Kelly Clarkson “All I Ever Wanted” Review
The release of Kelly Clarkson’s fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, has to come as a relief for the singer, especially considering the drama that surrounded 2007’s My December. Between the label’s outspoken dissatisfaction with her songs and Clive Davis supposedly having offered Clarkson $10 million to scrap five of its tracks in favor of selections of his choosing, the grief alone should have driven her mad. And it almost did. After the release of the album she canceled its supporting tour and fired her manager. Responding to all of the controversy, she commented “I just want people to hear it, instead of 100-year old executives making decisions on what’s good for pop radio. It’s people my age who listen to it. My gut hasn’t been wrong yet, so why wouldn’t I continue to follow it?” I believe that Stephen Colbert might call such an intuitive gut reaction “truthiness.” And removed from the overwhelming drama Clarkson now finds herself refreshed, renewed and going with her gut once again. This time around the recording process included working with a new production team, a new group of writers and a new outlook based on what’s transpired in the past year and a half, but the question remains whether or not her instincts will continue leading her in the right direction.
When the album’s first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” was released in January Clarkson’s instincts were almost immediately vindicated—the song finding immediate success while making history in the process. The single jumped from 97 to the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the largest leap to number one ever. Not only that, but it became the singer’s first single to top the charts since her first, 2002’s “A Moment Like This.” Co-written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke (the duo behind Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and Britney Spears’ “If U Seek Amy”) the song’s guitar rolls along before thrusting into the song’s chorus, not unlike that of her second highest charting single, “Since U Been Gone.” From there the album rolls into the first of two songs co-written by Katy Perry, “I Do Not Hook Up.”
After comparing Clarkson’s version to Perry’s it’s quite noticeable that while the original composition remains essentially intact, the vocal part is a bit more fitting for Clarkson’s hearty gasps. That’s been a pattern for the singer though, utilizing others’ songwriting and adding her powerful voice in creating something that sounds entirely hers. Be it Avril Lavigne’s “Breakaway” from a few years back or Clarkson’s work with Chantal Kreviazuk and Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida, she’s long since proven her ability to utilize the skills of those she works with.
For as much as she’s able to do that however, some of the weaker songs on All I Ever Wanted are those co-written by Clarkson—in particular those written with the album’s co-producer and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. Aside from “If I Can’t Have You” the duo’s lyrics fail to grab the listener, particularly “Impossible.” “Can’t change the winds you say/Won’t matter anyway/Can’t reach that far/Cause it’s impossible.” The song’s overly sentimental theme feels a bit inappropriate, but considering it’s placement in the later stages of the record where the tempo has all but gone to rest, it’s not entirely out of place. And the faults of the song don’t reflect the quality of its sound—if there’s one thing that can be said for those tracks, Kelly’s voice fails to crack throughout.
If we’ve learned anything from the video of Clarkson jumping on stage with Metal Skool a few years back, it’s that: a) she has a killer sense of humor and b) even at her drunkest, she’s still got an amazing voice. That being said, there are definitely some songs that fail to make good on what she’s capable of. “I Want You” is written as a playful bopper, but it compresses her voice into something that is far beneath its potential. The song style is better suited for someone like Lily Allen, as it leaves a lot of room for the vocals to be played with while staying away from any extended moments where the spotlight is solely on the singer.
Aside from “I Want You” Clarkson’s voice is allowed to extend itself as far as it can go. There’s a reason that she’s not joining the fashionable pop artists in wading knee deep in vocoder—plain and simple she doesn’t need to experiment with ways to make her voice sound unique and powerful. As weak as the lyrics from “Impossible” are, the song still sounds great solely because of the vocals. With her rendition of Aranda’s “Whyyawannabringmedown” Clarkson strips down her voice as much as she can to match the ragged (well, ragged for a polished pop album) guitar track that echoes behind her. But even when she’s trying to sound raw sounds as crisp and full as ever.
When the artificial-looking cover for Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” was released she posted the following blog post in response, “it’s very colorful and they have definitely photo-shopped the crap out of me but i don’t care haha! whoever she is, she looks great ha!” With All I Ever Wanted Clarkson’s not creating anything remotely edgy, she’s not stepping outside of what’s worked for her in the past, and she’s not paving the way for any new trends in pop music. Yet Clarkson’s still not catering to executives who would rather sharpen her recording approach to align her against her contemporaries, and she’s remains strong in creating music that’s comfortable to her. Truthiness in pop music is rare, but once again Kelly Clarkson’s instincts have proven to be the best guide for her and her career.
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It’s official Chris – you are a hit whore
I think her story is interesting. For the most part ‘All I Ever Wanted’ a generic pop album, but Kelly’s got a voice that sets her apart from much of what’s going on in (white) pop radio. Certainly she’s had a financial safety net under her for the better part of the decade, but on the level she’s at it’s got to be an absolutely trip to be commercially successful, yet having to deal with a corporate influence that is continually attempting to push and pull you in all sorts of directions you don’t want to go, while telling you that what you’re doing isn’t good enough… especially to the surreal extent that has been apart of her life/career… not sure how well I’d be able to deal with that.
They can’t all be indie-folk songstresses… though if they were I’m not sure you’d complain
Not having heard the new record yet, I can’t say if you are spot on with your review. I will echo that her voice is the star and nothing should be done to minimize it. This album needed to be more in the vein of Breakaway for Clarkson to stay relevant. She will expand as an artist later, but for now she needs to show that she can sell records and tickets again. Check out my music blog Digging For Days
While I think it’s generally safe to assume that I’m far from spot on most of the time, I will contend that she’s never stopped selling records… so I don’t understand what she has to prove there.
Just took a quick glance at some reported numbers on the Wikipedias, and they’re telling me that Breakaway (album, not song) has sold 11 million copies worldwide. It’d be absolutely irrational to expect anyone to match that success, but anything subsequent that fails to produce the exact same figures could easily be viewed as a failure by the guys in the suits and ties. My December, the album that the executives wanted to scrap, has still sold roughly 800,000 copies in the US alone. A closer look shows that one single charted high, but two of the next three didn’t even chart. At all. Sounds to me like the same people who pushed Breakaway to its status (making sure radio played it, making sure it had good spots on television, internet and print media,blah blah blah) didn’t do a thing for My December. And it still sold 800k… with essentially one single.
Add to this thought that “My Life Would Suck Without You” alone has had over 800,000 digital buys (BUYS) prior to the album’s release… I really don’t think she has much to prove.
Now whether or not Lady Gaga will have to prove her worth if she’s still around to release a fourth album, that’s another question altogether.
this album is fuckin sick yo
Finally someone who knows how to write a review! You gave criticisms without being overly picky about it. Great Job!
I honestly don’t think kelly’s new album is bad. (couldn’t help myself listening to it on YouTube). Obviously it isn’t as good as Breakaway but her album is something new that wants to try. Great to sing and dance to for the most part. Definitely better than Katy Perry and all those other pop divas. However I do wish she goes back to her Breakaway roots with natural vocals (no technology fix ups) and alternative beats/rhythms. Either way I SUPPORT you Kelly
I’ve heard the whole album, and overall it sounds pretty amazing! Ill predict that she’ll sell about 5mil (worldwide) with this one… and thats at least!
I heard Kelly Clarkson sold about 56mill albums worldwide, that wikipedia isnt very accurate! in many interviews, thats wat they said…
Noone really wants the sequel to Breakaway… thats kind of boring, making every album is the way to go, i think thats wat i like about kelly… (ALL 4 ALBUMS ARE DIFFERENT!)
Great Review, This album IS A MUST-BUY!
Having listened to this album repeatedly for the last 3 days, all I can say is that i’m so glad that she has brought happiness back into her music. I’ve loved all of her albums for the different qualities that they possess, but it was clear with My December that Miss Clarkson wasn’t a happy bunny when choosing most of her songs!
I love the vocals on so many tracks on All I Ever Wanted, the huge mix of emotions that not many people can portray with such an amazing voice! The slower songs such as Cry and If No One Will Listen bring a tear to my eye everytime… Whilst during Long Shot and the brilliant My Life Would Suck Without You, all my housemates can’t resist to sing along!
As someone’s already said, all 4 albums are different, and that’s why we love her.
Definately not going to stop playing this for a while
This album is fantastic! i must admit that i downloaded the leak (so sue me) but that was because i wanted this cd so bad! and i am going to buy it anyway. i mostly agree with this review, but i do think that ‘if i cant have you’ if BRILL probably my fav song, so i disagree about that song being bad. she is fab, all albums are brill, never again is one of my favs songs of all time. ( i kn ow its not on this album)
my life would suck without you – 5/5
i do not hook up – 5/5
cry – 5/5
dont let me stop you – 5/5
all i ever wanted – 5/5
already gone – 4/5
if i cant have you – 5/5
save you – 5/5
WhyYaWannaBringMeDown? – 4/5
Long Shot – 4/5
impossible – 5/5
ready – 4/5
i want you – 4/5 (i agree better for lily allen)
If no one will listen – 4/5
overall – 4.5/5
this cd is at the top of my fav lists, alongside blackout & circus by britney
Best Track = If i cant have you OR my life would suck
Worst Track = I want You (By no means a bad track)
They continue to go over-board with the photoshopping with the cover for Kelly’s new single, http://www.musicistheheartofoursoul.com/2009/03/kelly-clarkson-i-do-not-hook-up.html
I don’t live in the United States and everything I know about her problems with her record company I have read on the Internet. I liked a few songs of her first album and I LOVED all the tracks from her second. When “My december” came out I was very disappointed. I didn’t like the album AT ALL (but that’s because 98% of the music I listen to consists on what some people call “cheesy pop songs”, be it in the form of country-pop, sugarcoated ballads sung by girl bands or whatever you can think of). Anyway, I was terribly disappointed when I listened to “My decemeber” (thank God I didn’t buy it before listening) and thought: “Oh, well… another Idol that falls for the “I don’t want my career to be a sequel of what I did on Idol, I don’t wanna go for the easy way out, I disown American Idol because it’s a mere factory of pop artists in which men in suit and ties wanna make money out of poor innocent creatures who know nothing about the real world”. I think a lot of people fall for that (here in Spain we have that too: a lot of people win the Spanish version of A.I and, the minute they walk out the show, they say they don’t want to be labelled as Idols). Having said that, I think Kelly’s new album is going to be AMAZING. I have heard the first single and I can’t stop listening to it. I can’t wait to buy the album (I think it comes out tomorrow here in Spain). The question is: does she really like it? Great review
I really like the new album. I personaly know The writer of All I Ever Wanted, and Whyyawannabringmedown, and let me tell you although Kelly has some wicked vocals, Damion Aranda is off the charts sick with vocals. I think that the 2 of them need to hook up and perform together. Congrats to you Kelly on th new album! I know it top the charts for a long time!
Hye, I’m Ismal from Malaysia
I really like Kelly’s new album. I guess that it’s a generic to her powerful second album. However, no offense to Katy Perry’s haters out there, ‘I Do not Hook Up’ and ‘Long Shot’ are two amazing songs in which I think shouldn’t be given to Kelly.
Anyhow, kudos Kelly!
Many of your interpretations of the album I agree with (like your thoughts on “Impossible”) but I completely disagree with your take on “I Want You.” You stated, “there are definitely some songs that fail to make good on what she’s capable of. “I Want You” is written as a playful bopper, but it compresses her voice into something that is far beneath its potential” Although I agree that it does not show off her vocal range, I feel an entire album of belting out high notes and unnecessary runs would be too much to handle (a big reason why its hard for me to listen to Christina Aguilara). Clarkson has already proven herself as an outstanding vocalist, she does not need to continue to do so on every song. That being said, I feel Clarkson actually FURTHER proves herself as a vocalist by carrying a song by simply singing the melody, and not making it into some over-the-top power ballad. Not many artists can differentiate between needing to belt out a song, or sticking to a melody to capture its true emotion.
All throat all the time isn’t a good thing… I wasn’t really trying to insinuate that it is (toss a little crack into the situation and you’ve got Whitney Houston… and the world doesn’t need another Whitney Houston).
The song sounds compressed, not in that she isn’t singing the melody… “ah ah ah, I Want You” and then the baby-talk croon that follows is fine, but it’s not her. I’m not sure even weak singers could get away with that one. She doesn’t have another track on the album that sounds the same (not saying diversity is bad, either) but when compared to the flow everything else on ‘All I Ever Wanted,’ it’s weak sauce.
Video for “I Do Not Hook Up.”
ALL I EVER WANTED is a pop music masterpiece.
I haven’t enjoyed an album from start to finish (including the bonus tracks) in a long time.
I would say that All I Ever Wanted comes second after Breakaway. While this album is pretty amazing, Breakaway was just more raw and not so tweeked i guess you could say…even looking at the album covers for both albums, I prefer the cover of Breakaway. This cover is just too much! Too bright, too much makeup, too photoshopped! But back to the actual point, the album is really good! There are a few tracks that aren’t really that memorable like “Impossible” and “Save You” and “Ready”. But overall, most of the songs have something unique about them that draws you in. Wheather it’s the powerful vocals, slow ballads, fun dance beat, clever lyrics, etc. Overall I would give it 4 outta 5 stars. Breakaway gets 5 outta 5. Thankful gets 3.5 outta 5 and My December gets 3 outta 5. I’m looking forward to see how well this album does in sells. I hope it goes atleast 2x platinum in the US. Even My December went platinum so this one should do a lot better.
This album is awesome!I can’t stop listening to it.Especially “Already Gone” and “Save You”.These two are masterpieces!
I personally have loved every single one of Kelly’s CDs. They are all musical masterpieces. Thankful is by far my favorite album simply because her powerful voice is personified throughout the entire CD and the whole thing gives me chills. As for everyone who is seriously destroying My December, please tell me that maybe, haunted, yeah, chivas, be still, and sober are not some of the best songs to ever be written and sung. For Kelly to sing these songs put it over the top. As for the All I Ever Wanted CD…It’s incredible. She has come out with 4 completely different CDs and still manages to dominate the sales. Not many artists are capable of doing this and dealing with the head businessmen breathing down her neck 24/7. As a female artist, Kelly Clarkson is an A++++ performer, songwriter, and vocalist. I thoroughly believe she is the best in the biz.