Amazon.co.uk Review
Like Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez has entered the singing, dancing, acting, can-do-anything zone of the bona fide superstar and has developed an ego to match her talents.
J.Lo, the follow-up to her multi-platinum 1999 debut
On The 6, makes little attempt to tinker with the latino soul formula she patented back then, employing an army of co-producers and writers (including partner Puffy) to assemble a slick, 15-track affair. If anything, her sound is safe, retro even, with some tracks looking back to the 1980s, particularly the Michael Jackson-influenced "I'm Real" and the funky, impressive "Play". Her Puerto Rican background comes to the fore on a handful of Spanish numbers, notably "Cariño", which samples Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria's "Sofrito" to impressive effect. It goes badly wrong on the "La Isla Bonita" sound-a-like, "Ain't It Funny", which merely serves to reinforce the impression that Lopez is happy to settle for being the latino Madonna. --
Mike Pattenden
CD Description
Jennifer Lopez' sophomore effort is anything but sophomoric. With J-LO the actress/singer conquers the jinx to create acatchy array of R&B, salsa, and dance music. With her hand deep in the cookie jar this time around, Lopez, along with Cory Rooney, co-writes and co-produces every track.
The first single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", burned up the urban radio stations with its smooth and catchy hooks. Steering clear of the obvious loops and samples, most tracks are original, save the Sean "Puffy" Combs produced "Walking on Sunshine", which employs the '80s tune made famous by Katrina & The Waves. Lopez runs the spectrum of lyrical subjects, coveringlove, in the aforementioned "Love Don't Cost a Thing", dance, with "Play", and trying to make the best out of confusingromantic situations, in "We Gotta Talk".