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5 Stars
"Brave" Is The Rebirth We Were All Looking For..., October 10, 2007
By Adam B. Irby "A. Benjamin Irby" (Harlem, NYC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Jenny from the block is back with "Brave", her fifth album and her most solid since her second album "J.Lo", the album that put the '01-'02 music scene in a headlock. Like "J.Lo", this album is the perfect mix of urban and pop and as the Starship Enterprise-esque album cover artwork suggests is, the music is glossier than her last two albums "Rebirth" and "...This Is Me Then". If anything this album is the "rebirth" we were all expecting from the last album. Her voice has also been reborn as well, she sounds better than ever.

Although dancefloor-ready "Brave" is the most genuinely introspective of all Lopez's albums, ("Jenny From The Block", in fact, the whole "...This Is Me" album always seemed a bit forced and let's not forget "Hold U Down" from "Rebirth") providing some subtle, or not so subtle commentaries from the quadruple threat superstar, mostly about her storied love life ups and downs over the past few years.

The first lyrics of the album are:

"Through the bumpy roads the others bite the dust cuz,
They be thinkin' they're in love but they're in lust but,
Cliche, breakin' up so easy,
I'm about to throw a curve ball honey.
Don't sweat the small things, wake up.
Stay together, it's the new break up...
Heartbreaks so overrated,
Stay together, that's the new trend."

Well who better to set the trend than the modern breakup queen herself (Elizabeth Taylor still holds her crown). In "Stay Together" J.Lo urges couples to stick it out in spite of whatever circumstances they encounter. She reinforces this concept on the next track, the reggaeton-flavored, "Forever" and unlike that whole "Bennifer" thing this actually sounds believable. I always knew Marc Anthony was the one anyway.

The next track is "Hold It Don't Drop It", and the first single "Do It Well" sound like respective pop and R&B throwbacks to 2001, especially "Do It Well" which utilizes that too often used sample that Mr. Cheeks made popular on his 2001 song, "Lights, Camera, Action" that Lil' Kim used again on her 2003 song, "The Jumpoff" and coincidentally all three artists used these songs as the first singles from their respective albums. As tired as I'm sure we all are of this sample J.Lo does a great job with it. There's a version of "Do It Well" featuring Ludacris tacked to the end of the album. His spanglish rhymes add a lot to the song as the beat changes on his part, giving us respite from the sample. I actually like this version better than the original.

"Gotta Be There" is definitely one of the jewels of the album. It cleverly uses a Jackson five sample over a thumping beat as J.Lo follows her beau halfway around the world in a mission to get him back, definite single material. I can almost hear the rapper on the remix already.

"Never Gonna Give Up On Love" starts off as a beautiful string laden ballad before the beat drops and turns into a more mid-tempo groove. Her voice is sounding stronger than ever here. While "Mile In These Shoes" picks up where "...On Love" leaves off. This boastful rock-tinged "f*** you" to the haters turns up the heat with these lyrics:

"Strangers always got some mess to spread,
But I have learned to flick them off.
Can't walk a mile in my YSL's'
I strap 'em on and I walk it off.
Got 'em sayin' I can't believe she did it, no she didn't,
My wow factor's got 'em crazy (crazy).
Got 'em sayin' yeah she did it but I can't believe it,
Never say you can't believe.
Even if they try,
They still can't walk a mile in these shoes.
They couldn't even lace 'em up right.
Honey these pumps are too big to fill...
Can't walk a mile in these shoes."

This ode to designer footwear is already making waves being used as the backup music for promos for ABC's hit drama "Desperate Housewives". I smell another pop hit for J.Lo here. The rock-ish vibe is continued from here on the next track "The Way It Is".

Now back to the Pop/R&B, the sweet thumping groove of "Be Mine" is perfectly coupled with the sweeping strings and thumping beat of "I Need Love" which I can help but associate with 50 Cent's "In Da Club" when J.Lo says "...ain't no love up in the club". Lyrics like these seem to sum up J.Lo's lovelife rollercoaster ride over the past few years.

"I guess I wasn't interested,
In finding something real I wasn't lookin' for it.
It shoulda been lookin' for me,
But you opened up my eyes and now I can see...
First I had to figure out who I was,
To try and understand that ain't no shortcuts.
Now the only thing missing now is your love.
I need love.
For the first time in my life I need love.
Ain't no love up in the club, I need love.
Wanna cuddle up to somethin',
Make me feel like I'm somethin',
Gettin' sick and tired of frontin',
I need love..."

I think she's finally found what she's looking for.

The album ends with the sweet, radio-made ballad "Wrong When You're Gone", which has that same "thing" that Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" (yes I just compared Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey) and Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" has and what Jessica Simpson's "I Belong To Me" tried to have. It's has hit written all over it and J.Lo sounds great singing it. I would have to say it's one of her best ballads, it lacks the feeling and earnestness of "Secretly" but is leagues ahead of the melodrama of "(Can't Believe) This Is Me". Then there's the title track "Brave", an inspirational mid-tempo pop song about not being scared to love again. A great ending to J.Lo's most solid album yet.

If you must download, download: "Gotta Be There", "Mile In These Shoes", "I Need Love", "Brave"