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List Price: $13.98 | | Label: Geffen Records
Salesrank: 8340
Released: June 20, 2006 |
| Our Price: $4.45 |
| Used Price: $0.59 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Loose Track Listing:
1. Afraid
2. Maneater
3. Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado, Timbaland
4. Glow
5. Showtime
6. No Hay Igual
7. Te Busque - Nelly Furtado, Juanes
8. Say It Right
9. Do It
10. In God's Hands
11. Wait for You
12. All Good Things (Come to an End)
13. Te Busque [Spanish Version][*] - Nelly Furtado, Juanes
Editorial Review:
In preparation for her new album, Loose, NELLY FURTADO tried out collaborations with a who's who of producers, and she tried to create a music more of the body than the mind. A prime example of the latter is first single "PROMISCUOUS," a duet with Loose producer TIMBALAND, known far and wide for his groundbreaking work with, among others, MISSY ELLIOTT, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and AALIYAH.
It stands to reason that gold and multiplatinum certifications (for 2003's Folklore and 2000's Whoa, Nelly!, respectively), a pair of Top 10 singles ("I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light"), and a Grammy Award (for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), to name just a few accomplishments, would afford a certain level of confidence. But nothing has inspired Furtado to throw caution to the wind more than motherhood. "Motherhood makes you fearless," she says. "The album is very youthful-sounding," Furtado continues, "and I think that's partly due to the presence of this two-year-old in my life. I was with her all day every day and then I'd go to the studio at night, and I think that translated into a playful energy I feel onstage but that hasn't really been heard on my records."
Starting with her longtime production team of Track & Field, she also knew she wanted to check out a variety of producers. "Working with new producers," she hazards, "is like trying on new clothes - you never know what you look good in until you try it on. And sometimes they will see something in you that neither you nor anyone else could see." So she traveled with her daughter from Toronto to London to work with NELLEE HOOPER; to Los Angeles to work with LESTER MENDEZ (who produced, "Te Busque," her moving duet with JUANES) and RICK NOWELS (co-writer and producer of the gorgeous ballad "In God's Hands"); and to Miami to work with PHARRELL WILLIAMS and SCOTT STORCH and finally, TIMBALAND.
Indeed, the raw, lighting-in-a-bottle spontaneity of the collaborative process is at the heart of Loose. "This record shows who I am in a jam-type environment, where I really feel the excitement of the creativity flowing," Furtado reveals. "It's who I am at my most artistic. I live for that, and I'm very grateful to be able to share it."
Description of Loose:
The buzz for Nelly Furtado's Loose began before the music was even recorded, with the announcement that legendary hip-hop knob-twirler Timbaland (Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake) would act as co-producer. The question on fans' minds: what would it sound like when a hip-hop kingpin collaborated with an artist who culls inspiration not just from pop music, but also her own Portuguese roots?
As it turns out, Loose incorporates a number of different styles along its journey, but is--surprisingly--primarily divided between '80s-influenced electronica and latin-infused pop. This disc is very different from Furtado's previous CDs, a fact immediately evident from track one, the new wave-affected "Afraid." A strong opener, the song is the beginning of a 1-2-3 punch of uptempo, infectious dance floor beats. The second cut, "Maneater," also proves to be incredibly catchy, but the verses and keyboard sound too much like they were plucked from electroclash artist Peaches' tree, and originality is lost. The perfect summer pop song follows, the massive hit "Promiscuous," which features clever interplay between Furtado and Timbaland on their sassy duet. From that point, Loose oscillates between the Miami-affected sounds of R&B, Latino pop, and reggaeton ("Showtime," "Te Busque," and "No Hay Igual" respectively) and the aforementioned '80s vibe ("Glow," "Do It"). Fans will hear Furtado at her vocal best on "Say It Right" and "In God’s Hands"--two of the most lyrically compelling tracks on the disc. --Denise Sheppard
Loose Reviews:
"Sweet And Lowdown" 
2009-08-20 - Nelly Furtado, the sweet girl who sang "I'm like a bird", became "Loose" and "Promiscuous". Nothing wrong with that. Most young female pop artists, no matter what genre they come from, end up trying out the current pop trend for size. Even the iconic Jewel had a dance-oriented album, "0304", and to me it was her best one.
So, how did Nelly's experiment work out? Pretty good, I say. We hear hip-hop dance tracks, ranging from the lighter ("Afraid", "Do It"), which have a Britney/Gwen Stefani sound, to the harder ("Maneater", "Glow"), which are closer to Justin T's music. "Promiscuous" fits into this category also, with Nelly and Timbaland trading lines like "Promiscuous girl, U know what I want, and I got what U need/Promiscuous boy, let's get 2 the point". Hint: they are not discussing bus tickets. Foreign influences spark "No Hay Igual" (Spanish, very rhythmic), "Te Busque" (a ballad in 2 versions, one mostly Spanish, one with more English), and "Wait For You" (MidEast-inflected). "Showtime" and "In God's Hands" are soft ballads with good melodies. Two of the best tracks are "Say It Again", an excellent pop radio hit, and "All Good Things", which has a chorus that calls to mind Madonna's "This Used To Be My Playground".
I guess it all depends on what you want from an artist. I'm sure many of Jewel's fans did not like her dance album, and I've read that many consider "Loose" a selling-out on Nelly's part. But, I happen to like the Madonna/Britney/Stefani brand of pop music, and for me, this CD has that quality along with enough varied influences to make it interesting. And Nelly's vocal traits - melodious voice, warmth, humor - are still evident, although the resulting album is certainly different from her previous ones.
Love it! 
2009-07-23 - This is the new Nelly and I am lovin' it. She got some rockin' tunes mixed with dance/electronica. Her hit single Maneater is on here as well and has become a favorite tune. It's great to listen to while in heavy traffic or speeding down the freeway. I also liked her other album, Whoa, Nelly!.
Great for it's time!
2009-03-23 - I remember when she first came out I thought she was talented different and really liked Im like a Bird! I hadn't really heard anything that she had did in 5 or 6 years. I had almost written her off as a one hit wonder. I remember when this cd first came out. I thought wow she def. changed!That's what everybody said! I actually heard the first single on myspace and I actually thought it was pretty good. It was the album that really made Timbaland the superstar producer that he is today. It's more Timbaland's work then Nelly's which is obvious. I thought this album's singles were excellent and amazing and had the best beats of any song out there. Say it Right had to be one of my favorite songs for a while. I thought the beats were slick,the video was hot, and everything else was done almost perfectly. Maneater was so different when I heard it was like wow Timbaland's work really shines through on this track. The pulsating beat gets louder and faster, and it's got really funny lyrics. I thought do it again was excellent, a little slower but I loved Missy's rap on it. Overall, there's very little filler,if any, on this album. I remember this album had to be the hottest album out there when it came out! If anybody loves pop or techno music this is the album to get!
Not too good. 
2008-12-29 - Nelly Furtado is a cool artist, But "loose" is just not my flavour. The music here is not concentrated enough. The production just sounds weak, The lead single "Promiscuous" was just okay in my opinion, It's tolerable. What drove me to purchase this CD was because with a listen of that first single it sounded like Nelly was going to be doing some experimenting which could either make or break an artist. Usually Nelly Furtado has always dibbed and dabbed in other genre's but her true style still dominated her sound. Knowing this I figured she was going to be exploring some different sounds. I figured any Folk/Pop artists that has a Pop/Hip-Hop styled lead single for her latest CD should be very interesting. This album is a complete letdown, I had Hi-hopes for something less commercial sounding than this. The entire album is full of noisy, rambunctious sounding immitation of 80's hip-hop & Whiney vocals. Songs like "Maneater" and "Glow" sound very busy and just noisy, It's not even "Good noise"- PUNK-ROCK is noisy ans still has some appeal to it, this is just not good music IMO. "Showtime" is a generic winded-down RnB song with a bedroom theme remeniscent of what of GINUWINE or any other typically RnB artist would come up with (Not My Taste at all). "Wait For You" is extremely whiney and commercial sounding, Not original in any way, sounds like an Aaliyah leftover from 1998, I'm sure she wouldv'e sounded much better on this track anyway (Fits her voice better). "All Good Things" and "Te Busque" are nothing special, Just typical sounding Pop/RnB songs. I like the message in "Afraid" and the beat is nice, "No Hay Igual" is an upbeat Shake N' rattle song in Spanglish with synthesizers that are identical to pots and pans being hit by wooden spoons, This one is pretty fun I must say. "Do It" has a euro-Pop 80's vibe, I like the idea but the song doesn't make me wanna press repeat. The best song on the album is "In God's Hands" this song is what Nelly Furtado is known for, Her Folk/Pop style It's really nice piano ballad, It's the only song on the entire album that I repeat. It's one of Nelly's best IMO. Overall I think I was a bit harsh giving her 1 star, 2 stars would be a little better for her efforts and atleast trying something a little different, the result just wasn't too great. The really bad thing about "loose" is that the album from beginning to end is produced by Timbaland. his sound is too distinct to produce an entire album, maybe he's the one who needs to experiment a little more.
CD Nelly Furtado
2008-12-03 - Everything about this purchase was fine. No problems whatsoever. Would definitely purchase from this vendor again.
