If momma said it once, she said it 1,000 times: After you make a video in assless chaps, people find it hard to take you seriously.

Pity Christina Aguilera's momma didn't give her the same advice. Then the diva might not find herself in the situation she's in now.

Her dilemma? Despite having two giant albums and a slew of hit singles under her belt, Aguilera wants more from her career. Oh, don't worry, kids; she still wants to be the chart-topping pop starlet. And fear not, dads; she still wants to be your sex-bomb fantasy. But with all that, she now craves something she's never had before: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Easier said than done. But to her credit, that doesn't stop her from trying with her third album Back to Basics. Even more to her credit, it doesn't stop her from nearly pulling it off.

How does she do it? It's all right there in the title of this 22-track double album. First, she reins in her outrageous and scandalous antics for a slightly more mature approach. Second, she spends more time embracing the past than rushing to stay ahead of the pop curve.

Not that Aguilera has lost her contemporary edge. Disc 1 is full of get-down grooves, razor-sharp hooks and rich ballads. They just happen to be rooted in samples from classic soul, R&B, gospel and blues sides by the likes of B.B. King, Candi Staton, Gladys Knight and Allen Toussaint.

The best of the lot is the irresistible Lady Marmalade upgrade Ain't No Other Man, but the similarly Aretha-inspired Makes Me Wanna Pray, the wah-wah funk of Back in the Day, the piano-pop ballad Understand and the sexy grinder Slow Down Baby suggest Aguilera has been kicking it old-school.

For the real trip way back into the day, though, there's Disc 2. On this half-hour set, Aguilera and producer Linda Perry go one step further, ditching the samples and beatboxes in favour of a live band -- including horns and strings -- playing vampy blues and jazz. Candyman captures Aguilera in full swing, scatting and reworking Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy for the club floor. Nasty Naughty Boy is a bump-and-grind burlesque.

I Got Trouble is a dusty piano blues smartly underproduced to sound like an old Bessie Smith side. Even more impressive: Aguilera refrains from oversinging like so many of her peers, serving the song instead of getting all melismatic on you.

But if she gets points for inspiration, effort and execution, she earns penalties for form. Even at 25, Aguilera still confuses being sexy with being aggressively skanky. The literally horny Still Dirrty manages to be both insulting and defensive, as she angrily charges that if you don't like her freaky ways, "you're not comfortable in your own skin." Likewise, Candyman and Nasty Naughty Boy have their retro-bubbles burst by pointedly provocative lyrics about "making all the panties drop" and giving you "a little taste of the sugar below my waist."

And here's a shock: Aguilera can be kind of self-centred. Despite claiming she wants to "get inside the minds of every legend I've ever wanted to stand beside," most of this album is lifted from her diary. The Right Man is about her wedding. Oh Mother recalls her supposedly abusive father. F.U.S.S. is a kiss-off to a collaborator. The worst is Thank You (Dedication to Fans) -- which features fawning voicemails from people telling Christina how, like, totally great she is. Finally, like most double albums, this has too much fluff and filler -- specifically, a handful of ballads that could have been trimmed to make an outstanding single-disc set.

Despite these missteps, though, Back to Basics is still Aguilera's most ambitious, distinctive and enjoyable disc. She keeps this up -- and retires those chaps -- and people might take her seriously after all.

Track Listing:

1. Intro (Back To Basics)
2. Makes Me Wanna Pray featuring Steve Winwood
3. Back In The Day
4. Ain't No Other Man
5. Understand
6. Slow Down Baby
7. Oh Mother
8. F.U.S.S. (Interlude)
9. On Our Way
10. Without You
11. Still Dirrty
12. Here To Stay
13. Thank You (Dedication To Fans...)
14. Enter The Circus
15. Welcome
16. Candyman
17. Nasty Naughty Boy
18. I Got Trouble
19. Hurt
20. Mercy On Me
21. Save Me From Myself
22. The Right Man
23. Back To Basics (Bonus Video)