Let Go of your teeny-bopper prejudice and listen to this album! (Let Go - Avril Lavigne)

Member Name: herbie__53

Product:	Let Go - Avril Lavigne
Date:	10/04/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some very good and mature songs, good to sing along to!

Disadvantages: A couple of songs border on cheese, and you may be embarrased to buy this!

Firstly, let me start out by saying that this cd is a bit of an oddity in my cd collection.

I'm more of a rock / metal kind of gal, so this cd is one of those guilty pleasures that sits at the bottom of the cd rack.... just waiting for when the mood strikes me to pick it up and listen. Since the release of her more recent singles, such as the oh-so-teeny-bobby-and-cringing "Girlfriend" (You know the one - Hey Hey You You I Don't Like Your Girlfriend - aaaargh shoot me now), this one has been branded with the "Embarrasing" brush and has been demoted to a storage box.

However, I do not feel it should have been moved to the box, as it is a pretty good album, I was just ashamed to own an album by someone that sings such cheese nowadays!

This first album is a more mature side to Ms Lavigne, with a wide range of songs such as the catchy "Complicated", the bouncy "Sk8r Boi" and the mellow "Tomorrow". She is not so good at singing live (In particular I remember watching on TV a very disturbing and poor attempt at a cover of Chop Suey by System Of A Down), but on the album she has a good quality to her voice.

I would not judge this album on the style of songs she is releasing now - this album is a far cry from those. Why she decided to change styles I have no idea!!

Well, for those of you that haven't listened to the album, and for those that have that are interested to hear my take on things, here's my track by track review....

1. Losing Grip - Starts out with a good beat, not too poppy. Good clear lyrics with a catchy tune, vocals are very reminiscent of early Alanis Morisette. The chorus explodes with lyrics that are almost shouted - this one is perfect for singing along to in the car (with the windows up!!) or for when you feel like letting off a little steam! This track would easily fit on Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morisette.

2. Complicated - Probably the most famous song off the album, about a boy making a relationship complicated by being a different person when they are alone to when they are with his friends. A catchy guitar tune, though the speaking at the start is a bit cheesy.... The vocals are easy to relate to by any young person and its another one that has great karaoke potential! (Oh, on a bizarre turn of thought, you have to check out Weird Al Yankovic's version of this song called "A Complicated Song" - its hilarious)

3. Sk8er Boi - The other famous song. Very energetic - makes you want to get up and jump around and play air guitar. The song is about a skater boy that likes a posh girl but she dismisses him based on his appearance and probably the fact that he doesn't have a double-barrelled surname. Later on in the song the posh girl is gutted that she turned him down. On some level I think this might be a message that we shouldn't take things on appearance. Vocals performed well by Avril on this song, a memorable tune and the lyrics actually have meaning.

4. I'm With You - this was another one of her singles, but I think it was less popular than the others. It's a mellow tune, which is very simple - nice vocals over a very basic accompaniment. Another song that shows the similarities in Avril and Alanis's vocals. The chorus makes you want to yell along to it - it's weird how songs can do that to you.

5. Mobile - a catchy, almost folk-like guitar on this song thats about moving around from place to place and having to keep leaving your friends and life behind. She feels like she is a mobile, spinning round and round and not having any control over where she is going. A very funky beat with faster vocals on this one which compliment the music perfectly. This is a very good song, I think it could have easily done very well as a single.

6. Unwanted - a more heavy song than anything we have heard so far, with angrier vocals. This song shows that she is not just a teeny bopper! The chorus is worthy of an angry sing-a-long, but the verses are well sung too.

7. Tomorrow - this is my favourite song off the album. It's a mellow acoustic ballad, with very smooth vocals from Avril. This reminds me a bit of something Amy MacDonald would do, the sultry vocals match the words of the song perfectly. A perfect song for chilling out to. A far, far cry from "Girlfriend".

8. Anything But Ordinary - This has got to be the ultimate feel good song off the album. A catchy beat drives the verses along, but its the chorus that begs you to sing along to it (although unless you are a good singer I'd do this in private - some of the notes are quite high....). The lyrics to this song are very meaningful, and will ring true with anyone that wants to break the mould and be that little bit different.

9. Things I'll Never Say - another feel good song, the introduction to this song is very catchy! The lyrics to this song are brilliant also... they really tell a story. The chrous however is a bit too suggestive for younger listeners "I say I wanna blow you..... away" and "I wanna see you go down... one one knee" Oooh-er!! Overall a good catchy tune for a bright summer's day.

10. My World - this one does border a tiny bit on the "Teeny-bopper" genre, with its cheesy beat and the lyrics: they are all about cutting grass to earn money, staying up late, hair straightening... teenage things. I do tend to skip this song, as it is just that bit too boppy, but the song itself is good; its catchy, its bouncy, and the vocals are good.

11. Nobody's Fool - wow what a contrast to the last song! This song is a sort of rap, but its ok - not too cringing. The lyrics I think are important to the younger generation at high school - its about being yourself and being proud of who you are, no matter what other people may say. In the end you will come out stronger. For me this touches a nerve as I was bullied at school, I wish someone had given me advice like this, just be myself and ignore the people that put you down becuase evenutally it will be you that turns out better. And that's true.

12. Too Much To Ask - a more chilled out song, but an important meaning: she is saying that was it too much to ask for someone to give up drugs? Good lyrics that are well performed. The tune in the verses can be a bit band and monotonous, but the lyrics carry it on towards to the catchy chorus. Not one of the best songs on the album, but not too bad.

13. Naked - Another song with fantastic lyrics, telling the story about how she put walls around herself all the time to protect her, but when she is with this guy the walls just come crumbling down and he can see her for who she really is. Very mature lyrics for someone so young, with a good accompaniment and beautiful harmonised vocals.

Overall this is a good album, there are a couple of borderline-cheesy songs on here, and sometimes you can tell its being sung by a moody teenager, but the songs are very listenable. I bought this when I was a teenager and still listen to it every so often now that I am in my early twenties. I find it refreshing to hear a good album by a young girl that is determined to be herself and not be like so many female "artists" these days totter around in high heels and skimpy clothes to distract us from the fact that not only can they not sing very well, but nor can they play a single instrument. Heck, most of them probably can't even read music either.

Give me Ms Lavigne and her guitar over them any day.

Summary: Give it a go, you can probably pick it up for a few quid now.