found him bouncing around the stage in a geeky fashion, was more like Prince as done by "Footloose"-era Kenny Loggins, about as dangerous as running up and down the aisles in a Wal-Mart.
'Some Girls' one of VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs...
Ever What's your least favorite song of all time? What songs make you
shake your head, roll your eyes, laugh, gag or just want to punch
something because they're so horrendous? Premiering on Wednesday
May 12th VH1 and Blender Magazine, present the "50 Most Awesomely
Bad Songs ... Ever." This 2-hour special, hosted by George
Lopez, will cover the lowest of the lows from the last three decades
of bad songs. Viewers can log onto VH1.com for more melodious meltdowns: ...41. JC Chasez - 'Some Girls (Dance with Women)'... |
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