This Is Me...Then

Jennifer Lopez

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00006RIO8
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (632 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,624 in Music (See Bestsellers 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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 57 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

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.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Best comedy album of the year!, March 17, 2003

By	Mike (DE) - See all my reviews

If you are ever in a clutch and need to entertain a large crowd of people, just run over to K-Mart, search thru the dollar bin and grab a copy of This is Me...Then by J. Lo, oh I'm sorry, Jennifer Lop.... sorry again, I mean Jenny from the Block!

This album will keep you and your friends laughing for hours at end and by the time you reach "Dear Ben" get some napkins because somebody will most likely pee themselves!

Whoever told Mrs. Affleck she could pull off a song all by herself, without collaborating with Lil' (Insert ANY Name) helping her out should be forced to listen to this album!

Somebody who can't keep a marriage together for more than five minutes should stop putting out mediocre albums filled with love songs devoted to her current fiance.

This album proves Jen can NOT sing, but it is sure fun listening to her try!