Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Track By Track Album Review: Kelly Clarkson - Wrapped in Red


One of the first holiday albums of the season, Wrapped in Red is Clarkson's 1st Christmas album, and her latest studio album, following 2011's Stronger. The LP features 5 new original tracks, and 9 classics.

Wrapped in Red: The title track opens up the set. It starts off as a pretty predictable Christmas song: "Everybody's happy / snow is falling." Hmm, you don't say? The second verse fares much better lyrically, breaking down the meaning of red: "Blue is where I've been / Green can't run to you / Silver does remind me / That mistletoe's for two / So I found a color / That only tells the truth." Nevertheless, the song can get lodged in your brain for hours upon hours; but thats not a bad thing, its still a good song, and one could listen to Kelly sing for years upon years. A-

Underneath the Tree: This song makes me want to do this dance from the very first notes:


Simply, it's a bop. Again, lyrically it's dangerously close to All I Want For Christmas, but it's just so much fun, you cant resist. And those F's and G's in the last chorus? Insane. A-



Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: The first cover of the album. It's far more laid back than its two predecessors, and Clarkson's voice is far more tranquil. It's smooth and light, basking in the glory of her lovely falsetto. But of course, she hits a monster note in the latter part of the song, which isn't a bad thing at all; it adds an original take to a non-original song. A

Run Run Rudolph: The baby dance is back. Kelly moves from pop to jazz-rock. "Rudolph" is a lot of fun, it summons the same fast pace rock vibe as 2009's Whyyawannabringmedown. I can see this cover in the Christmas movies already. The main flaw? It's a little on the short side (though that's not necessarily her fault). A-

Please Come Home For Christmas (Bells Will Be Ringing): And from Jazz-Rock we get to Soul/R&B. This cover comes about 10 years late, she could've done it better during her Thankful era (when she was infatuated with R&B). It's nice, but it feels a bit out of place, it doesn't capture a Christmas vibe as well as the rest of the album. B-

Every Christmas: 3rd original! Again, it's an R&B track. But here, Clarkson sounds like an R&B pro. She's more than comfortable here, just letting her voice unleash some soulful pleading. But I just want to strangle Greg Kurstin for putting that organ in there, now it feels overdone. B

Blue Christmas: 3rd R&B vibe. This one settles in nicely, so kick back in your chair and relax. Unfortunately however, this laid back track quickly gets passed up by the rest of the album. Or in other words, it's an album filler. C+

Baby It's Cold Outside (Feat. Ronnie Dunn): It's a bit creepy that the two are doing a love duet, when Ronnie is nearly twice her age, but if Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett could do it, then by damn so can Kelly. Kelly sounds like an experienced actor, it's easy to picture her tossing her shoulders trying to leave a snowed in home. Her last note of course completely demolishes all hopes and dreams of this version being covered. A

Winter Dreams (Brandon's Song): If she hasn't made it clear yet, Mrs. Blackstock loves her Mr. Blackstock to infinity and back. It sounds so genuine, it's charming, and oh so very sweet. The pauses, her phrasing, it is perfect. You can't help but smile when hearing how in love she sounds in the verses. She nailed it with this one, about 47 times over. A++

White Christmas: Her voice sounds so pure and clean from the very note, it will make you throw your headback in awe. No power notes here, but surprisingly, our big voiced soprano doesn't need them here. It's nice to hear and discover that Clarkson doesn't need her belts to carry a song. A



My Favorite Things: Kelly fits right in with her big band on track No.11. The band sounds great here, their crescendos are perfectly harmonized (you should know without me saying for the 32nd time that Clarkson sounds great). Everything sounds effortlessly interwoven, but this allegro track would fit much better earlier in the album. A

4 Carats: The final original track of the album. An eye of the tiger-esuqe guitar kicks off this sneaky song. She's asking for a 4 carat ring from Santa, or at the very least a ruby. "Oh Santa make my christmas eve 4 carats please" sounds iconic. Again, this track is a lot of fun (I'm not sure how many other ways I can say that), it is charming like "Winter Dreams," and lyrically, it sounds like a classic. A+

Just For Now: Now that the originals are all gone, we are left with two covers. Just For Now seems like an odd choice at first, after all it was made by an unknown, and is still an unknown track, but it adds variety to the rest of the album. Its not talking about happy family times, or a sappy love song, rather it captures that imperfect Christmas: "Will you quit kicking me under the table?" she quips, it's a smart choice for the track list, and makes the album more relatable as a whole. A

Silent Night (Feat. Reba and Trisha Yearwood): Three powerful woman sing this lovely lullaby. It shall be a classic for newborn infants across the globe. Soothing, sweet and smart. Kelly starts out with a choir of her own voices backing her. Once Trisha finishes her voice, she then joins the choir while Reba sings, a seamless transition. Whoever thought of that is a genius. When the acapella section begins, Kelly plays nice and doesn't violently blast the others out of the way with her voice. A-

Kelly Clarkson has made good albums before, but never a great one...until now that is. Wrapped in Red sounds classic from start to finish, with only minor missteps here and there (I'm looking at you Blue Christmas). Kelly, you did good. I will be looking forward to your second Christmas album in 2027.

Vocals: A+
Lyrics: N/A
Production: A-
Overall: A




Sunday, October 27, 2013

Single Review: Lady Gaga - Venus


Originally slated to be the 2nd single from ARTPOP, Venus dropped in full today. In essence, it is everything we would've thought ARTPOP would sound like.

It's sparse in its lyrical content (and thought), but it is chuck full of gritty synths, drums, and the electro-pop magic that we all dreamt of when we thought "ARTPOP." That being said, thank god this song was scrapped in favor of Do What U Want as the 2nd single. It lacks a hook, along with many other pop characteristics, instead opting for electronic flavors. Lady Gaga did a strong job with the production (the build up in the latter part of the song proves that point), and it does capture an out of this world sound. That is not Venus's problem: the problem is its choppy verses and chorus. Venus hops along with its strange lyricism, being left to stand on one leg, AKA the production.

Eventually, Venus will have its single release, but don't expect for Venus to be topping Radio Songs anytime soon. It suffers from Work Bitch syndrome, it's a year or two ahead of what pop radio is ready to put on rotation. Venus is good, but it is definitely strange, even for Lady Gaga.

Vocals: B
Lyrics: C-
Production: A
Overall: B



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Mega Single Review: Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift - Do What U Want, Let it Go, Underneath the Tree and Sweeter Than Fiction


It's been a very busy week for single releases! Two soundtrack singles, and two official singles from four pop queens. But who comes out on top?

Do What U Want (Feat. R Kelly):

Lady Gaga and R. Kelly come from two different sides of the music spectrum, yet they collaborated on what is easily one of the most infectious tracks of the year. Lady Gaga grunts and growls her frustration into some Xtina vocals, heading into the highest stretches of her chest voice to hit an F#5 in the bridge. R. Kelly's addition is decent, it definetly makes the track interesting, but his verse trades in non-sense for substance; "I could be the green in your blunt." Hmm. Interesting. A-

Let It Go:

 Her second soundtrack single this year (Following Heart By Heart), Demi lays back on her latest string of arrangement bombast-icy. It's simple in every aspect, very simple melody, lyrics chained to theme of the movie, it all just progresses along at ground level, rather than letting Demi take it to some sort of climax, per usual. However, her infatuation with melisma is still there, for better or worse. B-

Underneath the Tree: 

God knows how many times I have heard people say that this is the new All I Want for Christmas. It's easy to see why, as Kelly and Greg Kurstin excellently captured the Christmas vibe for this track. Upbeat, jazzy, and of course, Kelly delivers a massive vocal. But lyrically, it's very bland, very unoriginal, and that is what makes it more like the aforementioned All I Want for Christmas. I'm torn between believing this is a new classic, or factory pressed christmas track. There aren't a lot of risks taken here, but it's still charming (and catchy). B+

Sweeter Than Fiction:

This will drive country sticklers crazy with rants like "listen to this! She's not country!" And they're right with this track at least, it is blatant pop music, more so than 60% of Red. Taylor sounds bored, and lyrically it doesn't even seem like she's trying. The most charming line is "Your eyes brighter than distance / This love is sweeter than fiction." How are ones eyes "brighter than distance?" What? That's very weak for someone as talented as Taylor. And of course the vocal doesn't stray outside her 1-octave comfort zone, and the production sounds like it was made on a 2003 Nokia. After all of that though, I can't deny that it is still somehow charming, and catchy. The power of America's Sweetheart. C-/D+

Which one comes out on top for you? Leave a comment below!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Track By Track Album Review: Katy Perry - Prism


Katy Perry's 3rd full length EP leaked in full, and will hit US store shelves Tuesday, October 22nd. The album holds a 61 on Metacritic, which means it has generally favorable reviews (much more than what could be said about her two previous albums). But how does it fair here at Critic of Music?

Roar: Yes, it is still the same Sara Bareilles rip-off we heard 2 months ago. At least she sounds good on it (Plenty of solid C5s and Eb5s). C-

Legendary Lovers: Starting off with a sitar to kick off this mysterious creation, Katy shows off semi-rapping style in the verses. Obviously her Indian wedding influenced her here, as some more diverse styles can be seen here. It's the closest thing to an artistic identity we've ever seen from Perry, exciting! B+

Birthday: Bruno Mars would be proud of this post-disco funk sound. It's very fun, catchy, and begging for a phenomenal music video. However, that sexually charged bridge makes an otherwise universally enjoyable song lose the appeal. A-

Walking on Air: If this doesn't become the national anthem for drag queens everywhere, there is something not quite right with the world. Katy said that she wanted to bring back massive euro-dance hits with this track, and she hit it spot on here. A

Unconditionally: The first ballad has arrived at track No.5. Katy sounds much more empowered here than she does on Roar, which is saying quite a lot. She's fierce, so fierce in fact, you could be convinced that she stole Sasha Fierce from Beyoncé just for the purpose of this song. Whatever she's doing, Unconditionally is evidence that it is working very well. A

Dark Horse (Feat. Juicy J): Are we absolutely sure Katy makes pop music? Because she pulls off this sexy trap masterpiece very well. As addictive as the bass drop is, she should've lead those beautiful harmonies in the pre-chorus (the ascending "ah's") somewhere darker, or utilized them for more than 15 seconds. A

This is How We Do: In three words: Overproduced and immature. C-

International Smile: Some "Cosmopolitan" girl with "an international smile?" Who is she? And why did she inspire this album filler? B-

Ghost: "But you hit send / and disappeared in front of my eyes" Did you hear that one Russell Brand? Katy delivers some fairly teenage lyrics with the heartbreak of a grown woman. However, it's still an uptempo power ballad, with more hope than heartbreak. The production is just too weak and too unusual to be worthy of Katy's delivery here. B

Love Me: It has some sort of ambiguous charm for whatever reason, but it is simply drowned out from the rest of the album thanks to its lackluster production. C+

This Moment: Katy clearly took a liking to Robyn while they were on tour together, as the Dancing on My Own production riff is blatantly there. Her vocals sound more stripped compared to the other tracks, which unfortunately makes her quite shrill. C+

Double Rainbow: Finally, we've made the segue out of mediocre album fillers. With a title like "Double Rainbow," one wouldn't expect a drum-lead ballad, rather some massive Walking on Air sibling. But "Double Rainbow" holds its own, using an interesting natural metaphor for a relationship. It's good, not great, but good. B+

By The Grace of God: Another divorce inspired track, Katy leaves so much room for a beautiful ballad, with its stunning beginning piano-line and heartfelt lyrics, but she tries to make it a pop song, and that is what makes it lose its authenticity. She was on to something astonishing, but its betrayed by a poppy chorus. Look forward to piano only versions of this track. B-

Prism is easily better than the horrifically overrated Teenage Dream, but now that we've seen how close she can get to true artistry, there's a sour taste leftover from the album. She comes so close to powerful artistry, but then chooses to play it safe. There is a real artist lying underneath, and Prism comes so close to casting light on that artist, but close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear warfare, not music. That's not to say Prism is bad, but Perry can still do better.

Vocals: B+
Lyrics: B
Production: B
Overall: B-


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Vocal Range and Profile: Carrie Underwood



Vocal Range: D3 - G5 - F#6 (Bb6)
Longest Note: 20 Seconds (I Know You Won't Live)
Vocal Type: Full-Lyric Soprano (Though she tries to mimic Mezzo singers) (3 octaves, 2 notes)
Vocal Rating: A-List

 Positives:
Ability to hold notes for extended periods without wavering in pitch, with or without vibrato (Blown Away, I Know You Won't live). She is capable of using properly executed drives as well.

 Her lower register is smoky, and maintains the slightly metallic quality of the rest of the range. As she ascends, she finds her strength: her middle register. Hher lung capacity here is incredible, holding resonant and well-supported notes without issue.

 A sweet falsetto that is light and airy, as well as a thick, soothing head voice. As a musician, her delivery can be aching, as well as fierce and vigorous (Before He Cheats).

 Negatives: 
The voice can be nasally, and chest notes become more and more "shouty" as they ascend. Her head voice sounds disconnected from the rest of the voice, and thin. Her vibrato, though a trademark of the voice, sounds uneven. Her larynx placement is also inconsistent.