(Italicized titles are the album's singles. Titles in red are the ones I recommend.)By the end of the year 2000, you could say that I was still stuck in the '90s. I was 7 years old, and all of the albums I bought I was still buying on cassette tape. For Christmas 2000, I got my first two CDs - Now 4 and Now 5. The following month, Jennifer Lopez's sophomore album, J.Lo was released, and her first single "Love Don't Cost a Thing" was playing on radio stations everywhere for months after. May 2001 came, and around my birthday I was brought to the mall, and for some odd reason was brought into the record store there, Tower Records. My grandmother had come with us, and she told me I could pick out two CDs. The first CD I chose was Aaron Carter's Aaron's Party...Come Get It, and I walked up and down the aisles looking for another one. I came across this one, as I recognized "Love Don't Cost a Thing". I picked it, and we were outta there. Interestingly enough, the first two pressings of the album came with a Limited Edition bonus disc, both of which were different from the other. I'm not sure which one came first, but one of the bonus discs had two tracks - "Pleasure is Mine" and "Amor Se Paga Con Amor (Spanish Version of Love Don't Cost a Thing)". The other bonus disc came with only one track, called "Can't Believe This". The version I originally got came with the two-track Limited Edition bonus disc (I recently found out about the second LE bonus disc, hunted down a used copy and purchased it - $3!). Soon, this became one of my favorite albums for the next few years. For the sake of the good ol' days, here's my album review for this oldie but goodie:
1. "Love Don't Cost a Thing" - Everyone's heard this one. This pop-ish song about not having to impress Jenny with money or fancy things sends out a good message to those hopeful guys out there. I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, though. This song's almost 10 years old and there's a good chance that this song is no longer applicable to J.Lo's life anymore. I mean, come on. Look at her now.
2. "I'm Real" (featuring P. Diddy) - Lopez's then-lover reminds listeners on multiple occasions throughout the song, that Jenny is indeed, "a bad, bad bitch". It's a catchy song that finds Lopez telling listeners that "what you get is what you see". No strings attached.
3. "Play" (featuring Christina Milian) - This track finds Jennifer aggressively demanding that the DJ at the party she's at "play [her] motherf*****g song!". It's an excellent, feel-good party song in which Christina Milian lends her vocals to the chorus. She also wrote the song!
4. "Walking on Sunshine" - Eh. Not the best track off the album, but not the worst. It's fun to dance to, but the beat gets somewhat boring after a while, and the lyrics sort of bland, though there's worse on the album.
5. "Ain't It Funny" - The fifth track on the album is definitely different from anything else I've heard before. It's a song about fate and finding an unexpected love. You can definitely hear the latin influence on the track. I love it.
6. "Cariño" - ...And Jenny Lo brings it back down to mediocre again. This song is just average at best. I'm not sure if it's the repetitiveness of it that bugs me, or if it's the Spanglish aspect of the track. In case you were wondering, the title translates to "Affection", which is what the song's about.
7. "Come Over" - Jennifer gets a bit naughty here! On one of the more slower songs on the album, we hear Lopez begging her man to "Please come over", and "Don't keep me waiting / Anticipating" because it's "Love I am saving / for you", plus a few sexual innuendos.
8. "We Gotta Talk" - "Ooh / Baby come and talk to me / Together we can work this out / We got a love thing we're talkin' about". Simple, yet catchy. Another highlight of the album, about trying to save a romance.
9. "That's Not Me" - When listening to tracks 8 and 9 back-to-back, one could argue that this could serve as the sequel to the previous track. By this point, Lopez is fed up with her man's cheating, lying and overall laziness, and she's done trying and done giving it her all. Another great song.
10. "Dance With Me" - This is what I'm talking about! Jennfer tells the listener to basically leave all their cares behind and get on the dance floor. It's an interesting song with unique lyrics and a catchy beat, yet another one of the album's higher points.
11. "Secretly" - I'm not a huge fan of ballads, so in my eyes, this one's pretty forgettable. Lopez sings to a guy about how much she wants him, and her strong attraction to him.
12. "I'm Gonna Be Alright" - An empowering track about mustering up the strength to leave your lover, although you don't want to, but you know he's no good for you. I know that the Trackmasters Remix (from her J to tha L-O! The Remixes album) was released as a single, but it's essentially the same song, with a different beat.
13. "That's The Way" - This is a song unlike any other I have heard before. And I like it. In this one, J.Lo tells a guy that she can give him anything and make him happy as long as he stays faithful to her. One of my favorites off the album.
14. "Dame" (featuring Chayanne) - Strange. Very strange track if I do say so myself. The title translates to "Touch Me", so if you don't speak Spanish it's pretty obvious what the song's about. If you do, then more power to ya.
15. "Si Ya Se Acabo" - Very latin-inspired. I punched the song's title into Google translator and it came up with "If Already I Am Finished". Hmm. I like the track, but I find it strange that J.Lo chose to end the standard edition of the album with TWO Spanish tracks. One would have been fine.
BONUS TRACKS:
1. "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" (featuring Ja Rule) - Though both the original version of the song and this remix were released as singles, this was probably the more successful of the two. This sounds like a totally different song -- different beats, different lyrics, and different chorus. Not complaining, though. Still a good song. (This track is available on current U.S. pressings of the album, with the Parental Advisory sticker on it as track 16, but it's also available on the clean versions of the album. Also appears as track 18 on UK, Portuguese, and Australian pressings of the album, after "Pleasure is Mine" and "I'm Waiting".)
2. "I'm Waiting" - A nice song where J.Lo lays down the law. She tells her lover that he needs to man up and confess his love for her, because the feelings are mutual. (Available on Japanese pressings of the album as track 16, and as track 17 on UK, Australian, and Portuguese pressings, after "Pleasure is Mine".)
3. "Amor Se Paga Con Amor" - The Spanish version of "Love Don't Cost a Thing". (Available on Latin American pressings of the album as track 16. For a short time, this was available on U.S. pressings of the album, on a second disc as track 2, along with "Pleasure is Mine".)
4. "Carino (Spanish Version)" - Self explanatory. This is a little better than the Spanglish album version. Having the song in just one language made it more powerful for some reason. (Available on Latin American pressings of the album as track 17.)
5. "Que Ironia" - The Spanish version of "Ain't It Funny". The Spanish version of the song still proves to be just as good as the English version. (Track 18 on Latin American pressings.)
6. "Pleasure is Mine" - J.Lo tells her lover to "Stop playin' / Delayin' the divine"...if you catch my drift. (Track 16 on UK, Australian, and Portuguese pressings of the album. Also track 1 on the out-of-print, two-track Limited Edition U.S. bonus disc that includes "Amor Se Paga Con Amor".)
7. "Can't Believe This" - On this ultra rare, hard to find track, Jennifer tells her lover that she is appalled by his cheating and that she's fed up with it. This is not to be confused with her 2005 song "(Can't Believe) This is Me". Ironically enough, they also have the same exact running time. (Appears as the ONLY track on an extremely rare, out of print U.S. bonus disc - not the same one that has "Amor Se Paga Con Amor" and "Pleasure is Mine".)
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