Kelly Clarkson:All I Ever Wanted : Her fourth album is the best yet... (All I Ever Wanted - Kelly Clarkson)

Member Name: blades1071

Product:	All I Ever Wanted - Kelly Clarkson
Date:	04/09/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some excellent tunes

Disadvantages: Some slower songs that are not completely my taste

All I Ever Wanted is the fourth album from American singer Kelly Clarkson. To date, it has three singles, and although not every track is perfect, there are some great tunes to be found withing the fourteen tracks in the compilation.

The album opens with her massive hit 'My Life Would Suck Without You', and this definitely goes down as one of the songs I should not love, but do. The opening guitar riff is absolutely brilliant, and this is followed by good vocals and good subsequent music throughout. I do not listen to much pop music, but this definitely goes down as one of the better pop tunes I have heard.

'I Do Not Hook Up' has a weaker opening sequence, though it is by no means less catchy than the previous track. I would say with confidence that the musical input to this tune is nothing to go wild about, though the lyrics are good, to say the least, and is overall a good song.

After two opening tracks of hectic liveliness, Miss Clarkson took a different approach, installing the slow, but powerful ballad 'Cry' at the third position. This inspiring song is talented, though is too slow and deep for my enjoyment, being the sort of person who likes only fast pop tunes at the best of times.

I really like the fourth track on the album, which is called 'Don't Let Me Stop You'. This tune really brings out the talent in her powerful voice as although there is a great musical backing, the main focus on this track is totally her voice. I think part of the reason I like this so much is because, although not rock, it is not as close to pop as some of the other tracks on the album, and has quite a heavy base for a track on such an album.

The title track of the album, 'All I Ever Wanted', is a song which reverts back to the pop genre. Although not a terrible thing, I do feel that this song reminds me more of somebody like Pink than Kelly Clarkson. For me, this is not a track that blows my mind, and I would certainly not class it in the same league as some of the others she has made.

'Already Gone' is a song that reminds me of another artist, or two in fact. Relatively unknown, Aly & AJ are a duo of sisters who perform what I like to call 'pop with a difference'. This track appears to fit right in with their style of a slow, soothing approach.

Similar to the above track, 'If I Cant Have You' reminds me of another artist, although this time, the more well known teen sensation Miley Cyrus. If you listen to the opening of this track, and then take at look at 'Fly On The Wall' by Cyrus, you will understand the similarity I can see. Anyway, I really like this track, especially the outgoing base beat that protrudes more than in anything else we have heard so far. A great track for the middle of the album.

'Save You' is the eight track and as before, is the calm tune after the previous exasperation we were first introduced to earlier in the album. Unfortunately this song does absolutely nothing for me and I do not regard it as a worthwhile tune to listen to all that often at all.

This song is another matter though. At a bit of a mouthful, 'Whyyouwannabringmedown' is definitely up there challenging for the best track on the album, and it certainly puts up nothing less than a good fight. Like the other tracks I enjoy more, this has a rockier feel with a good base and powerful lyrics.

'Long Shot' is an odd little number. Quite slow in nature, my immediate response would be to 'skip' and carry on with the rest of the album. But actually, if you give it a shot, you would see that this actually holds it's own and is certainly worthy of a number of listens. The contrast between the electronic guitar and the singing voice in the verses are absolutely phenomenal and is one of those few tunes where I would say the verse is a stronger part than the chorus.

'Impossible' has an odd electronic opening that, before the drums kick in, would not appear out of place on a number of different artists' track lists. I do like this beginning, though when the rest of the instruments kick in, they seem to ruin the effect, and put a downside on the song. A bit too slow and not powerful enough for my liking.

'Ready' has a very odd opening and, being located further down the album, I think it is probably fair to say this does not get enough play as some of the other tracks higher up. Positioning is a good reason for this, but I also think that if raised higher up the order, I would still not listen as much, it just seems to offer nothing special that makes me really want to listen out for.

'I Want You' has an opening that reminds you of what you would expect to find on a really old kids TV show. This follows on past the lyrical introduction though thankfully is a lot quieter and in the background. This is quite an odd track throughout and I get the impression it was put on to pad out the album with more tracks. I see no world in which this should be released, and it is not really even good enough for a half decent album track.

The album ends with a slow ballad called, 'If No One Will Listen'. For me, this is far too slow to get much airplay in my house, though I can see why some people would be interested, if you like this sort of track. Even I can see it has been put together well, just not to my complete taste.

With fourteen tracks, this is quite a long album, and although some are weaker than others, overall I would say this is a positive album and has some really good tunes on it. Even if you initially think it would not suffice your taste, I suggest you take a quick look, as I had these thoughts and actually really liked the album.

Summary: A goo mix of tunes, which should cater for most people