J.Lo

Jennifer Lopez | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 23, 2001)
• Original Release Date: January 23, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000056VIY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (237 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,592 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Like Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez has entered the singing-dancing-acting zone of the bona fide superstar and has developed an ego to match her talents. J. Lo, the follow-up to her multiplatinum 1999 debut On the 6, makes little attempt to tinker with the Latina-soul formula that record patented, employing an army of coproducers and writers (including partner Puffy) to assemble a slick 15-track affair. If anything, Lopez's sound is safe, even retro, with some tracks looking back to the 1980s--particularly the Michael Jackson-influenced "I'm Real" and the funky, impressive "Play." Her Puerto Rican background comes to the fore on a handful of Spanish numbers, notably "Cariño," which samples Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria's "Sofrito" to impressive effect. It goes badly wrong on the "La Isla Bonita" soundalike "Ain't It Funny," which merely serves to reinforce the impression that Lopez is happy to settle for being the Latina Madonna. --Mike Pattenden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funkier and much better than On the 6, January 22, 2001

By 

Chris (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.Lo (Audio CD)

I have to admit I bought this CD on an impulse. I didn't really have any feelings towards the 1st single 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' when I first heard it on the radio, but I fell in love with the CD when I did a listen-thru at HMV. I felt that On the 6 was mediocre, bogged down by too many ballads. Happily, I can report that J.Lo is much better than Jennifer's previous effort.

The first thing I noted about the album was the very low amount of slow songs. Virtually all the songs can be danced to. This is definitely a good thing as La Lopez' admittedly thin vocals tended to annoy on the ballads from On the 6. Sadly though, there is no frenetically fun track a la 'Let's Get Loud' on J.Lo

Here's a track-by-track run-down of the album:

1)Love Don't Cost a Thing - You've all heard it... Form your own opinion.

2)I'm Real - A nice standard dance-pop song. Pleasant and inoffensive, if a bit predictable.

3)Play - The future 2nd single and one of the best songs on the album. Great techno beat and totally danceable to. Vaguely reminiscent of Madonna's 'Music' while maintaining it's originality. Ms Lopez even swears here! :)

4)Walking on Sunshine - Another techno-y track. Pretty good too. Great use of samples and audio effects.

5)Ain't It Funny - A track full of Latino flavour. Sounds like a Spanish ballad updated for the new millennium. VERY catchy chorus.

6)Carino - When I first heard this song, I immediately thought of Ms Lopez singing on a stage above a dancefloor, with backup singers and band behind her, while couples tango away below. Another wonderfully Latino track.

7)Come Over - The first slow song. A bit too boring and the lyrics are pretty inane. A disappointment. Sounds like a Toni Braxton reject.

8)We Gotta Talk - This really reminds me of a Destiny's Child song, 'Hey Ladies'. Good but not incredible.

9)That's Not Me - My favourite track on the album. Pulsating insistent beats mesmerize you while the chorus is TOTALLY catchy. Wonderful blend of slow and uptempo elements. Must be the magic touch of Kandi.

10)Dance With Me - Not a cover of the Debelah Morgan song, it's a pretty forgettable standard R&B song. Nice use of trumpet(I think) blats tho.

11)Secretly - Another slow song. REALLY slow and thus not my cup of tea. At least Jennifer's voice is pretty pleasant here.

12)I'm Gonna Be Alright - Another track with a great chorus. Quite good on the whole.

13)That's the Way - Eh... Bland stuff, despite being produced by Rodney Jerkins. And Jennifer's voice is slightly whiny here.

14)Dame (Touch Me) - A duet with Chayanne. Obviously very Latin. This is another of my favourite tracks. Chayanne does sound scarily like an old woman on this track though. Also produced by Jerkins, despite sounding nothing like something he would produce.

15)Si Ya Se Acabo - Another Latin track, obviously. And it's also pretty good. Reminds me of a slower, Latin-flavoured 'Waiting for Tonight'.

On the whole, J.Lo is great, but falls short of perfection. Jennifer Lopez, or rather her producers, has made a album that showcases her ability to make a fun, catchy song and downplays her vocal weaknesses. In an interview, Jennifer claimed to have made J.Lo an album directed 'at the hips' and in this instance, she has succeeded wonderfully. Take a bow, Miss Lopez.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great C.D with some flaws, March 10, 2001

By 

Angel (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.Lo (Audio CD)

Jennifer Lopez has without a doubt done a cool second album and i can't believe people are hating on her and critising this C.D. First thing, Jennifer Lopez is incredibly talented: How many of y'all can write songs, sing, dance, act and be a total style queen?! I found all the songs apart from 3 of them to be excellent. Let me break it down for you: 1. Love don't cost a thing- As you know it has an R n' B feel to it and is a great song.

2. I'm real- Must say, the beginning is excellent. The beat is fantastic, very catchy and R n'B style. My fave track of the C.D.

3. Play-Very Maddona style. It's sort of like 'music' but NOT mediocre and monotonous.

4. Walking on sunshine- If you loved 'waiting for tonight' then you'll love this. This is a pop song overall but puff daddy has produced it and is one of my favourites. Lopez really sounds good on this song.

5. Ain't it funny- Sorry Jennifer, but i don't like the Spanish-type beginning but the rest of the song is excellent. Lopez even holds a high note on this one.

6. Carino- This is alright, its not unbearable or anything but has the corny Ricky Martin type thing going down. The same thing happens in the horrendous 'Dame'.

7. Come over- This is a slow song and it grew on me (when i knew the words to it!). It depends on my mood whether i give this song a listen. I think Jennifer Lopez really SHINES on the track 'too late' off 'on the 6'. A few of those type of ballads with a beat to it would be great and Jen's real fans would love it i'm sure.

8.We gotta talk- This song has the R n' B style without a doubt and is midtempo. The use of guitar is good.

9.That's not me- It starts off slow but has a VERY upbeat chorus. A very good song.

10.Dance with me- Produced by Puffy,so you can probably work out that it's excellent. It's a pity they split up, Puffy really knows how to bring out the talent in Jennifer.Anyways, the song starts off Ricky Martin style and then the hip-hop/R n' B beats come in. Jennifer's voice sounds super on this one.

11. Secretly- Have to say, didn't like this is first but i do now. Lopez sings this in a slightly unnatural manner (it's a slow song). Maybe Jennifer should steer clear of really slow songs for her next album so i can give it 5 stars.

12. i'm gonna be alright- A very good song, R n'B meets pop. Excellent.

13. That's the way- Produced By 'Dark child' a.k.a Rodney Jerkins. If you like songs produced by him generally you'll love this.

14. Dame- HOW TRAGIC!!!! This is an album filler for sure. The guy singing on this sounds dreadful. * ONE THINGS FOR SURE JENNIFER LOPEZ AND ALL OTHER SINGING ARTISTS SHOULD LEAVE SPANISH-SOUNDING CHEESY,CORNY MUSIC ALONE- TONI BRAXTON'S 'SPANISH GUITAR' IS AN EXCEPTION! * What was Jerkins thinking when producing and writing this track?!

15. Si ya se acabo- It's O.K but...er... what does it mean?!!!!! On the whole the album is very good, the 12 brilliant tracks make up for the 3 lame spanish ones despite my critisism. This is definetely a major achievement for Lopez,i mean i have stupidly bought albums in the past with about 8 good tracks in total. If you love R n'B and pop go to the record store and get yourself a copy of J.LO. P.S i hope you have found my 100% honest review helpful!! Thanks for reading.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jennifer Lopez......The PAULA ABDUL of the New Millenium, January 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: J.Lo (Audio CD)

"J.Lo" the new CD from actress/singer/dancer Jennifer Lopez basically picks up where Jennifer's debut CD "On the 6" left off. Not revealing too much about Jennifer as a person, musician or even artist. This by the numbers production relies heavily on slick, hip hop beats and generic Latin pop to succeed, which it does only on a handful of levels. Jennifer's voice is not the strongest and basically calls to mind another mediocre singer/dancer from the late 80's/early 90's, Paula Abdul, whose good looks and catchy pop tunes took her to the heights of music glory, if only for a brief time. Jennifer needs voice lessons if she plans on being taken seriously as a singer. As of now, it appears that its only a side project in between movies for her and her videos are only blatant advertisements for her body. But alas, the album does have its bright spots like the techno influenced "Walking On Sunshine" and of course the radio hit "Love Don't Cost A Thing" which predictably follows the trend of empowered woman with her own money, needing only love (i.e. Destiny's Child's "Independent Women", Pink's "Most Girls", Mya's "Free" etc..). But Jennifer does manage to use her ASSets to her best ability, with sexy, erotic songs like "Come Over" with its smooth, silky sounds and the scorching dance track "Play". Also the spanish guitar riffed "We Gotta Talk" blends an old school R&B chorus, trendy street beats and possibly Lopez's best vocal performance on the entire CD and would'nt surprise me if its a single release. All in all, Lopez does manage to work well with the material she has even though its all predictable and has a been there, done there feel to it.