Nothing Worse Than a Talentless PopStar Getting Experimental

There is nothing worse than a talentless pop star who gets experimental. I generally look for a more experimental sound, true, and I expect a lot. But, when a pop star comes along with his or her bubble-gum sound and sugar-coated music-like formulaic product, then follows that up with an attempt to prove that there is more to the music than simple pop, it is usually required that the artist have enough real musical talent to back up the effort.

Unfortunately, Paula Abdul fails to do that. When I first picked up Spellbound and put it in my CD player, I had to struggle to get through half the songs on the CD. In an attempt to be more mature and introspective, Abdul let the energy that characterized her earlier dance bubblegum mix ooze off the CD. That energy is virtually nonexistent on this CD and really plays like flat background noise. The songs we get here are really under par despite the attempt Abdul makes to gain the credibility she is after on this effort.

On a positive note, I did like "Vibeology," which seemed to carry some of the verve of the Forever Your Girl tracks. It seems like a left-over track from those sessions if you compare it to the tracks you are faced with on Spellbound.

"Blowing Kisses in the Wind" has a nice melody and some decent musical performances but is mostly unremarkable.

The rest of the tracks are not just unmemorable, they aren't even worth sticking with the whole way through unless you plan on letting it play in the background while you're talking to somebody else.

Perhaps Spellbound is a transitional album. I never did pick up anything after this album. I don't know what the third album sounded like. But, for the most part, it's pretty uninspired and doesn't have the energy of the album that springboarded Paula Abdul into fame and stardom in the first place.