Keep Your Hand on My Head, Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Listening to All I Ever Wanted I feel I may have been a little to harsh when reviewing Kelly Clarkson’s last disk My December (see: You're Going Crazy, Running on Empty). My big complaint was that she tried to do too much herself, even if she had no ability to create a memorable melody, almost defiantly resulting in a bland cumbersome album. But on her new disk, the best tracks are actually the one with her hands on it.

The album starts off with handing the reigns over to other writers an d producers almost saying, if you want another Since U Been Gone, here you go” with first single My Life Would Suck Without You even opening up with the exact same guitar riff. Sadly the truly excellent riff from Gone, the ripped off one from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Maps, is nowhere to be found. But in the end the song doesn’t even sound like Clarkson, instead sounds like Katy Perry trying to imitate her.

Perry actually shows up twice co-writing two of the weakest tracks on the album I Do Not Hook Up (co-written by Kara DioGuardi) and Long Shot (co-written with Glen Ballard). Both songs are dumbed down and riddled with over reaching clichés, pretty much your token Katy Perry song. And Since U Been Gone isn’t the only song that gets recreated as Don’t Let Me Stop You starts up with the same noted as Behind These Hazel Eyes.

Things don’t get much listenable until the Clarkson written Already Gone. But keep in mind the song was co-written and produced by the dude from One Republic, so it is about as adventurous as your typical Musak track. Actually, Save You sounds like Stop and Stare in the beginning and features the “I wish we were Coldplay” riffs in it too. Two of the songs Kelly didn’t write with Ryan Tedder are a bit poppier, and better. In fact I Want You may be the best late nineties teen pop songs never written and even harkens back to the girl groups of the sixties.

The album ends on a high note with the Keri Noble scribed If No One Will Listen which Clarkson could have written herself after the debacle surrounding her last record. And is a much better balled than the overdramatic and over dramatic Cry which will probably polluting the airwaves for the year and a half. But it will be If No One Will Listen that American Karaokers will be butchering for years to come.

Song to Download – I Want You

All I Ever Wanted gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.