This Is Me...Then

Jennifer Lopez | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00006RIO8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (639 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,239 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Between her first and second albums, Jennifer Lopez moved from sharp hip-hop to a slicker sound that captured the sass and heat of the streets, thanks mainly to the production acumen of her erstwhile boyfriend Sean "Puffy" Combs. On her third album, This Is Me ... Then, Lopez shows she's just as facile as her ex in changing names as well as musical personas. She abandons the impish J-Lo moniker for a more benign, and less interesting, Jenny, who makes an appearance on "Jenny from the Block." Here, Lopez insists she is still the same down-to-earth girl who emerged from the Bronx a decade before mega-stardom hit: "I used to have a little/ Now I have a lot," she chirps before cautioning, "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got/ I'm still Jenny from the block." The claim stretches credibility given her well-documented status as a diva, but "Jenny" shows more pizzazz and humor on the album than anything else, except for her saucy duet with LL Cool J on "All I Have." Elsewhere, the album--which includes nine songs cowritten by Lopez--serves up a recycled paean to '70s soul, an anemic cover of Carly Simon's vituperative "You Belong to Me," and cloying ballads inspired by her new fiancé, actor Ben Affleck. Lopez dedicated the disc to the actor and includes a far-too-personal and gooey love song to him titled "Dear Ben." In it, she declares: "You'll always be my lust, my love, my man, my child, my friend and my king." There's plenty of love here, but what's missing is the verve and crackle of Lopez's earlier stuff. --Jaan Uhelszki

Product Description

This Is Me... Then Jennifer Lopez Label: Sony Release Date: 11/26/2002 1 Still - 3:40 2 Loving You - 3:45 3 I'm Glad - 3:42 4 The One - 3:36 5 Dear Ben - 3:14 6 All I Have - 4:14 7 Jenny from the Block - 3:08 8 Again - 5:47 9 You Belong to Me - 3:30 10 I've Been Thinkin' - 4:41 11 Baby I Love U! - 4:43 12 The One [Version 2][#][*] - 3:31

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Still Undefined, November 9, 2003

By 

Reine des Coeurs "reine_des_coeurs" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Is Me...Then (Audio CD)

With this CD, it becomes even more apparent that Jennifer Lopez is not only a victim of the corporate machine, but a victim of her own creation. Given the number of producers on each track, you'd think it'd be possible to come up with one song that isn't simplistic and bad. Well, that premise would be wrong.

She is still unsure of what direction to take musically and that makes her come across as some sort of artistic mish-mosh as she tries a bit of this and a bit of that. Add to this the fact she still doesn't use her voice properly (she needs to take it down a notch).

"Jenny from the Block" is a hypocritical tank of a song and yet it does have a nice background beat. It's a shame she didn't more with the lyrics. No one's buying the "don't be fooled by the rocks that I got". Instead, what she should have done was added lyrics in which she's got the heart of the Bronx and the bling of success.

Horrible. Just absolutely horrible.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This Is Me... Bored, November 26, 2002

By 

"c_e_l_e_b_r_i_t_y" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Me...Then (Audio CD)

I know people who search for this cd are probably all fans of Jlo already, hoping to see a bunch of positive reviews supporting their favorite artist. Once they see the title of my review and the negative words that go with it, I'm certain it won't be voted very popular. However, that's not why I'm writing this review. I'm writing it as a warning to let all of the fans know that this cd is BORING. Straight up boring. If I could underline the word boring, I would in a heartbeat.

Every song on this cd is slow. Now when you think of slow songs, you think of Mariah or Whitney or Celine or even Janet, but certainly not Jlo. First of all, her vocals have to be weakest vocals in the business. Even with modern day technology, she still sounds a step below mediocre. There's a reason she doesn't tour and it's not because she's making hit movies. Lets be .. REAL. So Ms. Soon To Be Mrs. Affleck should stay away from the ballads. Far away. Now, after all of the ballads are taken off of this cd, what you're left with is one song, Jenny From The Block.

This song, which I really like because of it's infectious beats, in reality has to be the tackiest song of the year. Jlo, who prances around Hollywood like God wants us to all know that she's real and has stayed true to her roots. Uh Huh. I don't know too many people "from the block" who ride around in limos, wear dresses more expensive than the places they grew up in and switch husbands more often than most people change the tires on their cars. The best version of Jenny From The Block is the one without the rap, but what is on the cd is the version with the rap; which, of course, is her way of distracting people from the two seconds worth of thought that was actually put into this song. Which is about a second more than what was put into the entire cd.

I really do like most of Jlo's music, but not this cd. Not at all. Sadly, Jlo is starting to take herself seriously and frankly, no one else does.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy it people!!!, November 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: This Is Me...Then (Audio CD)

This has got to be the worst album of 2002!!! Whereas in her previous releases, 3 or 4 of the tracks were bearable to listen, this one has even the first single, Jenny From Da Block a nightmare to the ears. I can't believe I really bought it. Jennifer Lopez should stick to acting or dancing or whatever fits her but singing is definitely not her speciality. Oh and I almost forgot, Dear Ben is probably her worst song ever. Um, let me rephrase it, probably the worst song ever. So corny, so bad. Go buy Mariah Carey's "Charmbracelet" instead or i don't know, but take my advice and stay away from this poison.