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You can only be a girl-woman for so long, and on her third album, Britney Spears puts her mall-pop sound under the knife. On the best cuts, ubiquitous megaproducers the Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins help Britney make the transition from teen-pop idol to legitimate artist in style by providing her with grittier, frenetic beats. The Vanity Six-sampled first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U," features Brit's seductive panting atop the Neptunes' spare, hip-swiveling track. Swedish pop maestro Max Martin and his partner, Rami -- frequent Spears, 'N Sync, and Backstreet Boys collaborators -- make a return appearance on the multilayered, beat-laden "Overprotected," as well as on the anthemic, Dido-penned ballad "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." Just as Janet Jackson did on her woman-on-the-verge triumph, Control, Britney makes a bid to steer her career by co-writing a number of the disc's 12 tracks, including the charming disco-lite boardwalk jam "Anticipating." Her new sound is less eager to please and more ambitious than anything she's done in the past, and the album's lyrics, when not overtly sexual, sound like they've been lifted from the diary of a petulant teenager. While her maturing fan base may empathize, the mix of come-hither and get-out-of-my-room makes Britney an intriguing set of mixed messages about love, sexuality, and adulthood that will surely provide grist for feminist critics. The blossoming Ms. Spears may not know who she is yet, but her fans will enjoy listening while she tries to figure it out.
CONDIITION: NEW
TRACK LISTINGS
1 I'm a Slave 4 U
2 Overprotected
3 Lonely
4 I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman
5 Boys
6 Anticipating
7 I Love Rock 'n' Roll
8 Cinderella
9 Let Me Be
10 Bombastic Love
11 That's Where You Take Me
12 What It's Like to Be Me
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