CD/Music Review: Anastacia: It's a Man's World

 

It's a Man's World, released in 2012, is Anastacia's fifth studio album. It is a collection of 10 cover songs sung by male rock artists. The songs include covers of The Foo Fighters' "Best of You", Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine", Oasis' "Wonderwall", and Aerosmith's "Dream On". The physical CD was only released overseas, so you'll have to pay for an import if you want the actual CD. The album can be streamed in the US and includes a bonus track where she covers Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun". The CD liner includes the lyrics and production notes for each track, a few pictures of Anastacia, and a "Thank You" page. Anastacia does a great job covering all the songs on the album. She stays true to the original tracks and does not heavily adapt their arrangements. That said, she incorporates her own sound and style into each one so they are not just carbon copies of the original songs. Ultimately, if you are a fan of her prior albums, especially the more rock-oriented tracks on her prior albums, this is absolutely worth checking out. 

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Heavy Rotation

 

Heavy Rotation is the fourth studio album by Anastacia. It was released in 2008, and, depending on which version you have, contains 11 or 12 tracks. The UK and Australian editions contain a bonus track titled "Beautiful Messed Up World." This album has more slow ballads and ballad-like tracks than her previous albums, which primarily featured up-tempo dance tracks. This one does have some up-tempo tracks as well, but overall, the album showcases more of her vocal ability and range.  Like her prior albums, this one blends genres like rock, R&B, funk, soul, and pop. The CD liner contains the lyrics and production notes for all the songs, several pictures of Anastacia, and thank yous on the final page. 

While the album was not a huge hit here in the US, it contains many good tracks that are worthy of inclusion on a playlist, such as All Fall Down, Never Love Again, and You'll Be Fine. Ultimately, it is probably her best overall album (at the time of its release) and is definitely worth listening to. 

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Pieces of A Dream

 

Pieces of a Dream, released in 2005, is partly a greatest-hits compilation album by Anastacia and partly a new release (at the time). It has 17 tracks in total and includes singles from her first three studio albums, four new songs recorded for this album, and a megamix of her biggest hits up to that point. The CD liner includes lyrics and production notes, as well as one picture of Anastacia. Like her other albums up to this point, this blends different genres, including soul, pop, and R&B, mixing slower ballads with upbeat dance tracks. Even though she hit the scene in the early 2000s, Anastacia was older than many of the female pop stars of the time, and only achieved modest popularity in the US. She was always more popular overseas than in the US, and this album was no exception. Ultimately, if you liked her first few albums, you will probably enjoy this one. 

CD/Music Review: Anastacia (self-titled)

 

This is the 2004 self-titled album by Anastacia. It is her third studio album and mixes elements of pop, soul, rock, and R&B. It was not released on physical media in the US  but is available on CD as an import. The album did very well overseas, topping the charts in Germany and the UK. The album has 12 tracks in all. Most of them fall into more of a power-rock category. There are not many ballads or slower songs. The standout tracks, in my opinion, are Left Alone Outside and Sick and Tired. The CD liner includes track listings with lyrics and liner notes, several pictures of Anastacia, and a thank-you note on the final page. The album is good. It has many good tracks, but it definitely has some weaker tracks mixed in. Ultimately, if you liked or loved her first two albums, you will probably like this one as well. 

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Freak of Nature

 

Freak of Nature, released in 2001, is the second studio album by Anastacia. Like her first album, this one blends sounds from different genres, blending funk, soul, pop, and R&B. The album consists of 13 tracks totaling just over 50 minutes. Most of the tracks are upbeat dance numbers, but on this album, she also includes more ballads. It was a good follow-up to her debut album, but it was not the same jump in quality that, for example, Adele had from her debut album, 19, to her second album, 21. 

The CD liner contains pictures, track listings (with production notes but no lyrics), and a thank-you message at the end. Ultimately, I would describe the album as good, but not great. I think part of the issue that Anastacia faced was that she came along at a time when the pop charts were dominated by people in their early 20s (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera), and she (despite looking much younger than her age) was in her mid-30s so putting out songs trying to compete with the "pop princesses" just did not work. I think the album would have been a bigger success if she had stuck with material geared toward the age group beyond the clubbing scene. That said, it is still worth checking out if you liked her first album.

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Not That Kind

 

Not That Kind is Anastacia's 2000 debut album, released after she gained notoriety on the late-1990s MTV talent show, The Cut. The album contains 13 tracks in all, including four singles: "I'm Outta Love" (the most successful and popular song on the album), the title track "Not That Kind," "Cowboys & Kisses," and "Made for Lovin' You." The songs on the album are quite eclectic in terms of sound. Some very much sound like late '90s/early '00s dance pop tracks (although slightly different from what younger stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were doing), Cowboys & Kisses is a mix of pop and country, and some are slower ballads. She has described her style as a mix of soul, pop, and rock, and that definitely describes the mix of genres on the album. 

The CD liner contains pictures of Anastacia, a listing of all the tracks with production notes (but no lyrics), and the requisite thank-yous. While Anastacia never broke out into superstardom, she has a very good voice and was one of the better lesser-known pop acts of that time. The album is absolutely worth listening to and has several songs worth of inclusion on one or more playlists.