Funhouse - Pink

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Some amazing tracks, brill
Disadvantages:	3 week tracks, looking for a bad point

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

One of my favourite artists has always been Pink! I'm not usually a fan of 'female' singers, but Pink's music has always managed to speak out to me, and she gives a great range of pop/rock that never gets old.

Pink is also famous for speaking her mind, and she uses this a lot, in most of her songs.

When I heard that she was releasing her fifth album out in 2008, I knew I would have to get it. So I saved some of my amazon vouchers and pre-ordered it, and this morning it arrived on my doorstep.

I haven't listened to the album all the way through yet, I have had it on in the car, but I wasn't really listening to it, so this review is from my opinion, when I first hear the songs.

Who Is Pink?

Pink is an American singer/songwriter, who shot to fame in 2000 with her pop/rock style and I don't care attitude. Since then she has released 4 albums, all of which have been received brilliantly.

It's been 2 years since I'm Not Dead was released and a lot has happened in Pink's life, can this album live up to the hype that was I'm Not Dead.

With I'm Not Dead, being her best album to date, can Pink beat this tremendous effort and bring out something even better, here's the review:

The Tracks

Here's a review on each track. Hope you enjoy

Track 1- So What

So What, aka most overplayed song ever. Our college has installed a television in our café, which constantly plays music on. I must hear this song at least 4 times a day; however it's not yet managed to get on my nerves. The album is basically what Pink calls a 'break up' album, as earlier this year, she divorced her husband Corey Hart, and this song is a big f you to Corey.

When I first heard the song, I was a bit confused about it's meaning. I first heard it when she was doing an interview in the states, and she said it was a sort of 'goodbye' track for herself and Corey, however the lyrics don't really convey that. They really sound like she's slating him.

My favourite part of the song is a part where on the video, she's in a room with Corey (I believe) and she starts off singing it against him, but then they become slightly all cuddly towards the end.

The song has already gone to number 1 in over 8 countries and you can really see why. This song is probably Pink's most catchiest to date. From the first time you'll hear this song, love it or hate it, you will find yourself singing along to it.

It's not Pink's best song by far, but it really is catchy and the lyrics are just brilliant. In the song, she sings about that they're done, but Pink is still a rock star, and she doesn't need him anymore, because she's now having more fun now that they're not together.

Memorable Lyrics: "You weren't there,
you never were,
you wanted it all,
but that's not fair,
I gave you life,
I gave my all,
weren't there,
you let me fall"

My Opinion: 10/10 Probably her most catchiest song to date, very overplayed, but you can understand why. A brilliant effort and it kicks off the album brilliantly.

Track 2- Sober

This song is the second single from this album. In an interview, she said that she wrote this at a party, and it started off being about being sober, but then she decided that it shouldn't have anything to do with booze, but it's more about how people feel about themselves when they have no one.

I didn't like this to start with, but I've listened to it twice now and I'm really impressed, this is not my usual style of music at all but it really digs deep into you, what I mean by that, is you almost feel like the song is deep from Pink's soul and she really delivers each lyric with so much emotion that the song is so chilling.

A gorgeous song, I was actually amazed to like it so much. I would seriously recommend listening to this song a few times before you make a decision; it really is a fantastic song. The chorus is catchy, maybe not as catchy as So What, but the lyrics and Pink's vocals are some of the best.

This song is definitely one of her most powerful vocals and the lyrics are very nice as well. The whole production of the song, is truly amazing and you will not be disappointed.

Memorable Lyrics: "When it's good,
Then it's good,
It's so good till it goes bad,
Till you're trying to find the you that you once had,
I have heard myself cry,
Never again,
Broken down in agony,
Just trying to find a fit"

My Opinion: 10/10 (Second song of the album and another 10/10, this album is looking brilliant so far, a gorgeous song, really powerful)

Track 3- I Don't Believe You

I usually listen to the song once, with the lyrics open on the screen and make sure I really understand the song and get the whole picture before I write the song, but this song you really don't need the lyrics.

The song is so personal, and you really feel like this song is Pink all over, she shows every piece of emotion she has in this song, to deliver this gorgeous and heartfelt song which is truly one of the best I've heard from her.

It's a very simple song as well, the lyrics are just amazing, it's very repetitive but not in an annoying way. The lyrics in my opinion is Pink saying that no matter how much her and her ex argued, there was still passion there, so despite all that, there relationship was right. She then goes onto say that she doesn't want to believe that their relationship is over.

Just a truly beautiful song, I think this will become one of my all time favourite Pink songs, it's completely acoustic, which is just perfection for this style of song, the production of the song is simple, but it works so much better than I'm sure she could have imagined.

The only bad thing I have to say about this song is the chorus, I swear I've heard it before, it almost sounds like a copy of another song. If anyone can work out where I've heard it before, please tell me.

Memorable Lyrics: "It's like the way we fight,
The times I've cried,
We come to blows,
And every night the passions there,
So it's got to be right, right? No I don't believe you,
When you say I can't come around here no more,
I won't remind you,
You said we wouldn't be apart"

My Opinion 11/10 (I couldn't give the first two any lower, but this song is so much better, a gorgeous magnificent acoustic ballad. Beautiful)

Track 4- One Foot Wrong

SKIP. You'll be disappointed. The other three songs were amazing and this song is probably one of her worst songs. It's very bluesy but there's not much here to talk about and to rave about.

Her vocals aren't brilliant, she doesn't sing as amazing as she does on all of the other tracks, the lyrics are disappointing, and the production just doesn't' work. Just a disappointing song.

Memorable Lyrics: "Am I sweating,
Or are these tears on my face,
Should I be hungry?
I can't remember the last time that I ate,
Call someone,
I need a friend to call me down"

My Opinion: 4/10 (Just not a good song compared to the others, definitely one of her weaker ones, quite painful to listen to in places)

Track 5- Please Don't Leave Me

Ignoring the monstrosity that was Track 4, Track 5 is another powerful song. I don't believe it's as good as the first three but it's well up there.

Again another song about Corey I believe, in the song Pink is talking about what she says, that she doesn't mean anything of it, because all it eventually comes down to is, that she doesn't want to be without him.

When I first heard the song, it starts off with Pink saying Da Da Da in the background, put me off a bit, until she started singing. Her vocals are as amazing as always and the pain she emotes through her voice is just amazing and adds to the brilliance of the songs.

The song is brilliantly produced, the only thing that lets me down with this song is the repetitiveness of the chorus, other than that the verses are amazing and truly brilliantly written and the beat is one of my favourites on the CD. It really works alongside her voice.

The song manages to be up-tempo as well still being a slow ballad almost, another brilliant song by Pink.

Memorable Lyrics: "I forgot to say out loud how beautiful you really are to me,
I can't be without,
You're my perfect little punching bag,
And I need you,
I'm sorry"

My Opinion: 10/10 (The chorus can be annoying; however the rest of the song is amazing, her vocals sore in this song. The song is about pain, however unlike most artists who would write it to bring you down in the dumps, Pink still makes it upbeat)

Track 6- Bad Influence

It's never gonna be a classic Pink song, however it's not painful, her vocals are brilliant and the lyrics are typical Pink. The verses are a lot better than the chorus, but the song over all is just good.

I think this style, despite being quite like Pink's usual style is just a bit too weird. The song is not good enough, you can definitely here that the song was produced with someone different as it just doesn't really 'fit'.

Just a good song, nothing special, and you'll probably finding yourself skipping.

Memorable Lyrics: "I'm the instigator of underwear,
Showing up here and there uh oh,
I'm always on a mission from the get go,
So what if it's only 1 o'clock in the afternoon,
It's never too soon to send out all the invitations to the last night."

My Opinion: 5/10 (Quite disappointing, too much outside influence, it's not a good Pink song)

Track 7- Funhouse

The title song for the album and not brilliant. I think it should be a good song, but her vocals are all over the place. Just not good, it doesn't gel well together. The song has some great beats and the lyrics are very good, but Pink is the one that doesn't shine in the song.

I've read somewhere that the song is the way that Pink sees life, as a carnival, it should be nice, but it's really creepy. This made me laugh, as I totally agree. The whole song is a big metaphor which is filled with some great beats and brilliant lyrics, but Pink's vocals just don't work with the style of the song.

Memorable Lyrics: "This used to be a funhouse,
But now it's full of evil clowns,
It's time to start the final countdown,
I'm going burn it down"

My Opinion: 4/10 (Should have been good, but Pink lets us down.)

Track 8- Crystal Ball

I know this is one of Pink's favourites songs (from an interview), the song was actually recorded in one take, which is pretty much unheard of, but you can really hear it in this song. Perfection. The song is so raw and so beautiful.

The song like most on the album, deals with her divorce, but unlike the other ones you forget about that and you really listen to the emotion in her voice and the way she delivers the song. One of the most powerful songs she's written and preformed.

Pink was actually helped to write this song by the guys that helped her with some of her most famous songs like Stupid Girls, Dear Mr President and I'm Not Dead. Those are three of my favourite songs and this one will be too. Just a beautiful piece of music.

I think the fact that this song is so simple is one of the reasons it really sticks with you, it's just Pink and a guitar and her vocals are so powerful and work so well acoustically. I hate to use this word over and over again, but I'm going to have to, a gorgeous song, with some of the best vocals on the album.

Memorable Lyrics: "Pennies in a well,
A million dollars in the fountain of a hotel,
Fortune teller that says maybe you will go to hell,
But I'm not scared at all,
The cracks in the crystal,
The cracks in the crystal ball"

My Opinion: 11/10 (Another strong track, one of the best on the album, beautifully sung and beautifully preformed. Amazing)

Track 9- Mean

This is a more country feel to it, and like usual it works perfectly. I didn't think I'd like this song, but it really works. There's a song on her Misundastood album I believe which she performs alongside Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) and this song has the same style.

The song asks questions about how do things go so badly wrong, and how do people cope with it. The song manages to be very country, but it has Pink's usual style in it. The vocals are delivered brilliantly, but with this edge in it, which adds to the emotion of the song.

Another amazing track, one that will be a classic, so good and so powerfully produced. Another stunning track, which should be listened to.

Memorable Lyrics: "You used to hold the door for me,
Now you can't wait to leave,
You used to send me flowers if you fucked up in my dreams,
I used to make you laugh with all the silly shit I did,
But now you roll your eyes and walk away,
And shake your head"

My Opinion: 10/10 (Another powerful song, with some amazing vocals from Pink)

Track 10- It's All Your Fault

Not one of the best on the album, but still a listenable song. The song is full of instrumentals and Pink's vocals power over them and this is really what you want to hear.

The song is not her best by far, there's no real catchy tune on this song, the piano beat in the background almost sounds like it's been taken from a Linkin Park song, it's still good and works well together, but it'll never be a song that people talk about.

The lyrics are powerful as always, as is her vocals and she delivers the lyrics with so much emotion that the song is just amazing, however, the fact that I'll probably forget this song straight after writing the review, I wouldn't call it as good as the others.

Memorable Lyrics: "It's all your fault,
You called me beautiful,
You turned me out,
And I can't turn back"

My Opinion: 8/10 (Not one of the best on the album, but in no way weak. Some truly amazing lyrics)

Track 11- Ave Mary A

A weird song, the start almost sounds like Sweet Home Alabama, and the song is just a bit too fast almost, you can still hear all of the lyrics and her vocals are brilliant, but you don't get pulled into the song.

The song is about a lot of the problems going on in the world today and it is quite an emotional track if you listen to the lyrics. At the end of each verse, she uses a different city and says for example 'London I think we got a problem', after talking about problems.

The lyrics are very good and despite my original dislike to this song, after listening to it for a while, I think it's a brilliant track. The lyrics are very good, but the production is not my favourite song. I think she could have done much better.

Memorable Lyrics: "Broken hearts all around the spot,
I can't help thinking that we've lost the plot,
Suicide bomber and a student shot,
Tokyo I think we got a problem"

My Opinion: 8/10 (Should have been better but her vocals and the lyrics were amazing)

Track 12- Glitter In The Air

This song is the final 'song' on the album and it's another ballad. I think the other ballads on the track are better, but this song is still gorgeous. Her vocals are just so raw and they work so well on this track. It's just Pink and a piano and it's just so raw and outstanding.

The song is very powerful, and the lyrics are tremendous, I think this is the perfect end to the album and works so well with the rest of the tracks.

Memorable Lyrics: "Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone,
You're whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone,
Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?
Have you even invited a stranger to come inside?"

My Opinion: 10/10 (Another gorgeous ballad. Pink really makes it her own and ends the song perfectly)

My Opinion on Funhouse

I'm not overly keen on the title still, she firstly wanted to call her album Heartbreak Is A MotherF***ker but because of obvious reasons, they didn't go with it, and chose Funhouse.

In comparison to the likes of I'm Not Dead I have to say it fails in comparison, where I'm Not Dead was filled with some brilliant up-tempo-numbers like U + Ur Hand, and then some powerful ballads like Who Knew, this albums uptempo songs just don't seem to work as well as her ballads.

So What is probably the best up tempo song on the album. The song is so catchy it's unbelievable. Her vocals may not be her best, but the song is one you can really sing along to and will find yourself dancing along. It's powerful, it's to the point and it kicks the album off brilliantly.

I think the album has around 4/5 power ballads and the rest are up-tempo songs and sometimes the up-tempo songs just seem a bit rushed and they don't work as well as I would have liked.

The fact that this album is a 'break up' album doesn't come through as much as I thought it would. Unlike most people who would use the emotionality of a public break up, Pink takes it by the hand and almost takes the piss out of it, and when she's not taking the piss, she manages to convey her pain and what she feels so amazingly through her lyrics and vocals.

I think most people who have followed Pink's career will find that this album isn't as good as I'm Not Dead, however I think there are some soon to be classics on this song and they really do stand out.

Out of 12 tracks, 3 are damn right awful, which with my taste of music, is pretty good as there's usually a one hit wonder and the rest of the songs are awful. The problems I have with those three is that they either song have some amazing vocals like you would expect, or the song just doesn't fit with either Pink's style or the albums style.

There are some tremendous stand out tracks, when I first heard Sober I wasn't a fan, however I'm totally in love with it. The song has an amazing beat which will stick in your head and the lyrics go along with it so well. It's definitely better than So What, however it's a lot more 'ballady' and Pink's ballads don't get the same recognition that her up tempo and ballsy songs do.

Despite the fact that they probably won't get the recognition that they deserve, the likes of 'I Don't Believe You' and 'Crystal Ball' are just beautiful and so powerful and Pink's vocals really convey every ounce of emotion she has.

The album is a 'break up' album, she unlike a lot of other artists uses the problems she faces, like her divorce and manages to look at it from many different sides and writes some amazing songs which manage to work so well with her voice, she is truly a talented singer with a big powerful voice.

The album is definitely her most vulnerable to date, she really opens her heart and shows what she is feeling in her lyrics and how she delivers the songs. I think this adds to the brilliance of the album, and really makes the great songs brilliant.

How good is:

Her Voice

Pretty amazing I have to say, I think it's 100x better than Try This and Misundastood was, and in the same league table as a lot of I'm Not Dead tracks. On certain songs on the album, particularly I Don't Believe You, her vocals truly shine and are so much better than her vocals on the I'm Not Dead album.

The Lyrics

Amazing as always, I don't believe there's a weak 'lyrical' song on the album, when the songs are ruined it's usually by Pink's voice not going with the production of the song, or the production being just a bit too much, but the lyrics always remain strong, powerful and most importantly honest and raw. I think the lyrics on this album are a lot better than I'm Not Dead.

The Album (Compared to I'm Not Dead)

I'm still struggling with this question, I always knew I was going to compare the two, but I think I'm Not Dead might just beat Funhouse slightly.

The tracks on I'm Not Dead seem to flow a lot better than Funhouse does. On I'm Not Dead, I've always liked the way it started with Who Knew and the slower songs before building up to songs like I'm Not Dead and U + Ur Hand.

Funhouse is a brilliant album, but it doesn't flow as well on it's own as an album.

The Album (On it's own)

I really think you should go out and buy it, especially these songs (if you're getting them off Itunes):

So What
Sober
I Don't Believe You
Mean
Crystal Ball
Glitter In The Air
It's All Your Fault
Ave Mary A
Please Don't Leave Me

The album, when I'm not comparing it is truly amazing. I think when you listen to it as the whole album, the weak links really do ruin it slightly, however if you just downloaded the great songs of Itunes, and listened to it like that, I think it would make one of the best CD's Pink's ever released.

The Production Of The Songs

Amazing, I think they did something they were never able to do on her Misunderstood album. When the song should have been acoustic on that album, it was a big music piece which had every instrument known to man, however on this album, if it's supposed to be an acoustic piece, it is an acoustic piece and it really adds to the emotion of the songs.

I think the producers should really give themselves a pat on the back for this album; it's truly well put together despite some of the weak links.

Finally, should you buy the album?

Yes, I think it's one of the best albums out this year, and if you loved I'm Not Dead, you will love this album. There are some amazing catchy tunes and her vocals are pretty brilliant most of the time and the songs are just so well delivered that it makes it one of her best albums to date.

The album uses the fact that she's just gotten divorced however, unlike a lot of artists, she manages to make it a lot more 'fun' that you would expect.

Due to the fact that it only came out today (27th October 2008), the album is still very pricy. I would at least wait for Christmas to buy it, or if like me, you get amazon vouchers, then why not use them to buy this amazing album.

Like Pink, then you will love this album.

Youtube Links

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNDr1A6dTU - So What Video, hilarious

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vcGJw2UJQAg - Sober Live Video

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4dkBnMzbaJI&feature=related - Please Don't Leave Me Live Video

Hoped this review helped.

© Kirsty. 2008