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Album Reviews

Following two majorly successful albums as a dance queen all over the world, the alto pop diva extraordinaire Anastacia released her third album, a self-titled one, to huge reception practically all over the globe. Interestingly enough, the only location where the album was never released was in the United States, where the American singer's flame never burst into wildfire. It's a real shame, though; Anastacia was a transition album for a multi-dimensional artist as she shifted from disco flavor into passionate power pop, and this haunting presentation would've been her ticket for gold in the States. Written, recorded, and produced while Anastacia was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer only helped the dazzling singer to create a more personal, painful piece of work that suits her unique voice perfectly. Packed with pop numbers that overlay into rock and soul, Anastacia envelops the listener into a painstaking reality that horrified the singer -- that this might be the end of her career, and her life, and she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Stronger tracks on the album include "Left Outside Alone," a global smash that was the number one single of 2004 in many European countries, on which Anastacia berates the listener with cries of frustration in pop/rock at its finest, and "Heavy on My Heart," a shimmering ballad flushed by pain, love, and bombastic sounds that collide like tidal waves in what can only be described as a magical four minutes. The hits don't stop there, as Anastacia is packed with not only personal musical anecdotes (every track on the album was either written or co-written by Anastacia), but radio-friendly, grit-influenced dark pop hits like "I Do," "Seasons Change," and "Time." Plus, she seams R&B into her mix of melodies on tracks like "Pretty Little Dum Dum" and "Sick & Tired." Overall, Anastacia is truly an artist's record, where listeners get a bird's eye view into the minds of a covertly dark Anastacia whose musical imagination is finally allowed to blossomed due to the catalytic effect of a terrible tragedy that overcame her. Luckily for us, she is 100 percent cured of her disease; now it's time to take this new hauntingly gorgeous Anastacia and give her some credit like she truly deserves. ~ Matthew Chisling, All Music Guide