Monday, October 22, 2012

Insipid Jailbait: Mandy Moore's Overproduced Eponymous Album


The Good: Some moments that suggest Moore might be worthwhile as an artist or performer
The Bad: Most of the lyrics, music and production of Mandy Moore
The Basics: Mandy Moore defies any sense of creativity, originality or use of the voice of Mandy Moore to provide an album that is standard, dull and disappointing.


At the turn of the Millennium the pop-rock radio waves were dominated by boy bands and solo white female acts that I have lumped together in a movement I call the Blonde Revolution. The faces of the Blonde Revolution that endured musically and succeeded the most were Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Jessica Simpson. In the mix as well was a young performer named Mandy Moore. Her big song was "Candy" and many pegged her for a one-hit wonder. Mandy Moore continued to endure past the two albums with "Candy" on them and she released a third album entitled Mandy Moore.

This is a problematic album, as far as I am concerned. Fundamentally, the problem starts with the title and goes from there. Whenever an artist releases an album with their name, it seems like the album ought to be about them or what they believe embodies them. In short, a title to a book, movie or c.d. frames the experience. Eponymous c.d.s then ought to be reserved for an artist's masterpiece or an anthology of the artists' choices of their greatest works at the end of their career. Mandy Moore does not do justice to the young woman Mandy Moore as represented in interviews and who I enjoyed quite a bit in the film American Dreamz (reviewed here!).

One of my big complaints in this regard would have to be that Moore herself did not write any of the material on the album. How can you call something yours if you are not responsible for its lyrical content, music or production? I once made a c.d. of my life where I took various music and media clips and wove it together to make a concise album. I even engineered a track of my own. Mandy Moore does not even do that much on Mandy Moore.

Mandy Moore shows up and sings. The regrettable thing about this is I can barely comment on her voice, the album is so overproduced. I would like to assume she has a great voice, but the truth is there is so much going on in regard to music, bass lines and background vocals that it's unclear when Moore is singing how strong her voice is. Moreover, with the musical jumble that backs her up, her words are not always the clearest. I had to listen to her dance track opener "In My Pocket" a number of times before I could decipher that Moore was singing "Nothing but PENNIES in my pocket . . ." Don't even guess what I thought she was singing prior to that!

Over the thirteen tracks on Mandy Moore, I found very little good to say about it. The writing is not terribly strong, which I suppose makes it more appropriate for young Moore to be singing. While there is nothing quite so juvenile as "Candy," songs like "Cry" make me wonder why people I respect respect Moore for her singing career. She sings lines like "In places no one would find / All your feelings so deep inside / [Which I like!] It was then that I realized / That forever was in your eyes / The moment I saw you cry. . . " on "Cry." There was a moment in high school when a friend of mine explained that the reason he hated the song "Life Is A Highway" was that the singer only wanted to live to morning ("Life is a highway / I want to drive it all night long"). In a similar fashion, "Cry" irked me; the narrator could only see sticking with a partner once they cried? That's just sad!

I will say that I generally like "Crush." Moore sings it earnestly and with all of the Blonde Revolution songs that focus on love, it is refreshing to hear one sing that all they've got in one instance is a crush. And despite some of the predictable rhymes in it (strong/wrong), I liked the album's closer, "When I Talk To You" for the lyrics. Moore sings about a relationship falling apart and how when speaking with her partner, she does not feel like they are connecting any longer. It's a bit more mature than some of the other songs that she and other Blonde Revolution performers sing.

But her "hit" off Mandy Moore is just a cheap dance number. "In My Pocket" is over produced with the intent to get the listener to dance. It's a club song and it is nothing more. It appeals to the ideal demographic which seems to be defied by the song "17." "17" is a lyrical jumble of a song that shifts like a multiple personalitied patient between the impulse to love an apparently older or otherwise inappropriate person ("Some people tell me that I should stay away / Maybe I will . . . some other day") and the virtues of remaining young and chaste ("Think I made my mind up / I got time to grow up / Face responsibility / Livin' for the moment / Keepin' my heart open / While I'm only 17. . ."). Ultimately, the song does not make sense.

This bewildering quality extends to the packaging of the c.d. and Moore, which is worth mentioning for an album that bears her name. The front and back cover of the c.d. display a headshot and a respectable image of Mandy Moore. She presents herself on those surfaces as a serious young woman who is not so much selling herself as providing an image for reference for the fans. I can live with that. Inside, however, the photographs are very different. In the liner notes, Moore is grooving out in an outfit that is overtly sexy (black, double slits, plunging neckline) and posing an a suit without a shirt or bra. I can live with those photos as well. The cumulative effect, though, is ridiculously inconsistent. Does Moore want to be young, vibrant, sexual or a serious artist? Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but at a certain age range, female artists are either depending on selling themselves using the quality of their art (Michelle Branch, for example) or trading on sex appeal (Christina Aguilera).

Perhaps Moore will grow into an artist with her own voice, her own discernible style and quality. It is not evident on Mandy Moore, though. The best track is the vocal and earnest "Crush," the lowest point is the problematically obvious "It Only Took A Minute."

For other works that Mandy Moore was involved in, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Tangled
Southland Tales
Saved!
The Princess Diaries

3.5/10

For other music reviews, be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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