"I am a good singer, so I can't possibly be a good writer. Women can't possibly be good at two things. I haven't lost my temper about it. It only drives me more. If your thing is to bring me down, cool. I'll just work harder." (Kelly Clarkson, ELLE magazine)
It's easy to forget Kelly Clarkson's "American Idol" roots when you consider what a huge star she has become - and a critically acclaimed one at that. And after the success of her sophomoric album "Breakaway" back in 2005 (an album I raved about myself back then), she could have taken the easy way out and used the same songwriters and production teams she collaborated with back then to produce such a massive hit.
But Kelly wanted more from her follow-up. She wanted to have more control of the sort of album she created. And this has clearly been a struggle - Clive Davis (the head of Sony -BMG, Kellys's record label) seemed to be against her new direction from the outset. Reportedly he offered her ten million dollars to replace five of the tracks on her album with more radio-friendly tracks chosen by himself. Kelly shunned this offer. Whether this was a mistake or not can only be judged by the listener. One of the songs on the album is named "Don't Waste Your Time". Is this advice about buying the album???
Personally, I don't think it was a waste of time - I myself was incredibly impressed by "My December". Several people put me off buying it originally but eventually my curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it I'd entered my payment details on amazon and a copy of the cd was winging its way to me.
"My December" doesn't have the immediate appeal that "Breakaway" held but it is an album that grows on you, each song beginning to appeal more and more with every listen. For me this began with "Never Again", the first single
to be taken from the album and a song which I already adored. A song which immediately struck a chord with me due to the personal problems I myself was going through at the time it was released, "Never Again" is work of angry and bitter rock with a slightly haunting chorus which lingers around long after the last chord has been played.
The next song to grow on me was the fourth track on the album, the beautiful ballad "Sober". This not only showcases Kelly's stunning voice to perfection, it is also lyrically very clever, as it compares the end of a relationship to sobriety - "three months and I'm still sober/picked all my weeds but kept the flowers/but I know its never really over". Sound wise its reminiscent of "Because of You" on "Breakaway" - but it could also almost be seen as an extension of "Addicted" - after all, she compared her relationship then to an addiction and on "Sober" she is comparing the end of her relationship to OVERCOMING that addiction. Whether this an intentional link or not, I don't know - but it is how I choose to see it!
"Maybe" is another of my favourite tracks - a mid-tempo pop-rock track, it is probably a lot gentler in sound than many of the rockier tracks on this album but Kelly sounds fabulous on it. It seems lyrically to almost have been written in a stream-of-consciousness way, as she sings about how she's a confusing, contrary person who is her own person and hard to love - but that to be loved is all she needs. ("I don't need to be fixed, and I certainly don't need to be found, I'm not lost, I need to be loved").
Kelly covers various types of music in the album, going from electro pop in the Sugababes-esque "One Minute" then heading towards a darker sound more reminiscent of Evanescence (like "Because of You" and "Addicted" on her previous album) in songs like "Judas", "Haunted" and "Hole". But this time around Ben Moody hasn't had any input - she has developed this sound with her new co-writers. There is the laid-back "Be Still", which I didn't like until very recently (the ultimate example of a slow-grower, I guess!), and the bouncy "How I Feel" which reminds me a little of "Walk Away" on her previous cd.
Much hype has surrounded the song "Irvine" but I'm really not sure about this song myself. It has a bluesy, jazzy vibe to it, and sounds like nothing else on the album, and Kelly's voice adapts well to the change in style, but my personal jury is still out on it. This is followed by a hidden track (you'll need to wait around a minute after "Irvine" ends before it begins) called "Chivas" which is another song that is a little different, but more appealing to me than the previous track. The Chivas she refers to apparently is a brand of whisky, and the song was allegedly written by her on bar napkins while she was at another band's gig. I think it is a bit of a shame it is a hidden track because people could miss out on it as a result unless they can't be bothered getting up to put off their cd player after "Irvine" ends - which is how I found it!!!
To be honest, I don't really understand why such a furore was caused over Kelly's so-called "new direction" - compared to someone like Pink, who transformed from r&b princess to rock-chick virtually overnight, there's not really been much of a change in Kelly's sound at all. Slightly rockier perhaps, a little darker and more bitter - but this to me was the territory Kelly showed tendencies of veering towards on "Breakaway" and the difference between "Breakaway" and "My December" is far less than the contrast between "Can't Take Me Home" and "Mizzundastood" (or however it was spelt!) which displayed two entirely different genres of music. To me, "My December" seems like the logical progression in sound as Kelly grows up and becomes more confident in her own song-writing prowess.
I think most people who enjoyed "Breakaway" will find something to like on this album too. You just may need to give it a couple of listens first. Its not an album which will immediately grab you, but there's no rule that says an album has to be like that! The reason Clive Davis allegedly tried to get Kelly to change some of the songs was because he could not see potential big hits on the album, but I disagree with this. "Never Again" was a strong first single, and I can see many others in there which could make an impact on the chart - "One Minute", "Sober" and "How I Feel" among others. As a whole, I actually think this album probably makes more of an impact than "Breakaway" did; the tracks are more cohesive - in this case the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. I also think its one which appeals to the darker side of one's nature - if you are going through problems such as a relationship breakdown, it is easy to identify with this. Comparisons have been made to Alanis Morrisette's "Jagged Little Pill" with this album, with one critic going as far as to claim that "My December" really should have been called "Jagged Little Idol" but I don't really get the comparison to be honest. I find "My December" far darker than "Jagged Little Pill" ever was!
As far as I'm concerned "My December is a great album and you shouldn't let the bad reviews or the scandal surrounding the release of the album put you off it. Kelly is trying to be her own person on this album - and not only do I admire her for taking a stand and refusing to kowtow to the record company bigwigs, I think she has shown that she is more than worthy as a singer and songwriter, and has a long future ahead of her in the music business - if she still wants one!!!
~~~~~WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID~~~~~
"Where Clarkson hits us with her best shot is in the confessionals in which she ditches the blame game and draws her own blood." (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY)
"The final product is not nearly as catchy as Breakaway, but is far more introspective and honest." (AMAZON.COM)
"For now though, there are lots of reasons to believe in Kelly's capacity to sculpt a healthy and diverse career no matter who she has to piss off to do it. " (STYLUS MAGAZINE)
~~~~~PRICE GUIDE~~~~~
£8.95 from play.com
£8.97 from amazon.co.uk (used and new from £4.41)
£6.99 from cdwow
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Clarkson's third full-length represents her biggest push for career and artistic control. ... more
Her crack studio band provides rock punch, and there is a plethora of studio tricks that give the album an extra layer of sonic muscle, enhancing its angsty vibe....
Dec 2nd, 2007
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