All I Ever Wanted

I am accused by many people of having a, shall we say, bizarre taste in music. Yes, I will admit that I lean towards music that is on the edges of bizarre, but I happen to like what I like. That does not mean, however, that I do not enjoy some pop music. Take Kelly Clarkson for example. I just like her. Maybe it is because she has a great personality and just has an amazing voice. There is just something about her that I cannot not like (sorry for the double negative).

I was probably one of the few people who actually liked her last cd My December. Yes, it was darker and less commercial than her previous two cds, but there was a nice bit of honesty associated with it, and it was refreshing. Here new cd is a return to the more "popular" Kelly, but it is still pretty good. It's a little more produced than I would normal care for, but it highlights her voice very well. I just hope that she finds a way to combine the popular Kelly with the more spirited, individual Kelly. Once she gets there, I think she will start making truly excellent music.

She comes out of the gate with her guns blazing on single "My Life Would Suck Without You." Although it is a basically a facsimile of "Since U Been Gone" it is stll a pretty good song. Following close behind is the Katy Perry penned "I Do Not Hook Up" which is a good one/two punch into her first ballad "Crazy." Again, this song shows that Kelly has one of the strongest voices in the business.

The rest of the album swings between these blasts of pop fury and lower key balladry. My favorites include "If I Can't Have You" a New Order rush of electro-punk pop; "Impossible" which starts off almost in Yeah Yeah Yeahs territory with a staccato guitar line, until it builds into a mid-tempo piano ballad with another typical strong vocal performance; and "Tip Of My Tongue" an extra track on the deluxe edition which is a nice Timbaland/Neptunes-esque track.

I would definitely give the effort a solid B. I hope she can really find her true voice on her next album and not make something that seems so made by committee. But I think her voice and personality are too strong for her to remain a passive participant in her own career.