I dig that pre-order track a lot. Another new style for Kelly.
I'm thrilled to see that All I Ever Wanted is being well-received by the mainstream media - this should help sales a lot.
I've always been a big KC fan, but for me this album is the fully realized vision for her voice. She touches on all genres in a way that no other contemporary artist can effectively do. Sometimes moving from song-to-song can seem a bit disjointed, but each song is just so damn catchy that you don't care. The first 5 or 6 tracks seem destined to be big radio singles. I could easily see this album with singles on the radio for a year and a half at least...and hopefully a grammy nom or two to show for it. A general field nomination would be nice validation for her and I personally think its overdue...we'll see.
USA Today Brian Mansfield the review appears in Tuesday's paper
Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted * * * (out of four) BACK AND BRIGHTER THAN EVER
The original American Idol emerges brighter and more vibrant from the musical and commercial gloom that shrouded 2007's My December. From the shamelessly Photoshopped fluorescent cover of All I Ever Wanted to its equally garish Auto-Tuned arrangements, everything about this project screams hit album.
The high-performance hooks of My Life Would Suck Without You, shaping up to be the biggest radio single of Clarkson's already formidable career, vividly introduce a colorful set that covers the pop-music spectrum from girl-group thump to Swedish dance sizzle.
Scratch beneath the DayGlo surface, though, and there beats a heart that, as a Katy Perry cover says, beats her senselessly. There's fear here, and some self-doubt, too, but there's also determination. Clarkson refuses to stay down, and, here, she's got the tunes to get her up and pumping again.
Download: My Life Would Suck Without You, I Do Not Hook Up, I Want You, If No One Will Listen Skip: Whyyawannabringmedown
1. My Life Would Suck Without You. The clicking guitar that outlines a steadily rhythmic melody begins All I Ever Wanted deceptively. Is it setting up a rock number? Could Kelly Clarkson's alliance with Reba McEntire's husband/manager Narvel Blackstock have foreshadowed a shift in a rootsier musical direction? But any illusion of simplicity lasts less than 15 seconds, the length of time it takes the guitar to state its motif once. Then the pulsing synthesizer buzz and the four-on-the-floor disco beat kick in. The guitar's still there but buried the mix, along with the bell-like keyboards and the whistling swoops. By the time Kelly hits the chorus, this song's in full-on Max Martin Europop mode, with the kind of hooks that put the fun back in this dysfunctional relationship, where Kelly basically tells her lover, "As bad as you are for me, I'm even more miserable when you're not around."
2. I Do Not Hook Up. The guitar intro's back, but this time it's heftier, with a darker edge reinforced by the opening line: "Oh, sweetheart, put the bottle down." This is the Katy Perry/Kara DioGuardi song (co-written with Greg Wells), and it's a remarkably sexy song warning an admirer not to expect sex, the kind of song that cautions the guy to "Keep your hand in my hand" one line after using "I don't come cheap" as a double entendre. The song has a bouncy, dance-pop melody but more rock elements to its arrangement, having been produced by Howard Benson, known for his work with Daughtry, Hoobastank and Mötörhead.
3. Cry. You've heard of power ballads, right? This is a power waltz.
4. Don't Let Me Stop You. Benson also produces this song from the Swedish-pop Quiz & Larossi team, which writes a lot of Il Divo material. Kelly's back to being the no-nonsense girl of I Do Not Hook Up -- "A lot of things I can take/Got a high threshold for pain/But let's get one thing straight/I'm not down to share you with anyone" -- establishing what could be interpreted as a troubling strong-weak-strong-weak emotional pattern for the songs on this album. Sonically, this one will wear your ears out -- Kelly spends nearly the entire song blasting near the top of her register. Just listening to it makes my throat muscles feel strained.
5. All I Ever Wanted. With its minor-key melody, a dance beat that sounds almost like a march and lines like "This second chancin's really gettin' me down," the title track for Kelly's album sounds like My Life Would Suck Without You after the guy's come back and worn out his welcome.
6. Already Gone. After all the ups and downs of the album's first five songs, this relatively drama-free one about making peace with the end of a relationship comes as welcome relief. The first of four songs done with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, it's sung more like a sigh than a shout.
7. If I Can't Have You. On the second song with Tedder, Kelly's cast as the pursuer, alternately telling the object of her affection how desperately she wants him and how much love he'll lose if he rejects her. Musically, it reminds me of Zombie Nation's Kernkraft 400, that techno song so popular at hockey games and other sporting events.
8. Save You. A sorrow-filled song, apparently about escaping from a relationship with a lover who has a self-destructive streak. "I wish I could say to you, 'It's gonna be alright," Kelly sings, and when she repeats that last half often enough, the lie sounds comfortably like the truth.
9. Whyyawannabringmedown. When Kelly's singing this rocker, she's channeling Ann Wilson when Ann's channeling Robert Plant. Unfortunately, she spends too much of it shouting instead.
10. Long Shot. This Katy Perry cover comes from the unreleased 2005 album Perry recorded for Island Def Jam with producer Glen Ballard. Ballard and Perry wrote it with Perry's ex-boyfriend Matt Thiessen of Relient K. (See Perry's video for her version here). Thanks, I'm guessing, to Thiessen's contributions, it possesses a lyrical cleverness ("My heartbeat beats me senselessly") that most of Kelly's songs don't have.
11. Impossible. Clearly I've stayed up too late to be writing this review, because I swear to you the intro to this song -- the fourth of the Ryan Tedder collaborations -- makes me think of the Sisters of Mercy's goth favorite This Corrosion. You might not realize it at first glance, but this turns out to be the most hopeful, most spiritual song so far on this album -- a surprising song that might grow on me.
12. Ready. This one starts with a bouncy keyboard beat that makes me want to sing, "Slow down, you move too fast … " Instead, Kelly sings, "Frozen, forgetful again," which scans almost the same but sets an entirely different tone. The upbeat tune sounds at odds with lyrics like "I fly like the stones in my heart/Drowning in doubt for what reason."
13. I Want You. This one's a complete musical change of pace, a song Kelly wrote with Caesars (remember Jerk It Out from the old iPod commercial?) guitarist/singer Joakim Åhlund that giddily borrows from old girl-group sounds. Imagine Amy Winehouse filtered through the Swedish-pop system. Some people will find this too goofy for words, but it pushes all the right buttons for me.
14. If No One Will Listen. After all the work with all the big-time producers, this is the track they let Kelly produce, a ballad by Keri Noble that ties together all the album's themes -- the fear, the self-doubt and the willingness to hang tough during the worst of times. It sounds like nothing else on the album, but it's the song that makes all the rest of them make sense. http://blogs.usatoday.com/idol...review-track-by.html
I don't get the disjointed feeling from this cd, I just call it variety. I like that, each song a little change of pace. That's why people make mixed tapes, for the variety. Here, kelly gives it to you on one cd. And she can pull it all off, by selling the song with her voice, and delivery. Most people on this forum don't give her enough credit for her voice. In just about every best vocal poll, or top artist poll, she's completely left out. I just stay out of the conversation, because I'd be accused of being a fanboy, but, in this thread, I can boast, I think she one of the best vocalists of this generation of pop singers.
Blender Magazine on Kelly Clarkson: " The Texas native has one of the great voices in pop music, a powerful and versatile instrument that’s steeped in the rhythm and blues and country music she grew up with in the South. If Mariah Carey’s five-octave voice is the equivalent of an expensively bred poodle, then Clarkson’s is a bloodhound: friendly, earthy, but fierce just the same."
Baltimore Examiner (concert review): "Her sultry voice is absolutely flawless. The tone and range floors you. When she belts out a note, it's precise yet powerful."
"Music is powerful, it's a drug that makes your inhibitions go away and leaves your vulnerabilities exposed" - KC
She is going to be on GMA in the morning. I hope she does good, because Kelly always has a growly/raspy voice in any morning interviews, I hope it's up to singing "suck" that early.
Blender Magazine on Kelly Clarkson: " The Texas native has one of the great voices in pop music, a powerful and versatile instrument that’s steeped in the rhythm and blues and country music she grew up with in the South. If Mariah Carey’s five-octave voice is the equivalent of an expensively bred poodle, then Clarkson’s is a bloodhound: friendly, earthy, but fierce just the same."
Baltimore Examiner (concert review): "Her sultry voice is absolutely flawless. The tone and range floors you. When she belts out a note, it's precise yet powerful."
"Music is powerful, it's a drug that makes your inhibitions go away and leaves your vulnerabilities exposed" - KC
Honestly, I find Kelly's version much more listenable. Perry's voice is too screechy/annoying to enjoy the song. It sounds like cats are being strangled. When I first heard Perry's demo, I was p issed Kelly was re-recording the song, but Kelly made the song one of my favorite cuts on the album.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Neurotic21,
Kelly put on a good amount of weight since her last album. I miss that sexy look she had going on during the "Breakaway" era. She was in great shape. I also liked the blonde hair on her.
restless&wild, I feel ya. I try not to write too much so people won't peg me as a fanboy for Kelly as I really do try to stop myself from over-praising her. But, let's just say there is a good reason why she has captivated us so much!
I agree--this is a huge contender for Best Pop Vocal Album. I'm always hopeful for general field nominations, but it's too early to tell.
Originally posted by torontophenom: Here is the iTunes exclusive track "Can We Go Back" that is only being offered to those that Pre-ordered that album.
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Blender Magazine on Kelly Clarkson: " The Texas native has one of the great voices in pop music, a powerful and versatile instrument that’s steeped in the rhythm and blues and country music she grew up with in the South. If Mariah Carey’s five-octave voice is the equivalent of an expensively bred poodle, then Clarkson’s is a bloodhound: friendly, earthy, but fierce just the same."
Baltimore Examiner (concert review): "Her sultry voice is absolutely flawless. The tone and range floors you. When she belts out a note, it's precise yet powerful."
"Music is powerful, it's a drug that makes your inhibitions go away and leaves your vulnerabilities exposed" - KC
The album has soooooo much potential for hit singles! "Already Gone" is simply haunting. It's performing the highest on Itunes as well, besides "My life would suck..."
Kelly did an exclusive Walmart session, sponsored by Dove. It was in front of a bunch of young girl scouts, and she talked to them about self esteem issues. She only did 2 songs from the new cd, and a few from "Breakaway" but, here is her performance of "I do not hook up". It's really the first live performance here in the States of this song. She sounds great!!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: restless&wild,
Blender Magazine on Kelly Clarkson: " The Texas native has one of the great voices in pop music, a powerful and versatile instrument that’s steeped in the rhythm and blues and country music she grew up with in the South. If Mariah Carey’s five-octave voice is the equivalent of an expensively bred poodle, then Clarkson’s is a bloodhound: friendly, earthy, but fierce just the same."
Baltimore Examiner (concert review): "Her sultry voice is absolutely flawless. The tone and range floors you. When she belts out a note, it's precise yet powerful."
"Music is powerful, it's a drug that makes your inhibitions go away and leaves your vulnerabilities exposed" - KC
hits daily double which is usually dead on, is predicting Kelly to debut at #1 next week of course in the target of 210-230K.
Not bad numbers, but I somehow expected with a massive single for her sell over 300K first week.
That being said, "All I ever wanted" will sell consistently over the next year as it's so chalk full of hits, regardless of what it's opening weeks numbers are.
I LOVE this album. Kelly should definitely be the front runner for Pop Album and Female Pop Vocal... I'd love to see it get in the general fields... especially for "Already Gone" or "Cry" in the Record and Song categories.
It's brimming with a ton of potential singles. My faves: MLWSWY, Cry, Already Gone, If I Cant Have You, I Do Not Hook Up, If No One Will Listen, Long Shot
