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The Color Fred
CD Reviews
Ciara
The Evolution | LaFace
By
LEON NEYFAKH
|
January 16, 2007
CIARA, THE EVOLUTION
" alt="photo of 'CIARA, THE EVOLUTION'">
2.0
Stars
Ciara fears obscurity, and with good reason. The multi-platinum
Goodies
was a distinctive, soulful statement of purpose when it came out in 2004, but with
The Evolution
the 21-year-old singer finds herself walking into a room full of clones —
Goodies
students like Cassie and now Cherish. So it goes when you come upon something good, and Ciara doesn’t sound as if she were all that comfortable dealing with the copycats. Too often on
The Evolution
she’s looking over her shoulder, too self-conscious to be a real seductress. And she’s not willing to take the kind of creative chances that might convert her concern into transcendence. Instead she includes spoken interludes like “When I listen to the radio, I feel like music is so different than what it used to be. And because of that, I was inspired to do something different this time around.” Okay, but such assertions get tiresome, especially when this time around isn’t all that different. That said, the first half of the album is catchy, sexy, and pleasingly sassy. And there’s so much cellphone imagery that 50 Cent actually phones in his cameo.
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ARTICLES BY LEON NEYFAKH
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CIARA
| January 16, 2007
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ALBERT HAMMOND JR.
| October 24, 2006
Yours To Keep | Rough Trade
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