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Don't pay attention to the title, which is absolutely nonsensical and bewildering -- it suggests that This Is Me...Then is a compilation, which it isn't, and it also suggests that this has some sort of theme, which it doesn't -- and concentrate on the music, which is the strongest, sultriest, best music Jennifer Lopez (who has abandoned the moniker J-Lo) has recorded for any of her three albums. This, of course, doesn't mean that it's a radical musical departure, though there are differences here -- the glitzy dance-pop has been phased out, there's a stronger urban soul vibe, particularly on the lush surfaces and sexy grooves -- but it does mean that the album has a solid set of songs and a sharp production pitched directly at the mainstream of 2002, yet with nice allusions to classic soul and early-'80s pop-funk and soft rock. Since Lopez is a celebrity and a regular feature on gossip pages in the early days of the 21st century, and since she's unabashedly mainstream -- her only attempts at street-cred are on the laughable lyrics to "Jenny from the Block," where she insists that success hasn't spoiled her yet and she's the same ol' Jen she's always been (if so, why the paparazzi on the back cover?) -- it's easy for some listeners to dismiss her, but it's harder to make to make a pop album as easily enjoyable as this. Sure, there are some flaws -- as mentioned above, "Jenny from the Block" is silly and no matter how much you love Ben Affleck, "Dear Ben" is unbearably mawkish -- but all mainstream pop albums stumble through filler. What counts is the overall feel and the highlights. Here, the feel is sexy, stylish, and fun, and there are numerous highlights, all feeling effortless. And if you think that's easy to do, take a listen to a few other pop-R&B albums from late 2002 (Stripped and Charmbracelet come to mind) and hear how good this record is.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Cory Rooney, Producer - Kevin Veney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Casey James, Composer, Lyricist - Leonard Huggins, Composer, Lyricist - Loren Hill, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Leroy Bell, Composer, Lyricist - Rich Shelton, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Larry Gold, Conductor, Performance Arranger - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - VERDINE WHITE, Bass - One Up Entertainment, Programmer - LaKindra Pierce, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Troy Oliver, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Programmer, Drum Programmer - Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Michael Garvin, Composer, Lyricist - Tom C. Shapiro, Composer, Lyricist - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jean Marie Horvat, Mixing Engineer - James Mtume, Composer, Lyricist - Natasha Ramos, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Troy Oliver, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Programmer, Drum Programmer - Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Background Vocal - Mr. Deyo, Composer, Lyricist - Jesse Weaver, Jr., Composer, Lyricist - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jean Marie Horvat, Mixing Engineer - Natasha Ramos, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Background Vocal - Dan Shea, Producer, Keyboards, Programmer - Shelene Thomas, Background Vocal - Davy Deluge, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Keyboards, Programmer - Billy Lawrence, Background Vocal - René Toledo, Guitar - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Larry Gold, Conductor, Performance Arranger - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - THOM BELL, Composer, Lyricist - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - LINDA CREED, Composer, Lyricist - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - VERDINE WHITE, Bass - Natasha Ramos, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Bernard Edwards, Jr., Composer, Lyricist - Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Larry Gold, Conductor, Performance Arranger - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - Focus, Producer, All Instruments
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Producer - Makeba Riddick, Composer, Lyricist, Background Vocal - David McPherson, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Curtis Richardson, Composer, Lyricist - James Todd Smith, Composer, Lyricist - Ron G, Composer, Lyricist - Lisa Peters, Composer, Lyricist - William Jeffrey, Composer, Lyricist - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Rob Williams, Recording Engineer - LL Cool J, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ron G., Producer - Jennifer Lopez feat. LL Cool J, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Troy Oliver, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Programmer, Drum Programmer - Cory Rooney, Producer - Jean Claude Olivier, Composer, Lyricist - Samuel Barnes, Composer, Lyricist - David Styles, Composer, Lyricist - Jason Phillips, Composer, Lyricist - Michael Oliver, Composer, Lyricist - Mr. Deyo, Composer, Lyricist - Scott Sterling, Composer, Lyricist - Jose Fernando Arbex Miro, Composer, Lyricist - Lawrence Parker, Composer, Lyricist - Styles P., FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Poke and Tone, Producer - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer - Jon Kaplan, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jadakiss, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jean Marie Horvat, Mixing Engineer - Natasha Ramos, Background Vocal - B-Money, Scratches - Jennifer Lopez feat. Jadakiss and Styles P, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Troy Oliver, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Programmer, Drum Programmer - Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Reggie Hamlet, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Bass - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Malina, Engineer
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Producer - Dan Shea, Producer - René Toledo, Acoustic Guitar - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Reggie Hamilton, Bass - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Carly Simon, Composer, Lyricist - MICHAEL MCDONALD, Composer, Lyricist - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Malina, Engineer - Kamil Rustam, Electric Guitar - Tavia Ivey, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Dan Shea, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Keyboards, Programmer - Shelene Thomas, Background Vocal - René Toledo, Guitar - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Larry Gold, Conductor, Performance Arranger - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - VERDINE WHITE, Bass
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Background Vocal - Dan Shea, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Programmer - Shelene Thomas, Background Vocal - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - John Barry, Composer, Lyricist - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - VERDINE WHITE, Bass - Natasha Ramos, Background Vocal
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Cory Rooney, Composer, Lyricist, Background Vocal - Dan Shea, Programmer - Shelene Thomas, Background Vocal - Davy Deluge, Composer, Lyricist - René Toledo, Guitar - Bruce Swedien, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Peter Wade Keusch, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - THOM BELL, Composer, Lyricist - OMAR HAKIM, Drums - Jennifer Lopez, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - LINDA CREED, Composer, Lyricist - VERDINE WHITE, Bass - Track Masters, Producer
(P) 2002 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Don't pay attention to the title, which is absolutely nonsensical and bewildering -- it suggests that This Is Me...Then is a compilation, which it isn't, and it also suggests that this has some sort of theme, which it doesn't -- and concentrate on the music, which is the strongest, sultriest, best music Jennifer Lopez (who has abandoned the moniker J-Lo) has recorded for any of her three albums. This, of course, doesn't mean that it's a radical musical departure, though there are differences here -- the glitzy dance-pop has been phased out, there's a stronger urban soul vibe, particularly on the lush surfaces and sexy grooves -- but it does mean that the album has a solid set of songs and a sharp production pitched directly at the mainstream of 2002, yet with nice allusions to classic soul and early-'80s pop-funk and soft rock. Since Lopez is a celebrity and a regular feature on gossip pages in the early days of the 21st century, and since she's unabashedly mainstream -- her only attempts at street-cred are on the laughable lyrics to "Jenny from the Block," where she insists that success hasn't spoiled her yet and she's the same ol' Jen she's always been (if so, why the paparazzi on the back cover?) -- it's easy for some listeners to dismiss her, but it's harder to make to make a pop album as easily enjoyable as this. Sure, there are some flaws -- as mentioned above, "Jenny from the Block" is silly and no matter how much you love Ben Affleck, "Dear Ben" is unbearably mawkish -- but all mainstream pop albums stumble through filler. What counts is the overall feel and the highlights. Here, the feel is sexy, stylish, and fun, and there are numerous highlights, all feeling effortless. And if you think that's easy to do, take a listen to a few other pop-R&B albums from late 2002 (Stripped and Charmbracelet come to mind) and hear how good this record is.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:15
- Main artists: Jennifer Lopez
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Epic
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
(P) 2002 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
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