Powerful, Sexy, Mature and Slushy (Sweet Kisses - Jessica Simpson)

Member Name: 150983

Product:	Sweet Kisses - Jessica Simpson
Date:	28/07/01 (692 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great ballads, Great Voice, Great dynamics etc

Disadvantages: too many ballads?

 Introduction
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Jessica Simpson came onto the scene soon after Britney Spears, what makes Jess different from Britney though is that she can actually sing! Jessica Simpson is up there with the Mariah Carey’s and Whitney Houston’s of the music world and this album demonstrates that to the full!

Jessica has released two songs off this her debut album, they being The number ten smash “I Wanna Love You Forever” and the number 6 hit “I Think I’m In Love With You”. Here’s a track by track listing along with various info on each song and a mark out of ten!

 The Album Tracks
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* I Wanna Love You Forever.

This song is a very and I mean very powerful ballad. This was Jessica’s debut single and it did surprisingly well seeming it wasn’t promoted much. I remember watching her sing this song live on Top Of The Pops and she was amazing, the whole crowd that was there cheered and clapped so loud at the end, I knew she’d be a huge success. The song opens the album perfectly with the sound of a piano and guitar, then she enters with her breathless ahhs leading into the first verse. This is an amazing ballad, it is full of power and it really demonstrates Jess’s voice well, she has a 7 octave range apparently and in the middle 8 where the song changes key and goes up the octave, it shows how well she can sing without straining her voice. Dynamics are evident as well as a great voice. 10/10

* I Think I’m In Love With You

This track is more pop influenced and it more upbeat as well. A really catchy number with a great beat reminiscent of clapping in the background. This song has a nice modern sounding accompaniment as well as the backing singers, this song creates a contrast to the first track which demonstrated Jessica’s maturity. This song is not one of my favourite but is worth a listen. 7/
10

* Where You Are

This track, another ballad is more of a love song that is a duet sung by her boyfriend Nick Lachey who is from an American boyband known as 98 degrees. This song again is a great slice of music and is a great slushy tune with acoustic guitars and more, softer vocals. The duet is sung in harmony in some parts and as separate solo parts in other sections. This song is a nicely relaxing love song that is full of emotion. The song has a great vocal accompaniment by a choir of some kind. 8.5/10

* Final Heartbreak

This song begins with a short and sharp yeah which reflects the style of the song. Unlike the previous track, this song is more funky in feel and has a fuller sound thanks to the backing singers. The song has a harder beat and has more influences than pop alone. The chorus is what is most memorable from this track and is a good sing along track. The middle eight is also a nice section which leads back into the more dynamic filled chorus. 8/10

*Woman In Me

This track features the girls from Destiny’s Child which is a great thing especially ion this song. The opening to this track begins with a syncopated collection of doo dahs if that makes sense! This song has a great beat which includes the drum rim beat. The chorus is rather sultry in style a great harmonised chorus. The verses are then accompanied by a bridge that leads into the chorus which has ahhhs and so on sung by Destiny’s Child. This song as you would expect is much more heavily influenced by RnB as opposed to the other tracks. The middle eight is then sung by a DC member and then leads into the climatic chorus once more. Destiny’s Child just finish off this song perfectly as they are all great singers and can harmonise well. This song has a great ending which culminates into a fade and then little laughs. 9/10

* I’ve Got My Eyes On You

The next track is again a funky song which had more p
op influence as well as a great guitar accompaniment. The song also has a good buzzing sound that presents various dynamics to the song. This song isn’t very good to me, well I’m not keen on it anyway. It is a simple pop song which doesn’t hold much surprises. 6/10

* Betcha She Don’t Love You

This song enters with a strange sounding whirring sound with more ‘doos’. The chorus again is the catchiest part in this song. Again as in other songs, this track has strong beats in the song and the backing singers again add to the song making it fuller in sound. This song again is good to listen to but is nothing special. The middle eight is a bit more interesting than the rest of the song. This song reminds me of an Eternal song. 7/10

*My Wonderful

This is another one of my faves from this album. This song begins rather softly with various synthesised sounds as well as an acoustic guitar. This song, although simplistic, is a nice song. The chorus is especially a great part of the song, it gets a much more fuller sound from the backing singers and this sound that is made makes the song rather uplifting also portraying the lyrics which include “He must have been sent from up above”. After the first chorus, the next verses become more fuller thanks to more beats. I like this song, it is god to listen to and the guitar part works well in the song. 9/10

* Sweet Kisses

The namesake of this album, begins with a sultry sound and also ooohs from Jess. This song is once again a mellow love type song with muted (soft and quiet) beats as well as breathy vocals. Jessica puts emotion into this track and adds a lot of dynamics in this song, her gentle high pitched notes are right on key and very mellow. This is more like a summer love song as it has a Spanish sounding guitar which reflects the season of the song and the backing vocals are also effective in setting the mood. 7.5/10


* Your Faith In Me

This along with the first track on this album are my favourites. Your faith in me, is a huge, once again, ballad which is really fuelled with passion. Beginning with chimes and then a full piano melody, this song sets the path to a emotive song. Jessica’s voice is very polished on this song and as the song progresses to the first chorus, the song gradually adds more and more instruments until it reaches the chorus where a string section is added. This string section, including violins add to the romantic and emotive track. The backing singers are also great in the track creating more of an atmosphere. The middle eight is certainly what puts the cherry on top. Jessica’s vocal soar to a dynamic filled crescendo where she holds one note for about 15 seconds which is quite amazing when you hear it. As the song comes to a close, she goes even higher up the octave allowing the song to come down gently then to a perfect finish. I love this song and cannot stress how great it is! 10/10

* Heart of Innocence

Again a guitar accompanied track this slow track is a nice relaxing song and is perfect to sit or lay back to listen to, this is a nice song also to put on before you sleep. This song is again an emotive one which has more of a male backing than opposed to the more dominated female a nice simplistic track which is worth a listen. Really calming. 710

Hidden Track

*You Don’t Know What Love Is

This subtle tune is a nice close to the album, the lyrics are more important in this track “Sometimes I think back when our love was new, the crazy things that we used to do. How could love that's so right turn to something so wrong. Still can't believe that you're really gone, wish I could stop all these thoughts in my head. Wish I could take back the words that I said, it's a lesson I'll never forget let me tell you” With lyrics like this, this song needs
to be listened to not based on the tune but on the words more importantly. The accompaniment is a duet by two guitars and I think a cello is also evident.

 Conclusion
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Jessica Simpson’s debut album was a surprise to me as I thought it would reflect Britney’s more bubbly and catchy track but this album is mostly advanced for someone of Jessica’s age. Like I said this album would be more expected to be from someone as Mariah Carey. This album is not a let down. There are some tracks which are a bit weak but that is expected with most albums. The songs such as “I wanna love you forever” and “Faith in me” make up for the weaker tracks. The album is rather ballad filled but many of these songs are good and the best upbeat track would probably have to be “Woman In Me” as Destiny’s Child’s appearance is well worth listening to.

I would recommend this album to anyone but if you prefer more catchier upbeat music such as by Britney Spears who cannot sing and I repeat cannot sing live, you are better off going elsewhere as this girl can really sing!

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