Amazon.com reviews:


4 STARS
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Jennifer Lopez's "Brave", October 9, 2007
By Antoine D. Reid "80sforever" (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Jennifer Lopez's "Brave" delivers where her previous effort, "Rebirth" lacked. She drops the hard R&B act and goes for a retro, 70s/80s pop sound. For me as a listener, it worked. Each song on this cd actually brings something new to the table, keeping things upbeat and interesting. With this retro sound, the album stays on track and has a more consistent sound than "Rebirth" which seemed to be unispired and go all over the place.

The stand-out tracks for me were "Do It Well" which is a pop-fast paced song similar to "Get Right" in that it's ready for the club setting. "Hold It Don't Drop It" is another strong track that thrives on its disco sound, where as "Forever" plays with the vocals, bringing the feeling back to something from the 80s with the instrumental. "Mile In These Shoes" has 'single' written all over it and drips intrigue and mystery, standing out as a track truly original for Lopez with lyrics that actually stand out as strong and empowering. "The Way It Is" and "I Need Love" both have a laid-back groove sound that's fun and moves the album along. Even the title track "Brave" stands out as something worth remembering.

There isn't anything necessarily wrong with the tracks not mentioned but for me, they either lack the same interest and consideration put into the stand-out tracks and get lost in the sound. These tracks slow-down the album, breaking up the good tracks and upbeat sound by trying perhaps to be too 'brave' and playing with a sound and production that doesn't fit or compliment her at all. Still, this is an album I can listen to often and enjoy more than "Rebirth." It's not as good as "This Is Me ... Then" but is up there with one of her better albums. She took some chances with this album, playing down the R&B vibe and going more for the pop-sound and for me, it worked. Even the "Do It Well" remix featuring Ludacris stays consistant with the rest of the album and doesn't deviate into her usual R&B, totally remixing of a song. It's fun, light, easy listening. This is definitely worth a listen and your money.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3'5 Not Too Brave But Alot of Feel Good Pop, October 9, 2007
By Josephll "Looking For The Perfect Beat" (CET) - See all my reviews
Jennifer Lopez is one of those few persons to successfully go from acting to singing and make it even better. Bruce Willis and David Hassellhoff were less successfull. Money Train, Anaconda, and Selena were the films Lopez were most famous for but when she decided to start a music career in 1999 she blew all expectations with her debut album On the 6. It's not that Lopez was such a good singer, and people have always complained at her voice. But he music was catchy in demand feel good pop that sometimes had a flavour of latin. Lopez is also a great dancer and very beautiful, so she was the perfect singer to market. "If You Had My Love" reached #1 and "Waiting For Tonight" #8. One year later she released sophmore album JLO / 17 Tracks / Bonus Tracks: Pleasure is Mine & Amor Se Paga Con Amor and Jlo was the nickname she would also be called after that. Singles "I'm Real" also reached #1 while "Love Don't Cost a Thing" reached #1 in the UK and #3 in the states. Jlo was seen and heard everywhere at this time, either it was on MTV for her music, or it was for a perfume she made or for her relationships with Diddy and Ben Affleck (Atleast she dissed Mr. Blade!). This Is Me...Then her third album was released in 2002. "All I Have" reached the #1 position, the song was not the first or last of her songs that heavily relied on samples. This time it was Debra Laws hit "Very Special". The album itself was diffrent, it featured more rap duets but I felt that the sound was getting too predictable. Catchy but mostly lightweight pop that JLo had done so many times before already. 3 years later came Rebirth and the JLO fever had srt of died out. She had now married fellow Puerto Rican Marc Anthony that she already had recorded a duet with on her first album. The only hit here was Rich Harrison produced "Get Right" that relied on a James Brown sample. But overall I think the album was a dissapointment and it felt like it was shortly forgotten. JLO was quiet ever since but earlier this year she released a more serious album in spanish, it didn't sound anything like her other albums and didn't get alot of good reviews either. A half year later "Brave" is coming out. Quite unexpected that it didn't take longer but apparently she had been recording the album for over a year. So what can we expect?

"Brave" is more of the same, that is more uptempo's with good hooks perfect for radio airplay. Personally I prefer JLO singing this kind of songs cause her voice isn't interesting enough for ballads. Producers inlude Lynn & Wade LLP, Ryan Tedder, Midi Mafia and Jonathan Rotem to mention a few, but it is Lynn & Wade LLP that produce most of the songs. Many songs here relies on samples but in this case it isn't a big deal cause the sample isn't the spotlight of the songs but the sound of many of the songs is kind of retro-ish and sounds like it was made in the late 90's early 00's then in 2007. That isn't to say it's a bad album cause it isn't but a working title like "Playing Safe" would have been more suitable. The opener "Stay Together" is a typical JLO song, but what's interesting is the lyrics where she declares that she's happy as a married woman. "This time is in our favor, This time comes second nature/ Heartbreaks are overrated/ Stay together That's the new trend". "Forever" a midtempo is my favorite song, it is the first of 3 songs written by The Clutch with Keri Hilson. Why this one isn't an expected single is beyond me. "Hold It, Don't Drop It" is the second single, it's a typical Jlo Song aswell. Not bad, but forgettable. It sampels Tavares disco song "It Only Takes a Minute". More catchy pop with her current hit single "Do It Well" that kind of resembles "Get Right". This song uses a sample from Eddie Kendricks #1 hit from 1973, "Keep On Trackin". Still, it's a very effective pop song with great sound and sing-a-long hook. On "Gotta Be There" she sais that she'll be wherever her baby is and she'll be naming alot of cities. It's a also disco influenced uptempo. "Never Gonna Give Up" is one of a few ballads/slow tempo but rather forgettable.

"Mile in these shoes" is for the haters, a midtempo with lyrics like "Even if they tried/ They still can walk a mile in these shoes/ They couldn't even lace them up right/ Honey these walks are too big to fill
Ten million men can't walk a mile in these shoes" Not a bad song actually. "The Way It Is" follows the trend of many songs here but it is a highlight with memorable sound and hook. Both "Be Mine" and "I Need Love" are slower but the latter is probably the worst song here cause it feels forced and uninspiring. The Cluth makes a great job on "Wrong When You're Gone" a ballad that is surprisingly good. The closer "Brave" was also written by them and I guess it's another dedication to feeling safe and confident in a relationship. Jlo is suppost to be pregnant so I wish her and Marc Anthony all the best with their family.

Overall, I feel like it's a quite expected sound of this album. Alot of catchy uptempo's that aren't too deep or serious but with nice hooks and melodies. It's alot better then her last album that was a dissapointment and here we'll find plenty of songs that could be hits. The production could have been more exciting though, there new partners Lynn & Wade LLP that make most of the songs here sound alot like her former producer Cory Rooney. Instead of something that sound brand new we get a sound that has followed her throughout her career. Still, this is far more enjoyable pop music then alot of what we hear on tv and radio right now. JLO manage to make enjoyable hook-driven pop music, something that another female pop musician with the initials MC hasn't done for a long time. Recommended for old fans and for people that just like good pop.