J.Lo At Her Best

When you have a competent record producer in control, anybody who can breathe a tune can be turned into a pop diva. Jennifer Lopez has been in this situation several instances before but thanks to her excellent feel for choosing the right producers, she does not only manage to squeak through. She always emerges successful. So whenever J. Lo comes up with a new album, I make sure I listen very carefully to see if this will be the time when she will finally fall flat on her face.

I grant that Jennifer has been blessed with all the assets that make a star. These are primarily her stunning good looks and most interesting private life that serves the gossip mill very well. Think boyfriends like Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ben Affleck and her now husband Marc Anthony, which lots of Pinoys think she stole from Dayanara Torres, whom they feel is one of us because of several years she spent working in the Philippines.

That situation though belongs to another, more gossipy piece. This one is about Jennifer’s latest album Rebirth and her singing, which unfortunately, is not up to American Idol standards. But admittedly, Jennifer has developed clever ways of improving what she has and of disguising her faults and these have made her the big star she is today. These have seen her through an ascending career path these past eight or nine years. Think movies like Selena and Out of Sight and hit tunes like Waiting for Tonight and If You Had My Love, plus many others.

Though formulaic, Jennifer’s Rebirth is another well- made production that is every music producer’s dream come true. Ingenious is the way I would describe the choice of materials to emphasize her style and exciting is the way these songs are mixed in varied rhythms that keep listeners interested. She is funky and sexy in Whatever You Wanna Do, a soulful siren in I Got U and in full drama mode in (Can’t Believe) This is Me. Best of all, she really gets the dance juices going with Cherry Pie, Get Right featuring Fabulous and the ultra seductive Step into My World.

Lopez may have made more commercial albums in the past and originality is not really one of this album’s strong points but production-wise, Rebirth is definitely her best work to date. But after trying to dissect layer after layer of sound and marveling at the way they are put together, I must say that what I like best about Rebirth is that an entertainer of Jennifer Lopez’s stature goes out of her way to please her audience. She makes them feel appreciated and that, I think, is the reason why she remains on top of her game.

Rebirth comes with a free DVD that contains the entire album in enhanced stereo and exclusive materials like the making of Rebirth documentary and two videos of Get Right. Other cuts included are Hold You Down featuring Fat Joe, Still Around, Ryde or Die, I, Love and He’ll be Back. Not to forget, Jennifer looks simply stunning in the photos on the album cover.