Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 12/06/06
Label: Geffen

Success too soon in any career can spell disaster as surely as years of thankless toil. Many are the promising artists who fluke a hit with an early single and fail to follow-up with anything nearly as successful. Alanis Morissette was one - although the 17 million-odd sales of "Jagged Little Pill" probably softened that blow. Lauryn Hill would appear to be another and time will tell whether Corinne Bailey Rae and Lily Allen are able to transcend being too hot to handle before their debuts even debuted.

Nelly Furtado ticked all the boxes. A worldwide smash with "I'm Like A Bird", a star-making slot at Elton John's post-Oscars party - subsequently occupied by the Scissor Sisters and Joss Stone - and then a handful of disappointing mid-teens placings for her second album singles. As with Kylie before her Parlophone makeover, few people would have bet on Nelly releasing a Number One single - her first - in the future. And yet here it is, the twinkly yet bass-heavy, Prince-indebted "Maneater" anthem; not a silly-season fluke (that dishonour goes to Sandi Thom) but a fantastic slice of unexpected funk-pop that could hold its own against "Hung Up" for the best single of the past nine months.

The most relevant reference points for "Loose" are Gwen Stefani's "Love Angel Music Baby" and Justin Timberlake's "Justified" - producer-defined albums that reinvented their performers as stand-alone solo artists with a wide, hip remit. Although already solo, Nelly appeared wedded to a folky, world music brand of pop that, put simply, didn't make for great ringtones. Now, she's sparky, melds well with her guest artists (Attitude, Juanes and Timbaland - who also produces), is sultry without being slutty and does cool convincingly.

Highlights? The sparse, pumping "Promiscuous" is her "Like I Love You", via Paisley Park - don't be surprised if she makes it two chart-toppers in a row; "Glow" is a multi-tracked Stefani special and the mostly Spanish "No Hay Igual" ('I have no equal') is a sharp mix of percussion and empowered chanting.
It's not without lulls. The limp ballad "Showtime" and cloying lyrics of "Te Busque" ('I looked to you') and "In God's Hands" smother the hard-won cred, while the inclusion of two bonus tracks on the UK edition dulls the effect of intended closer "All Good Things" - written with and originally featuring Chris Martin, before EMI put the kibosh on his appearance - a superior goosebumps slowie.

Otherwise, this is a second coming to believe it - get "Loose" as soon as possible.

    by Emma Morgan