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Jennifer Lopez "This Is Me...Then" Album
Tracklisting & Lyrics
1. Still lyrics »
2. Loving You lyrics »
3. I'm Glad lyrics »
4. The One lyrics »
5. Dear Ben lyrics »
6. All I Have lyrics »
7. Jenny From The Block lyrics »
8. Again lyrics »
9. You Belong To Me lyrics »
10. I've Been Thinkin' lyrics »
11. Baby I Love U lyrics »
12. The One (Version 2) (Bonus Track) lyrics »
Reviews
Between her first and second albums, Jennifer Lopez moved from sharp hip-hop to a slicker sound that captured the sass and heat of the streets, thanks mainly to the production acumen of her erstwhile boyfriend Sean "Puffy" Combs. On her third album, This Is Me ... Then, Lopez shows she's just as facile as her ex in changing names as well as musical personas. She abandons the impish J-Lo moniker for a more benign, and less interesting, Jenny, who makes an appearance on "Jenny from the Block." Here, Lopez insists she is still the same down-to-earth girl who emerged from the Bronx a decade before mega-stardom hit: "I used to have a little/ Now I have a lot," she chirps before cautioning, "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got/ I'm still Jenny from the block." The claim stretches credibility given her well-documented status as a diva, but "Jenny" shows more pizzazz and humor on the album than anything else, except for her saucy duet with LL Cool J on "All I Have." Elsewhere, the album--which includes nine songs cowritten by Lopez--serves up a recycled paean to '70s soul, an anemic cover of Carly Simon's vituperative "You Belong to Me," and cloying ballads inspired by her new fiance, actor Ben Affleck. Lopez dedicated the disc to the actor and includes a far-too-personal and gooey love song to him titled "Dear Ben." In it, she declares: "You'll always be my lust, my love, my man, my child, my friend and my king." There's plenty of love here, but what's missing is the verve and crackle of Lopez's earlier stuff. ~Jaan Uhelszki, Amazon.com
Ms. Lopez is in love and she wants everyone to know it. Ten out of the twelve tracks on This Is Me…Then are devoted to expressing it. While this is undoubtedly due to her current romance with actor Ben Affleck, her topics vary from still being in love with someone ("Still") to breaking up with someone ("All I Have"), and everything in between.
Gone is the P Diddy influenced hip-hopstress J. Lo; brought back is the original yet more refined Jennifer Lopez. This Is Me…Then centers itself around a late 70's Motown feel; Jennifer's gentle voice paired up with a background vocalist or two trumped up with strings over relaxed funk basslines. This Is Me... is a showcase of J. Lo's talent as a singer and songwriter (she co-wrote most of the tracks), versus an overall package as a performer with good looks and a voice.
Yet, the album isn't so much a "back to her roots" album, but more of an "I've always been myself" album. Except for "Jenny From the Block," you won't find anything like "Waiting for Tonight" or "I'm Real." The best example of this about face is her song dedicated to her love, "Dear Ben." Fueled by her intimate emotions she carries herself strongly through each verse. Throughout This Is Me... her voice is never really that powerful, but very rarely is it weak.
Comprised mostly of love ballads, This Is Me…Then aims itself more towards a niche market. This Is Me…Then is a well-written and produced album. The love theme would be over the top had it not been performed with Jennifer Lopez's style class. ~tom reiter, music-critic.com
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