Glove Slap Recommends: Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted

[Glove Slap]

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Welcome to Glove Slap Recommends! 

This is going to be my own little corner where I'll be posting reviews of some of my favorite works, or just what I happen to be listening to at the moment. 

There's no set rule on what I might suggest; the initial focus is going to be on LPs, but soundtracks and EPs are bound to pop up as well every now and then.  I will try to keep a list of upcoming reviews in this post; there may be some switcharounds and replacements, but I will try my best to make sure that the top 5 or so go in the order that they're listed. There's no genre limitation either, I will make sure to include works from Pop, Rock, R&B, Hip-Hop, Country, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Electronic, etc.

For now, I will be using a five star rating system, along with highlights of my favorite songs at the end. For some the older works, I will make an attempt to incorporate some trivia and background information as well.

When I finish a review, I'll hyperlink it here, so they'll be easier to track of as this thread expands. Eventually, I might consider arranging the reviews by rating or decade.

Also, if there is a release (be it old or new) that you would like to see me review and give my thoughts on, please feel free to PM those suggestions to me. The reason I suggest PMing vs just posting them here is because it'll be easier to keep track of everything that way and I won't miss your request.

Completed Reviews

Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted (2009)

Upcoming

Stevie Nicks - Rock A Little (1985)
Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)
Jessie Ware - Devotion (2012)
Eurythmics - Savage (1987)
Ed Sheeran - x (2014)
Charli XCX - True Romance (2013)
Sam Smith - In The Lonely Hour (2014)
Dido - Life For Rent (2003)
Sheryl Crow- Sheryl Crow (1996)
Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis (1969)

[Deleted]

The Katy Perry header makes me wary of this TBH

[dbhmr]

Oct 6, 2014 0:57:57 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

Upcoming

Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted (2009)

I'm gonna need pills first.

[Glove Slap]

Packing and moving delayed this a bit, but better late than never right?

Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted

Release Date

March 10, 2009


Tracklist

1. My Life Would Suck Without You
2. I Do Not Hook Up
3. Cry
4. Don't Let Me Stop You
5. All I Ever Wanted
6. Already Gone
7. If I Can't Have You
8. Save You
9. Whyyawannabringmedown
10. Long Shot
11. Impossible
12. Ready
13. I Want You
14. If No One Will Listen

Deluxe edition tracks

15. Tip Of My Tongue
16. The Day We Fell Apart


Chart Statistics

USA - #1 (2 weeks)
UK - #3
AUS - #2


Singles

My Life Would Suck Without You (#1 US, #1 UK, #5 AUS)
I Do Not Hook Up (#20 US, #36 UK, #9 AUS)
Already Gone (#13 US, #66 UK, #12 AUS)
All I Ever Wanted (#96 US)

Review 

When I was thinking about what my first album should be, Kelly Clarkson was the first artist to pop into my head. My history with her fans here admittedly isn’t the best, and my opinions of her are well documented elsewhere. But I had an epiphany of sorts on her music (that dbhmr might remember) in RT back in spring and gave her whole catalog a re-evaluation. I've chosen this one because while it isn’t my favorite of her albums, but it’s the one I usually see being given hard beatings, ones that aren't warranted in their intensity. 

Bouncing back from the battered My December, All I Ever Wanted repositions Kelly Clarkson somewhat as a producers songbird. A downgrade artistically? Yeah sure, but it is a change where the benefits outweigh the prices. That's not to say that she's at the complete mercy of her collaborators. She still turns in performances that warrant her status as one of the great vocalists of her generation, but when her team doesn't bring the fire, there is only so much any singer can do. This project marked the return of Dr. Luke and Max Martin, whom she had avoided for her previous album, albeit for only one number. My Life Would Suck Without You plays like a retread of her breakthrough single Since U Been Gone the way that a good one should, it's familiar territory but with none of the edge that was there before. And although they don't return, the rest of the collaborators try to keep this sheen of safety around her on most, but not all of the material.

From the list of producers, it is Ryan Tedder who shines the brightest, turning in some of the highest points with Already Gone and If I Can’t Have You, with the latter being one of the first proofs of his ability to handle uptempo numbers as well, rather than just the beat-driven midtempos and ballads that were his forte at the time. He also contributes another gem in the form of Impossible. These three also show strong songwriting potential in the union of Clarkson and Tedder, who co-wrote all of them (Tedder’s fourth contribution Save You was not co-written with Clarkson and is notably weaker). On the deluxe edition, this partnership continues with Tip Of My Tongue, which almost reaches the same levels of quality.

Admittedly, this method of secession doesn’t always work. Case in point is the embarrassing and completely unconvincing Howard Benson helmed I Do Not Hook Up. Benson goes on to contribute the other weak links in the forms of Ready and Cry, and on Long Shot she goes miles she doesn’t need to to sound like Katy Perry, fortunately the songwriting is strong enough to make the final product worthwhile. Their last collaboration on the album, Don't Let Me Stop You, is easily their strongest, in spite of sounding molded after Behind These Hazel Eyes.

Despite the predictability of most of the album, there are some pleasant surprises though to be found, the brightest being I Want You, a joyful neo-motown styled ditty that adds much needed variety to her recorded catalog. It’s here where Clarkson proves that she’s able to sing delicately over a non-ballad tempo. The punkish Whyyawannabringmedown fits into this family as well, succeeding despite looking like a trainwreck on paper. Deluxe number The Day We Fell Apart is another track which deviates a bit from the sunny gleam of most of the album to great results. A note of mention should also go to the closer If No One Will Listen, which has Clarkson as the sole producer (despite being externally written). A traditional ballad that begins soft piano chords and builds as it goes, it likely serves as the best picture of her at the time, battered and jaded after the events of the previous several years, but still standing. Tellingly, it fits right in the middle of the pack as far as quality goes. It's good, but there's so much better to be found.

Granted, the accusations of “her” being less present than on her other works hold. However, it has the one key element that the predecessor didn’t have: song. The producers do what they can to wrench her away from the murky sonic sea of the predecessor and beef her up with not just hooks, but fully fleshed out songs. This is why even the less straightforward numbers hold, there's a core to build off of, which wasn't there before.

The politics that surrounded it may understandably give some a sour taste. But if you enjoy work that is done and executed well, it’s a treat. At the very least, it’s the sound of someone doing what everyone knows they’re good at. 

Rating

Highlights

Already Gone
If I Can't Have You
Impossible
I Want You
The Day We Fell Apart

That's the first one. If anyone has any feedback on the format, I'm more than welcome to criticism. I thought I'd finish it with some highlights for people to check out.

[dbhmr]

Well color me surprised! Fully agree with your highlights, and love that "Impossible" is among them--underrated amid her catalog as far as I'm concerned. Her and Tedder did do great work together (before their dust-up, he credited her with writing most of the lyrics and melodies, while he contributed to melodies and did all the instrumentation; "Impossible" is the one song he's on record saying that the lyrics are 100% hers), and I actually think their voices would sound good together, too...but that's not likely to be something that ever happens.

As an album, it's a weaker effort from Kelly, but the individual songs themselves are serviceable, if not really enjoyable, pop numbers. It's also like 17 copies away from selling a million so I wish they'd just certify it platinum already, as it is the only one of her six official studio albums to not be certified as such.

[Ling-Ling]

Thank you for bringing up "I Want You." Such an underrated track in her catalogue. I wanted it to be single number four so bad.

[The Upper Hand]

More, please.