With all of these new rocking chicks popping up everywhere, you would expect that they were in abundance. I thought that I had heard it all when I had heard Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton, but I was wrong. At the beginning of the summer I heard a new rocking chick, which sounded somewhat similar to Michelle Branch, but she was more rock orientated.
Avril Lavigne was the chick that made me realize that I had not heard everything young chicks could offer.
Avril Lavigne, An Anything But Ordinary Girl
Avril Lavigne was the middle child from Napanee, Ontario, Canada that never got enough attention. She wasn’t really comfortable with being the middle child, which was one of the reasons why she did everything she could to be the center of attention. She loved to sing from a very early age, and when she was young she always sung whenever she had the chance. When she was at home, she usually stood on her bed and screamed from the top of her lunges, pretending that she was on a stage performing. At her spare time, she sung gospel music in the church, performing at fairs etc. On a writing trip to New York City she was discovered by Antonio Reid who signed her to Arista (the same label that signed Mary J. Blige, Pink and Sarah McLachlan to mention a few.)
When she was 16 she moved to New York to start writing songs for her first album, but she didn’t find anyone to work with there, so later on she moved to Los Angeles where she met Cliff Mangess, and together they wrote her first album Let Go.
The Album That Shows That Avril Is Nobody’s Fool
The first track off of the album is Losing Grip, a track that is made special by the very calm verses and the powerful chorus. When I hear the verses I am always reminded of Brandy and her song Full Moon. Avril’s voice flows so smoothly that it sounds like she hasn’t done anything but sing all her life (and that is partly true), in the exact same way as Brandy does.
The chorus shows of Avril’s rock side, and that she can master more than one type of song. Although the song can be divided into two parts, I feel that Avril has done a good job making them fit together.
The most radio friendly song on the album is the first single, Complicated. It has lyrics that are understandable to anyone and music that isn’t too simple but not too.. er.. complicated. The song has an excellent feel and it’s very catchy and it will get stuck on your brain, and don’t expect to get tired of it immediately either.
The third song on the album is my favorite song, which definitely is the song on the album with the most punk/rock feel to it. Sk8er Boi’s lyrics aren’t very deep, but the meaning of the song is very clear. It isn’t the best song for Avril to show off her talent; still I feel that this is definitely the kind of song Avril should be singing all the time. The music reminds me a lot of Blink 182, and it isn’t a pale copy of it either.
She said see you later boy
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's a super star
Slamming on his guitar
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
Mobile,Unwanted and Things I’ll Never Say all sound pretty similar. Mobile is probably the song that has the most resemblance to Michelle Branch’s music. The whole song sounds like a new version of the song If Only She Knew by Michelle. The lyrics really make no sense whatsoever, but the music and Avril’s voice kind of makes you forget it. Unwanted has a few electronic instruments in it that makes me think of Linkin Park when I hear it. The lyrics express anger, something many of the other songs on the album try, but fails. Things I’ll Never Say has lyrics that are slightly sophomoric, but as on some of the other songs, she manages to hide it.
I’m With You is the only “ballad” on the album. This ballad isn’t quite as dignified as some of the ballads by similar artists, and the lyrics aren’t too mushy. The violins and all the other instruments that we don’t hear so much on the other songs provides variation to the album.
Wont you take me by the hand
take me somewhere new
I don’t know who you are
but I... I'm with you
Anything But Ordinary and My World are songs that are about Avril. Anything But Ordinary describes Avril’s personality and what she really wants to achieve in this life. The lyrics are honest, and the music sounds great as well. After Sk8er Boi, it is my second favorite song. My World tells Avril’s history, how she was when she was a kid and how she is today. I’m not in love with Avril’s vocals on this song, but a weird thing happens on this song; it’s actually the lyrics that carry the song.
The only real weakness on this album is Nobody’s Fool, a really wretched song where Avril tries to rap (I think?!) but it is as successful as it would be if Christina Aguilera tried to rap Eminem’s songs. The chorus is decent and the music isn’t too bad either, but the vocals ruin everything that is good with this song. Hope that you’ve learned a lesson from this song, Avril.
Track Listing
1. Losing Grip (*****)
2. Complicated (*****)
3. Sk8er Boi (*****)
4. I’m With You (****)
5. Mobile (****)
6. Unwanted (****)
7. Tomorrow (***½)
8. Anything But Ordinary (****)
9. Things I’ll Never Say (****)
10. My World (***½)
11. Nobody’s Fool (*)
12. Too Much To Ask (***½)
13. Naked (****)
Avril’s Future in the Music Business
It’s obvious that Avril is a very talented girl who is good at making music. I was afraid that a young girl like Avril (17) wasn’t creative enough to come up with something that didn’t sound too undiversified; I am glad that I was proven wrong. Seeing that she is a newcomer with no experience at all, this is truly a great album. I expect that she will be popular for a few more years, and then she will fade away slowly if she can’t come up with something new and path-breaking.
What I Thought Of The Album and What Will YOU Think Of It?
After listening to this album I must say that I am impressed. I am not speechless or anything, but I think it’s wonderful that such a young girl can manage to make a diverse album like this one. She still has a few flaws and some lyrics that are a bit sophomoric, but as she gets older I think that she will learn from the mistakes that she has made in the past; and if fame doesn’t get to her head I’m expecting that the follow-up will be an even better album. If you appreciate good music and you are willing to listen to music that doesn’t sound like everything else out there and have a few bucks to spare, I think that this is an album you should buy. It is an anything but ordinary album, that I am sure you will like.
You can listen to clips of the music on Avril’s website, http://www.avril-lavigne.com if you’re not sure if you want to buy this album or not. The lowest price I could find on this album was on www.deepdiscountcd.com, where the price is $8.89
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