Anastacia (self-titled)

A Commercial Triumph
by: peter naldrett - uk correspondent

Anastacia Newkirk, better know by only her first name, is a little lady with a big, big, voice. Her new, self-titled, album will have many critics moaning at the thought of more dreary singles like "Cowboys and Kisses" and "Made For Lovin’ You." But with this, her third studio album, Anastacia has entered into an interesting era with new music and a fresh sound.

From the opener "Seasons Change," which is closely followed by the new single "Left Outside Alone," it is clear that Anastacia has chosen to come back into the limelight heading in a very new direction. These are rock anthems from an established artist taking a risk by cranking up the guitars and pumping up her voice. And on the whole it works well as this album is easy to listen to, although I have no idea why it couldn’t have been given a proper title. It seems pretentious enough for artists to have eponymous albums as their first CD, but completely random and even lazy to throw it in for the third one.

Many of the tracks themselves, thankfully, are well-presented and likable. One disturbing feature, however, is how the newly “rocky” and forceful Anastacia manages to sound like a young, white Tina Turner on a lot of the rock ‘n’ roll songs and an up-and-coming Madonna on the few ballads that are included.

Anastacia herself is, unsurprisingly, happy with the way things have turned out on “Anastacia.” The period which she spent making this album was a difficult one for her as she went through a long period of illness in 2003, but she feels it was this emotional determination and honesty which has positively charged the new CD.

She said: “I challenged myself both lyrically and melodically to stay true to those feelings and at the same time use them in a positive way." 26-Jun-2004 11:00 AM