Customer Reviews

Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (CD/DVD)

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I waited a long time for a "best of" Christina Aguilera, and now there is finally one available with this CD/DVD set. I'm not a die hard fan, but I like several of her songs and admire her vocals. I didn't like her enough to buy any of her regular albums but always thought if she released a greatest hits I'd check it out. All the familiar radio hits are here. The DVD of her popular MTV videos is a nice bonus, but I won't really watch it much I'll listen to the CD. I was disappointed to discover after I got mine that there are other versions of this release with more tracks. My CD only has 14 tracks, others have 16 or 17. A Decade of Hits also only covers three albums, which is interesting. It used to be bands would put out 10 albums in a decade, now Christina can get away with only three. If you want to get her hit songs without buying all the CDs, this is a good disc. It suits my Christina Aguilera needs perfectly.

MISSING THESE HIT SONGS:
1. Reflections
2. Nobody Wants to Be Lonely with Ricky Martin
3. Lady Marmalade
4. Can't Hold Us Down with Lil' Kim
5. The Voice Within
6. Car Wash with Missy Elliott
7. Tilt Ya Head Back with Nelly

It's hard to consider this a complete collection when there are such obvious misses here. Lady Marmalade was a huge #1 hit. Also it could've included some other rarities like her Duet with Tony Bennett "Steppin Out", "A Song for You" with Herbie Hancock or the cover of John Lennon's "Mother." Also why not throw in some live songs that arent on CD like, "At Last", "It's a mans World", "Run To You" Next

I want to see a Live album maybe an MTV unplugged. I'd be happy with a Back To Basics live tour CD too. XTina has an amazing voice, I can't wait to see what she does next.

What can I say? No one out there sings better than Christina. Her voice is phenomenal. She is like the Whitney Houston of her time.

The past year hasn't been the best for Christina Aguilera. The pop songstress' last album Bionic tanked (thanks to her label) and her 5 year marriage to husband/music marketing exec Jordan Bratman came to an end. Latest reports allege the diva attempted to physically assault her Burlesque co-star Julianne Hough at a Golden Globes after party and passed out drunk in the bed of actor Jeremy Renner during his birthday party. Personally I think both stories are fabricated soap opera storylines (the tabloid's forte), but I digress.

While many people are questioning if Aguilera can make a comeback, I thought it'd be nice to take a trip down memory lane. Enter 2008's Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits, a chronological runthrough of some of Christina's biggest hits and her evolution as an artist over the past decade.

The 1999 debut single Genie in a Bottle introduced the giggly, midriff bearing blonde Chrissy to the pop music scene. The suggestive come-on "I'm a genie in a bottle, baby/Gotta rub me the right way, honey... Come come, come on and let me out" caused some mild controversy from the press, but it wasn't that big of a deal. The R&B flavored What a Girl Wants thanks a guy for standing by his girl through the tough times. "What a girl wants/What a girl needs/Whatever makes me happy sets you free..." The ballad I Turn To You, penned by Diane Warren, is another dedication to a lover or friend for being a "shield from the storm". By the single version of Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You), Christina was ready to upgrade the sexuality of her image: "I'm not just talking about your sexuality/But I can't help myself when you put your hands on me.... It's paradise, when you and I/Get close, get tight/One on one I wanna/Go on all night/I wanna play that game with you, baby!"

The 2001 Latin pop track Nobody Wants to Be Lonely teamed the diva up with Mr. Livin' La Vida Loca Ricky Martin and Lady Marmalade, a Missy Elliot produced cover of the 70's Labelle classic, brought Pink, Mya, and Lil' Kim on board to pose the question "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?" "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?" in English. Christina's powerhouse pipes shut. it. DOWN!

2002's Stripped said "peace out" to Chrissy and "wazzup?!" to Xtina, the sexed up, aggressive bad girl with multiple body piercings, ratty weaves, and a phony "ghetto" accent (yo!). Dirrty, both the video and the song, made mouths drop all over the country. You remember her "sweatin' until my clothes come off", although she wasn't wearing much clothing to begin with. The self-esteem booster Beautiful was released as the follow-up and swept away the controversy of her new image. "We are beautiful no matter what they say/Yes, words won't bring us down/We are beautiful in every single way/Yes, words can't bring us down/Don't you bring me down today!" And don't you forget it! The rock influenced Fighter thanks all the backstabbers and naysayers who try to take you down with their hate. "Made me learn a little bit faster/Made my skin a little bit thicker/Makes me that much smarter/So thanks for making me a fighter!"

2006 saw the creation of Back to Basics, a throwback record inspired by the pioneers of jazz and blues like Etta James and Billie Holliday. The exuberant lead single Ain't No Other Man praises Christina's (or Baby Jane as she was called at the time) then husband Jordan for being "the only one who's ever passed every test" and prove himself worthy of her love. Candyman gives the 1941 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy swinger a raunchy twist: "He's a one stop, gotcha hot, making all the panties drop!" Hurt is a dramatic Barbara Streisand styled ballad of Tim Burton proportions agonizing over an estranged parent's passing. "I'm sorry for blaming you for everything I just couldn't do/And I've hurt myself/By hurting you."

The compilation boasts 2 new songs based in the futuristic electropop of her 2010 disc Bionic. Keeps Gettin' Better is a cocky and fun reminder that Xtina 2.0 is always in control and Dynamite is an electric dance track all about being free and having fun. Genie 2.0 is a techno inflected makeover of the original that passes with flying colors. I am deeply in love with the icy slice of electronica remake of Beautiful retitled You Are What You Are (Beautiful). Recalling the dreamy ambience of Zero 7 and The Knife, Christina's vocals are robotic and restrained, but the emotion of the original is still there. Her slightly muffled melisma runs toward the end are gorgeous. I can play this one a dozen times in a row and not get sick of it.

Christina isn't the first nor will she be the last star to hit a few bumps in her professional career. Mariah Carey, anyone? I'm sure she'll come back harder than ever, kickin' butts and takin' names. Lord knows she's come too far to throw in the towel for good. Get 'em, girl!

this girl can sing........there are not many females out there right now who can out-sing Christina. excellent !

The U.S. version of Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade of Hits is missing a number of Aguilera's radio hit singles, many of which have been mentioned in other reviews here. Please note that the import CD versions from Europe and Japan have MORE TRACKS than the American CD. For example, "Lady Marmalade", "The Voice Within", "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" are added to the Japanese version. For Europe, they added "Lady Marmalade" and "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" but NOT "The Voice Within." So, while it still may be missing one or two tracks, like "Reflection," the Japanese edition is clearly the best option if you are looking for the most complete collection of Aguilera's solo material (and the U.S. version is the worst). Sadly, instead of adding remakes of two of her old hits, she could have made this collection of singles relatively complete. Oh well...

I distinctly remember the first time I heard "Keeps Gettin' Better", Christina Aguilera's first single since her Back to Basics album. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, chatting with a friend online over an instant messenger. My friend, knowing I was the biggest Christina Aguilera fan he had ever met, told me he couldn't believe that he almost forgot to send me the YouTube link to the audio recording of her new single. I was immediately full of anxiety. While Christina had steadily earned more of my respect and trust (beginning with her appearance on the reinterpretation of "Lady Marmalade" and culminating in an earth-shattering performance of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at the 2007 Grammy Awards), I was both excited by the possibility of a new moving recording and nervous about the chance that she might finally make a big mistake. My immediate impression was that the song sounded too much like the rest of what is on the radio, which tends to compensate for the singer's lack of developed talent by focusing heavily on production and synthesizer sounds. This was absolutely confusing to me because Christina is clearly booming with talent, and I felt that this song was far too mainstream and stifling for her abilities. Yes, the song is fun electro-pop, but hasn't the girl proven she deserves better by now?

I immediately grew concerned that this might be the first track of her upcoming official album, but was relieved it was simply a promotional track for her greatest hits album. After all, most artists probably don't put nearly as much into a promotional single to be tacked onto a greatest hits album as they do for a lead single of a full-fledged album, right? Then, I found out that this album was going to be a Target exclusive, and I would not be able to simply purchase the songs separately as mp3 downloads (which is the usual way I go about circumventing the obnoxious recent practice of using a few new tracks to sucker people into purchasing an entire greatest hits CD or repurchasing an album in its "deluxe edition" format that is released some months after the original edition). This made me very mad. As a fan of Christina's, I obviously own all of the old tracks on this album, and I am not going to be pleased about having to buy the entire album just for the four new tracks added onto the end. Regardless, I gave in and bought it tonight because I was too curious not to.

The four new tracks do seem to give me a better understanding of Christina's artistic vision for her upcoming album (assuming they are meant to be a preview). The first new track is "Genie 2.0"--a swirling techno-style interpretation of the breakthrough single. Christina admits that this single has been both a blessing and a curse, as it springboarded her career into the stratosphere, yet it is part of the reason why many people resist labeling her a serious artist. However, instead of distancing herself from the song and refusing to perform it anymore, she has chosen to take control over it and twist it to her liking. She first did this in her Stripped tour, where she performed the song as a rock reinterpretation with demonic sexual aggression. In this instance, the song is brilliantly realized with a subdued, yet unrelenting sexuality reminiscent of Madonna's Erotica album. Next is "Keeps Gettin' Better", which is probably the only new track that would have been best left out in lieu of something more convincing. It was clearly created both to promote the concept of the greatest hits album and to stand as a song representing for strong women in relationships, but it's too much the former and not enough of the latter. "Dynamite" is easily the strongest of the bunch, and would have been a much better single to release. And while it sounds better suited to the likes of Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, or Madonna, Christina interprets it within the constraints of futuristic dance music very well. The final new track is "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)", which is a reinterpretation of her most praised single, to date. The track sounds almost nothing like the original, and seems to be more about sonic experimentation than maintaining the message of the song. It's interesting, but the monotone, computerized nature prohibits it from having anything close to the emotional impact of the original.

While this greatest hits album is a bit premature (considering that Christina only has three full-fledged albums under her belt), it does provide some interesting new work to listen to. While the new songs fit into their intended genre very well, they could easily have been performed just as convincingly by someone of far lesser talents. In fact, there is sometimes so much manipulation of Christina's voice that it's anyone's guess as to who is singing. And that's the problem. The point of listening to Christina Aguilera is her voice. It's what defines her. It's the very reason she has a legion of fans. What's even more odd is that Linda Perry produced all four of these new songs, and yet she is the one who coached Aguilera to use her voice to its greatest potential during their sessions recording for the Stripped and Back to Basics albums. Hopefully, her reported upcoming "futuristic" album will allow her to accomplish her goal, yet retain the rich voice she is known and loved for.

I purchased the European version through Amazon.com which includes 16 songs (vs. the USA's 14 songs) plus the music videos. There's no way I would have paid for only 14 when Christina has had so many hits. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why the CD can only be purchased at Target in the US. I mean, if they're going to restrict purchase, at least offer the complete play list. From what I understand, there's a Japanese version that offers 17 songs. Why? Anyway, the CD is a real treat for me and illustrates how Christina has grown from a girl into a woman as well as vocally. I have to say I do miss the 'young' Christina. ;-) No matter, though. Christina is one of the great voices of our time.

This is by far the best Christina Aguilera album ever! It has all of her greatest songs! although if I were to make the CD I would make the track listing the following:
1. Keeps getting better
2. Genie 2.0
3. Dirrty (ft. Redman)
4. Fighter
5. Candyman
6. Hurt
7. Beautiful
8. Ain't no other man
9. Come on over baby (All I want is you)
10. You are what you are (Beautiful)
11. Genie in a bottle
12. I turn to you
13. What a girl wants
14. Dynamite

Wow, and I mean woooow!, This is a must own item for true Christina Aguilera fans. Even if you already have a lot of these songs like I did. This cd/dvd set is a great collection, the only thing is it seems to be rare I looked for over a year to find a collection of her stuff like this. So I just pray there is enough copies to go around for all her fans!!! Another words get before it's gone! The video quality is much better that those you tube versions. One final note seeing the extra videos that I didn't have already for the first time made me a bigger fan than ever. She is amazingly super talented!

William Brooks - Toronto, Canada