Its been two years since we have had a new album from the Princess
of Crunk and B, Ciara. Her sixth studio album ‘Jackie‘ is named
after her Mother as both an ode to her and also the fact that Ciara
herself is now a mother. She stated recently that she is, “much more
expressive and confident than I have ever been in my life.”
Her 2013 single ‘Body Party’ was a huge commercial
success and focused on a private moment between her and featured rapper Future.
Their relationship dissolved back in August 2014 and her lead single from the
new album, ‘I Bet‘, has further sparked rumours suggesting
that Future, the father of Ciara’s first child, may have
cheated on her. However, the album doesn’t ever try to be a raucous playlist of
diss tracks. It attempts to be a soothing and upbeat collection of Ciara‘s
works that work well to prove that she is in a great place. Unfortunately
though, it fails on being as good as her previous works.
Ciara
had already hit the jackpot with her proven winning formula as shown in her
first two albums and hit tracks. Her back catalogue is essentially a brilliant,
ready-made club playlist. However, it is not really clear what she has tried to
achieve in Jackie.
The tracks are good fun, though aren’t as catchy, or as
forward-thinking, as ‘Body Party’ or those on albums like Goodies
and The Evolution. ‘One Woman
Army’ aims to be her ‘Run The World‘, though its
fizzy synths and club sirens makes for a slightly old-fashioned club track. Her
stab at more straight-forward pop, ‘I Got You’—is fairly
conventional although is sweet pledge of unconditional love for her baby boy
that ends with him gurgling and laughing. Ciara reunites with Missy
Elliott in the breezy jam ‘That’s How I’m Feelin’,
though the track feels like is trying to recreate the magic of 2004’s ‘1,
2 Step.’ The track also features Pitbull and
background vocals from singer-songwriter Ester Dean. Ciara
and Missy are both fabulous performers with remarkable chemistry, but Pitbull‘s
place in this track still remains unclear and quite odd.
However there are still a few great tracks on the album. With her soft,
barely-there vocals taking center stage in ‘Dance Like We’re Making
Love,’ Ciara can be mistaken for Janet Jackson
— a popular comparison that she has received many times over her
twelve-year career. This track is one of her best slow jams since ‘Ride’
back in 2010. ‘Kiss and Tell’ is also a catchy R&B number
with great bass and a whispery hookline that is Ciara’s trademark.
Ultimately, Jackie isn’t a bad album at all and Ciara‘s
vocals are improving greatly every time she releases new music. Ciara‘s
sixth album comes from her heart and although it is great to know that she is
feeling emboldened by the recent events in her personal life, Jackie doesn’t
really know where it is standing and what it is standing for, ultimately making
it a bumpy and slightly disappointing ride.
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