Welcome To Hotel Paper, A Hotel Which Will Positively Please You
Written: Jun 30 '03 (Updated Jun 30 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Her voice is terrific, mature lyrics
Cons: Musically it's weaker than I would have expected
The Bottom Line: If you like Michelle Branch and you're wondering whether or not you should buy her album; don't hesitate. Hotel Paper is an album worth buying.
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| Cartman_2k's Full Review: Hotel Paper by Michelle Branch |
After Michelle released her fabulous debut album The Spirit Room I was eagerly anticipating her sophomore album, and after waiting for a little bit over a year I finally got it. Is Hotel Paper a good follow up or has Michelle lost her charm?
A Closer Look At Hotel Paper; An Album I Got One Of These Days, (Tuesday Morning, actually)
The first single off of the album is Are You Happy Now?, which shows a darker and angrier side of Michelle, something that’s completely different from The Spirit Room. The song starts off a little bit slow and weak, but the chorus and the bridge shows that Michelle still can rock better than most chicks out there.
Find Your Way Back reminds me a lot of All You Wanted, with a slightly more pop feel and a mellower chorus. What makes this song one of the best songs on the album is because Michelle sounds so amazing, and I can only imagine what All You Wanted would have sounded like if Michelle would have recorded that song now with outstanding vocals like those in Find Your Way Back.
One Of These Days is the only song where I’ve ever heard Michelle playing the piano; and she is actually very good at it. She is definitely no Vanessa Carlton, but it’s nice hearing that she’s talented at something other than singing and playing the guitar. The melody itself is pretty nice, and the lyrics are superb. Michelle’s vocals could definitely have been better, but with the piano and all you tend to forget it if you don’t focus on finding flaws in her singing.
Love Me Like That features a nice guest performance by Sheryl Crow. I usually don’t like Sheryl a whole lot, but in this song she compliments Michelle’s voice and the rest of the arrangement in the song. It has some country influences, which is not as bad as it usually is. :) Another song that has country influences on this album is It’s You, the last track on the CD. It’s a beautiful little folk ditty with cutesy lyrics and sweet laidback vocals.
If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one wish
To kiss your quiet mouth
Trace the steps of my fingertips
And it's you
Breathe finds Michelle with a fast paced song which is a mix of If Only She Knew and a rockier version of Celine Dion’s song One Heart. I do like the lyrics a whole lot, and the vocals aren’t that bad either, it’s just that it lacks any kind of creativity and after a couple of minutes you get tired of hearing the chorus over and over again.
The title track, Hotel Paper has the best and most mature lyrics here. There’s certainly room for improvement here, what with the music being subpar and lacking real emotional vocals, but this is one the few times where she has truly succeeded in having mature, thoughtful and reflective lyrics.
There are only two tracks on the album which I didn’t care a whole lot for. Desperately and Where Are You Now? are not bad at all, it’s just that comparing to the other songs they’re pretty weak. Michelle’s vocals sound nice on Desperately, but all the other parts of the song are boring, and it becomes more of an anti-climax on the album. Where Are You Now is alright, but I don’t like the fact that it has a pace which sounds completely out of place.
Tuesday Morning and ’Til I Get Over You are my two favorite songs on the album. Tuesday Morning is a mid tempo song with beautiful lyrics describing a special friendship/love affair. The music is wonderful, and Michelle sounds great with her mellow and soft voice. Michelle sounds absolutely divine on ’Til I Get Over You, and in fact I’ve never heard Michelle sound like that. It’s a heartfelt ballad with a gorgeous melody and lovely lyrics, and Michelle even gets to show off that she knows a little bit of French as well.
Chaque fois que tu t'en va
You just bring me down
Je prétend que tu fais bien
So I'm counting the tears
Till I get over you
Track Listing
Intro
Are You Happy Now? (****)
Find Your Way Back (****½)
Empty Handed (****)
Tuesday Morning (****½)
One Of These Days (****)
Love Me Like That (****)
Desperately (***)
Breathe (***½)
Where Are You Now? (***)
Hotel Paper (***½)
Til I Get Over You (****½)
It’s You (****)
Michelle Branch – Sophomore Slump or still Rock Chick #1?
After listening to Hotel Paper for the first time, I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed. On Spirit Room there were songs that I liked from the very first time I heard them, and I didn’t dislike any of the songs. On Hotel Paper there were no songs which I immediately loved, and there were a few songs which I thought were outright garbage. After listening through the album a few times though, I grew more and more fond of the songs, and I think that’s the trick with this album, the songs aren’t as accessible as the ones on Spirit Room and easy-listening is a foreign word here. Nevertheless, once you’ve listened to the album a few times, you appreciate it for what it is; a solid, good and mature rock/pop album from a very talented young artist.
Still, it isn’t as good as it could have been. Comparing this with her previous album, I still like Spirit Room more, mostly because the songs were better. Michelle is more grown up and both vocally and lyrically she’s a heck of a lot better on this album, but musically it’s weaker and I guess I’m missing the spunk and magic that was there the first time around.
Should I Leave The Record Store Empty Handed or Leave With A Copy Of Hotel Paper?
Even though the album is not as good as Spirit Room definitely doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy it. It’s a very good album and worth listening to more than once. If you like music, and if you’ve heard anything from Michelle that you like, pick this album up as soon as you get the chance.
3 ¾ stars
Thanks for reading!
~Kent
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends
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Cartman_2k
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