retroblog.net

You have to admire Mandy Moore for sticking to her guns and creating the music she wants to make. I’m pretty sure Moore had some opposition when she decided to turn her back on being a “Britney-clone” to immerse herself in the retro-realm of 70’s singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Harry Nilsson. You could just imagine all of her advisors setting up meetings with pie-charts and graphs displaying the vast decrease in media exposure by not going the pop-princess route. I personally thought it was some sort of gimmick when she released her Coverage album back in 2003. I really couldn’t fathom someone who sang the pop tune “Candy” would be so into the works of Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and Elton John. But after Wild Hope in 2007 and now her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, she has proven to me that she has been pretty sincere about her influences.

I’ve been listening to Amanda Leigh for a month now and I’m taken by how effortlessly melodic the songs are. I believe a lot of the credit has to go to Mike Viola. The melodies, the chord progressions and instrumentation are very well done here. The album is a full-on homage to all those 70’s artists Moore seems to love so much, right down to the sound of the recordings and even the use of the harpsichord (which you don’t hear much on recordings these days). The album opens with what I’d consider the best song in the set, “Merrimack River”. The song is so strong, Viola and Moore decided to include a reprise of the melody later on in the album. It’s good to hear Moore’s voice having more depth and nuance than in previous efforts. She still doesn’t have the vocal chops of others in her field but I’m glad to see the development nonetheless. As a big Todd Rundgren fan, I can hear the Todd influences (intentional or not) in songs like “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week” and “Indian Summer”. Other highlights include “Fern Dell” and her collaboration with Lori Mckenna, “Everblue”.

RetroGrade: B+

Amanda Leigh by Mandy Moore
released: May 2009
label: Storefront

TrackList:
1 Merrimack River (Moore, Viola) 4:26
2 Fern Dell (Moore, Viola) 3:02
3 I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week (Moore, Viola) 2:50
4 Pocket Philosopher (Moore, Viola) 3:15
5 Song About Home (George, Moore, Viola) 3:57
6 Everblue (Mckenna, Moore) 4:13
7 Merrimack River (Reprise) (Viola) 0:58
8 Love to Love Me Back (George, Moore, Viola) 4:14
9 Indian Summer (George, Moore, Viola) 2:23
10 Nothing Everything (Moore, Viola) 4:23
11 Bug (Moore, Viola) 2:16

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Merrimack River live for Walmart Soundcheck

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(more…)

after watching I Am Mandy Moore last night on cable, it’s a bit sobering to learn that Mandy Moore’s much promoted album, Wild Hope, only sold a mere 65,354 copies (as of Aug07 according to various soundscan sources).
OK, you’re probably asking why I was even watching the one-off “reality” special in the first place. honestly, I wanted a bit more insight on how she put her latest album together but what was shown instead was a whiny, insecure actress posing as some sort of singer/songwriter touring the small club circuit. the cameras followed her during her initial promotional tour for the new album and revealed very little in terms of the creative aspect behind the album. instead the main focus of the whole special was how “exhausting” a promotional tour can be. boo-hoo! a bad decision by the director/producers of the show. they should have realized that the average viewer will NOT sympathize with a celebrity moaning on and on about how tiring it is to be at a photo shoot or at a TV interview.

the lone highlight, as even her manager pointed out on the show, was a sequence of clips of sweet, innocent Mandy dropping F-bombs at various times. sadly, watching a cute actress swearing on camera only takes you but so far.

along those same lines, it’s probably why i like Nothing That You Are
check out her bitter lyrics..

Somebody told me they saw you somewhere
Somebody hold me
‘Cause suddenly I’m in the cold
Well I must be mistaken it was somebody else
I know you all too well or do I?

I heard you say we were one and the same
Well, wrong again
I could never do those things you did to me
I will be okay in time you’ll fade
Into the nothing that you are, the nothing you are
The nothing you are..
-written by Mandy Moore and James Renald

extraordinary? ..not so much. more toward the ordinary if you ask me. i do have to give her props for not giving in to pressure from record executives and staying true to her own vision. and what is her own vision, you ask? well, from listening to Wild Hope I would have to say something in the realm of 70’s era Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac. essentially bland retro-folk-singer-songwriter type music. it’s very surprising to hear if you remember her days as a teen-pop idol. the changeover happened around 2003 with her covers album called Coverage. She recorded music by artists like Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and John Hiatt. when you start from there, you can see that Wild Hope is an extention from that album. where the album falters basically boils down to material. half of the 12 tracks are simply not that memorable. songs like Can’t You Just Adore Her?, Gardenia and Ladies Choice may be suited for background music at your local coffee shop but they just don’t stand on their own with repeated listening. that being said, the album’s not all bad. there are a few standouts, including Looking Foward to Looking Back, Extraordinary, Wild Hope and Nothing That You Are. Nothing That You Are is most notable for being a homage to Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and the rest of Fleetwood Mac. the tom-tom work on the drums, the backing harmonies, the bass guitar work during the verses and the guitar solos all scream FLEETWOOD MAC and fortunately it all works for the tune. there’s a great hook in the chorus and as an extra bonus we all get to hear sweet lil’ Mandy Moore sing the line “I hope you burn in hell”. priceless. probably worth getting the disc just for that one song.

Track List:
1. Extraordinary
2. All Good Things
3. Slummin’ In Paradise
4. Most Of Me
5. Looking Forward To Looking Back
6. Few Days Down
7. Nothing That You Are
8. Wild Hope
9. Latest Mistake
10. Can’t You Just Adore Her?
11. Ladies Choice
12. Gardenia

view the video for Extraordinary on youtube.

The electronic press kit for the new album is viewable there as well.