Disc #41: Christina Aguilera (My Kind of Christmas)

Artist: Christina Aguilera
Album: My Kind of Christmas
Released by BMG Entertainment in 2000

Listen, I'm willing to give anyone a shot. It's Christmas music, so it can't be that bad, right? In other words, don't knock it it 'till you've tried it.

The great thing about this blog is that once I've tried it, I get to knock it all I want.

To give you some perspective, let's have a brief look at the timeline of Aguilera's career, just in case you're not that familiar. She released her debut album in 1999, and it was a huge success, reaching number one on the Billboard charts and containing two #1 hit singles ("Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants"). In 2002, Aguilera released her second studio album, along with unveiling a rather controversial new persona, "Xtina". In between these two albums, someone at BMG decided that there was a lot of money to be made of this new rival to Britney Spears. Hence, a Christmas album was throw together, and I really mean it when I say, "thrown together".

It's quite obvious that someone arranged and recorded a bunch of Christmas tunes, some traditional and others more contemporary, and said, "You're singin' these songs!" How could the new contender for Pop Princess say no?

Anyways, concerning the album itself, it's not completely horrible, but I suppose I should explain my generally negative tone. The first thing to note is the inconsistency of genres. I'm all for diversity and versatility, but this disc just had me confused. From R&B to blues to funk to traditional hymns to house to pop... I hardly knew who I was listening to at times.

There are a couple of traditional Christmas hymns on the album, but they didn't so much inspire me to sing along. "Oh Holy Night" almost had me question my faith. The Christina as I know her is the girl from "Stripped" and "Back to Basics" who is anything but modest and quite comfortable with her body image and sexuality. To hear that same woman speak the Lord's Prayer during one of my favourite sacred Christmas hymns was fairly disturbing and somewhat confusing. It's like when a lifetime smoker tells you to quit smoking because it's harmful to your health, just as they take another drag. You know they're speaking the truth, but it just doesn't make any sense to find what they're telling you convincing.

There were also a couple of highlights. Vocal talent, for one. Say what you will about Xtina, the girl's got a set of pipes. It's interesting to see her career unfold, because she certainly has been gifted with an incredible voice, and that was at least somewhat entertaining to listen to, even if it was repetitive at times.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear a very recognizable male voice on the blues tune "Merry Christmas, Baby". The guy who takes the second chorus is none other than Dr. John (Mac Rebennack). Most rock and roll fans would know exactly who I'm talking about. His vocal and piano contributions are fitting on this enjoyable blues tune. My favourite track on the album is "This Christmas", which you will probably hear on CHFI in Toronto starting November 25th about twelve times a day. Even still, it is a wonderful funk tune with a full band that fills out quite nicely. If the whole album had more tunes like these two, it would have been a great disc.

At the end of it all, it's really not a memorable album, and certainly not one I would put on at a Christmas party. There were some enjoyable moments, but there was far to much fluff in between to drown them out. I have no choice but to give this album a score of:

4

Join me next time as the experiment continues with Disc #42: Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics: Disc 1).