CD Review: Jennifer Lopez's 'Rebirth'

CD Review: Jennifer Lopez's 'Rebirth'

Jennifer Lopez's 'Rebirth': Aidin Vaziri | Quick, name one good reason Jennifer Lopez is famous. Is it because of her roles in what should have been direct-to-video movies like "Jersey Girl" and "Angel Eyes"? No, although who can forget her erotically charged performance in "Gigli," when she pointed to her crotch and said, "It's turkey time! Gobble gobble gobble!" Does her star shine so brightly because of all the hit songs she's performed, like "Jenny From the Block" and, oh, er ... well, it's hard to think of another, but wasn't there one about how P. Diddy can't buy her love? It's certainly not because of her signature perfume, "Glow, " nor the J. Lo clothing line, which makes the women's department at Sears look absolutely chic. Although, let's give credit where it's due: She does a pretty fabulous job keeping tabloid pages filled with all her disaster-prone relationships. Bennifer? Yeah, that was a lot of fun. All things considered, it should come as no surprise that Lopez's fourth album, "Rebirth," is underwhelming on every level. Yes, songs like "He'll Be Back" and "Step Into My World" are painstakingly crafted by R&B super-producers Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, respectively, but not one leaves a lasting impression once the CD stops spinning. Lopez's third and current husband, Marc Anthony, manages to re-create the icky soap opera vibe of the pair's Grammy performance on "(Can't Believe) This Is Me," while even Moby could have invested more sexual heat into the breathy "Step Into My World. " The single "Get Right," sampling the saxophone from Maceo and the Macks' "Soul Power '74," nearly ignites -- until you find out Lopez lifted the sample, melody and lyrics from Usher's "Confessions" discard pile. The woman is shameless, and maybe that's the only explanation anyone needs. We're all curious to see how far she can go with so little to give.