Takin' It Back (Deluxe Edition)

When Meghan Trainor titles her fourth album Takin It Back, its a tacit acknowledgment that by the time she released Treat Myself in 2020 she had drifted too far away from the swank, swaggering retro-pop of Title -- a sound that she calls "doo wop" but has only a passing connection to the street corner harmony groups of the 1950s. Trainors music feels as if it was steeped in Grease, a pastiche wrapped in nostalgia for nostalgia, a template thats more flexible than it seems. Since shes not attached to authenticity, she can thread in the glitter-ball disco pulse of "Dance About It" and the self-explanatory "Mama Wanna Mambo" (which inexplicably features Arturo Sandoval) into Takin It Back just as easily as she can pepper the record with digital flair and modern R&B beats, both of which liven up the title track. Usually, such electronic affectations are merely a part of the execution: the bones of the songs are old-fashioned, the presentation contemporary. This doesnt mean that Takin It Back is a state-of-the-art pop record. Trainors dedication to reviving the spirit of Title means that the attitude and melody can occasionally seem preserved in amber -- witness the parade of high-end consumer brands Trainor rattles off on "Made You Look" -- but taken as a whole, separated from trends and fashions, Takin It Back showcases her knack for hooks and musical theater pizazz with cool efficiency. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

〈取り戻す〉と題された通算5作目。ドゥワップ調の楽曲や、デビュー当初のオチャメでカラフルなハッピー・ヴァイブスの復活には〈やっぱりメーガンはこうじゃなきゃ!〉と痛感。ペンタトニックスのスコット・ホーイングのほか、大御所トランペッターのアルトゥーロ・サンドヴァル、ナティ・ナターシャ、R・シティのセロン・セロンら、カリブ海周辺の出身アーティストたちがゲスト参加。南国サウンドが楽しさを倍増させている。
bounce (C)村上ひさし