Among lower class publications, such as the tabloids and weekly celebrity magazines, the "snark" is fully in place, and the lazy assumption is always made that because Britney is known for controversy she can't also be known for the quality of her music. So her music is ignored at that level and few of the gossipers seem to realize that she's been setting the benchmark for pop music, year in and year out, for years. I'm sure even this won't change their uninformed opinions. Yet here is Britney at No.5 in a list of great music by many great artists. NOT Beyonce. NOT Christina Aguilera. NOT Rihanna. I'm still having problems taking it in that the people who included all of those heavy-duty rock acts in the list even LISTEN to Britney Spears. But it's a weird and wonderful fact that the UK's music critics have a lot more time for her than their opposite numbers in the land of her birth.

I have to confess, though, that I wasn't a huge fan of "Blackout" in the beginning. I was used to the "something for everybody" style of her previous albums and loved the contrasting levels of intensity between one track and another, and the opportunities she was given to demonstrate her interpretative skills. It would seem that her management team aren't sure of her target audience - or else they really do believe that this is what "Britney Spears" (the concept) is all about, because they reverted to type with "Circus".

Now you could argue that "Circus" is like a big box containing an assortment of expensive Belgian chocolates. Each one delicious in its own way, but only one of each variety and no suggestion that they're anything more than a random selection. "Blackout" isn't like that. It's a box where all the chocolates are one flavor, like them or loathe them. There are no ballads, and thus no displays of Britney's sweet, crooning high register. It's fast-paced, tough-minded and relatively hard-edged throughout. It's her first and, so far, only album to display thematic and stylistic consistency.

Can it be a coincidence that this is also the only album on which Britney herself was the Executive Producer? This means that from HER side (as opposed to her record company's side) she was the one negotiating all the decisions about what tracks should go on the album and in what order. I know that on many forums, her Executive Producer role is dismissed as insignificant. But that's probably because EVERY facet of her input is dismissed as insignificant, including the vocals.

However - the fact is that she had no management team to push her in other directions at that time, and this was the path she, herself, chose. I think she deserves a lot more credit for making "Blackout" as good as it is than almost anyone has so far been willing to give her.

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