Album- Goodbye
Lullaby
Artist- Avril Lavigne
When she burst onto the musical scene in 2002 with her hit
song ‘Complicated’, Avril Lavigne quickly became a worldwide star and musical
role model for many people all over the world. The singer sold an impressive 17
million albums with her debut record Let Go, and follow up albums Under My Skin
and The Best Damn Thing equally had impressive global success. Yet with her
last record, Goodbye Lullaby, the singer has only managed to shift 1.5 million
copies of the record, a figure that pales in comparison to her previous
efforts. As Lavigne gears up to release her fifth studio record under a new label
and with such artists as Chad Kroeger and Marilyn Manson on board, I look back
at her previous studio effort to see if it actually was a bad record, or if
people should have paid Lavigne a little more attention.
Track 1- Black Star
Opening track Black Star is a short musical piece that acts
as a sort of inspiring song about being a black star but shining bright and
just being what you want to be. The song is backed by simple piano
instrumentation and finds Lavigne giving us a slightly airy vocal, opening the
record in both a sweet and deep way, and so although this track was written for
her perfume of the same name, it works beautifully for this record.
3.5/5
Track 2- What the
Hell
Lead single What the Hell is a collaboration with pop music
maestro Max Martin and is the most pop driven tune on the record. Lyrically the
track has a broad message of personal freedom as Lavigne sings of being good
all her life but now taking a I’m just going to do what I want attitude. The
lyrics have a breezy and catchy quality that is perfect for the children who
want to kind of rebel without actually rebelling. Vocally the singer gives us a
simple performance that is slightly whiny but ultimately fun and imbued with
this frivolous quality, whilst Max Martin gives us a cool sound to the track,
opening the song with a retro keyboard riff and then including hand claps and
guitars for a snappy rhythm that is quite infectious, and makes for a great pop
tune.
3.5/5
Track 3- Push
Push is a sweet pop tune that has more of a mellow groove
than the previous track and finds the singer focusing on relationships. The
lyrics of the song focus on how relationships are hard but that’s how love goes
and if you just push through things are great. Vocally Lavigne gives us a light
but passionate performance that builds in power, with co-writer Evan Taubfiled
providing some smooth vocals for the bridge. The production of the track is
kept very simple and almost understated with the light drumbeats and guitar
rhythms, and this just a perfect sweet love song that is touching and also
something you can just chill to.
4/5
Track 4- Wish You
Were Here
A slow song that brings some emotional intensity and
vulnerability to the album. Wish You Were Here finds the singer longing for her
lover. The song focuses on Lavigne being a fragile human being who wishes she
could have her former partner back, and would seemingly do anything for that to
happen. Lavigne gives us a vocal performance that is layered with emotion and
which beautifully brings out the emotional intensity of the track, whilst the
chorus is also really powerful in terms of the way that the lyrical repetition
is simply enough to really convey this powerful, delicate emotion. The simple
guitar strumming of the production is soft enough to elevate the songs
emotional intensity, and therefore with this track the singer nicely provides
musical diversity and emotion to the record.
3.5/5
Track 5- Smile
Things are taken to a more up tempo state with Smile,
another Max Martin collab that is feisty pop, although this song has slightly
more of a pop edge than What the Hell. Smile is another sweet tune that finds
Lavigne singing about the things that would make most people run away, but
praising her guy for sticking around and being able to put a smile on her face.
The fast paced tone of the lyrics allows for the vocal performance to be feisty
and energetic, with the chorus having a punch, attention grabbing tone that if
you are walking along listening to the song will kind of make you smile. Martin
provides some bite to the production with the drum rhythm and electric guitars,
and so this is just a fun pop rock tune that is light and fun enough to enjoy.
3.5/5
Track 6- Stop
Standing There
Described as having a 50’s girl group feel, Stop Standing There
is a mid tempo number that marks the first of many tracks on the record that
Lavigne wrote completely by herself. Lyrically the track focuses on Lavigne telling
this guy to just step up to the plate and say that he wants her so they can
really get a relationship going. The song finds the singer giving us a simple
vocal that is nicely layered and has this cute quality that is appealing,
whilst the track is lyrically smart and acts as a sort of anthem for all the
girls who have just wanted a guy to make a move on them. Backed by snappy
drumbeats and cool acoustic guitar, the songs sound keeps in line with the
mellow feeling of the record as a whole, and is nicely bot simple but snappy
enough to really get the point across, acting as a master class of how you
don’t have to create in your face music to be noticed.
3.5/5
Track 7- I Love You
The final Max Martin collaboration is a sweet pop tune that
is acoustically mellow and which is lyrically encapsulated within its title.
Here Lavigne sings about different things that are good about her beau, but
through the chorus she focuses on how that she just loves him at the end of the
day for simply being him. The simplicity of the lyrics give the song this
sincerity that is quite touching, and the ‘la la la’ hook adds more sweetness
to the track that is very catchy, making this a good this is our song for some
couples out there. With her light and airy vocal performance Lavigne makes this
a believable tune whilst still adding this deep quality to the track, and with
Martin providing a nice mix of vibrant acoustic guitar, steady drumbeats and an
overall shimmering sheen to the songs sound, this song acts as a final stamp of
how pairing Lavigne and Martin was a good idea.
3.5/5
Track 8- Everybody
Hurts
From the sweetness of the last track we take a bit of a u
turn as this song is firmly embedded in the notion of heartbreak, although at
the center remains this essence of hope. The song has an almost narrative
quality through the lyrics, where Lavigne describes feelings of uncertainty
after her partner has left her, but ultimately coming to the conclusion that
feeling this pain is ok because everyone will feel it. The track is slightly
lyrically clichéd, but the universal essence of the chorus makes the song
slightly more relatable and catchy. Lavigne gives us a slightly gravelly in
places but ultimately delicate vocal that imbues the song with a power
emotional intensity that really captures you. Production wise the song is
nicely backed by acoustic guitar and drums that is a bit deeper compared to the
previous tracks and which adds to the songs intensity, creating a track that
encapsulates heartbreak that the listener can feel, but ultimately instilling
hope into the listener.
3.5/5
Track 9- Not Enough
Keeping with the emotional intensity of the previous track,
Not Enough finds Lavigne singing about the end of a relationship where this man
has not been giving his all in the relationship, and so it is time to just call
things a day. The songs lyrical repetition is a bit annoying and some clichés
are employed, but the simple power of the chorus’ main statement is good and
catchy. Vocally the singers voice is rich in terms of the lightness of the
vocals that give the track this delicacy, although at times she does come across
as a bit like a teenager in the throes of first love and so doesn’t feel as
mature as the previous track. Backed by steady drumbeats and twinkling guitar
rhythms, the production value of the track is good but also a little bit
familiar, and so it is at this point that the quality of the record seems to
dip slightly.
3/5
Track 10- 4 Real
Beginning the first of a stretch of songs that Lavigne wrote
by herself, 4 Real is another sweet love driven song where Lavigne sings about
being real and feeling strongly about this boy, asking him if he feels the same
way. The lyrics don’t have the catchiness of the previous tracks, and come
across to much like a young Lavigne being too clichéd. The vocals also have too
much of a simple youthful flair, and the delicate guitar strumming wears thin
at this point, leaving us wanting more from the record.
2/5
Track 11- Darlin
Darlin is a slightly weird track on the record in that it
was actually written by Lavigne when she was just 15 years old. But with the
more mellow and acoustic feeling of this record, it makes sense to have this
song on the record, whilst the tight structure and polish of the lyrics shows
that Lavigne is quite the accomplished songwriter. The song finds Lavigne
telling this boy to let go as she just wants to love him and have him be happy.
The song is lyrically sweet and is given gravitas by the light but passionate
quality of Lavigne’s vocal performance. The songs production is a sound that is
slightly familiar, but guitars and strings have a deeper, more impression
leaving quality, and when the drums begin the song really becomes a powerful
music piece that shows at 15 years old Lavigne was really good, or that now she
can really make songs work for her.
3.5/5
Track 12- Remember
When
Things are brought down to a much deeper and emotional level
with this track that acts as a reminiscing tune that ultimately brings this
sense of closure in a weird way. Lavigne lyrically focuses on asking this prson
if they can remember the times that they had together, but ultimately she can’t
take this memories and feelings and is just going to run from them. The songs
message is very potent and is given more power by the fragility that the singer
showcases in her vocals, with the way the singer stresses certain lyrics really
giving the song this impression leaving quality. Production wise the song really
builds from this delicate piano led ballad to an epic pop rock tune with almost
stadium drums and feisty guitar riffs that really create an emotional sound,
giving us song that is nice and feels ultimately very personal.
Track 13- Goodbye
Goodbye is the second of two tracks that the singer also
produced herself aside from writing the lyrics herself. Goodbye is a great song
to end the record with, as it’s emotional and heartfelt essence shows how
Lavigne has become quite the master of her musical craft. The song simply finds
the singer continually saying goodbye to her former lover, and although she is
sad, she knows that she has to go, but he should know that in some way she will
always love him. The simple quality of the word goodbye is really emotionally
powerful, and the singers vocals are really layered with this delicacy and
intensity that feels powerful to listen to. With the delicacy of the strings,
guitar and piano, the sound perfectly matches the intensity of what the singer
is singing about, and so this is a vulnerable and quite gorgeous way to the end
the record, with the track finishes with this beautiful orchestral moment that
is quite moving.
3.5/5
Track 14- Alice
(hidden track)
Hidden track Alice is actually sort of a bonus track in that
this song acted as a bridge between the singer’s last studio album and latest
record. Recorded as the theme song for the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, the
song is written and sung from the perspective of the main character of that
film, Alice. Lyrically the song is about Alice being in wonderland and getting
confused by the world she finds herself in, but she will ultimately get by. The
song perfectly encapsulates the films narrative, and Lavigne vocally makes this
a powerful tune as the gives us a fragile but powerful vocal performance that
does indeed feel like we are listening to the main character sing. The
production of the track is simple pop rock territory but is strong and moody
enough to make this a strong theme tune, and so whilst it may be your typical
mid tempo pop rock ballad, it is still some stellar work from the singer.
3.5/5
Final Review
Goodbye Lullaby is an assured album from the singer than
finds her in a comfortable place musically. The more organic musical essence of
the albums sound nicely suits the singers voice, and with many of the tracks we
get this nice sense of the singer being a bit more personal within her work.
The record is also nicely cohesive and is balanced with up tempo and down tempo
tracks. Sometimes the singers voice is a little grating and the lyrics feel
slight clichéd, but it takes a lot to make an album really good, and this still
feels like a powerful record as a whole. She may have grown up and so that
might just be why people aren’t buying the record, because they have grown up
and moved on, but Lavgine deserved more attention with this record, and it it
should have reached at least gold status if not platinum. Particularly when it
sound a bit like a conglomeration of her previous records and so covers a lot of
bases.
8/10
Best Track- Push
Worst Track- 4 Real
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