Customer Reviews

Anything Is Possible

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After buying this album when it first came out and being initially disappointed with the results, I realize now that I wanted Debbie to continue to sound exactly like "Out of the Blue" and "Electric Youth." She couldn't because not only was the music changing so much in the early 1990's (as a previous reviewer pointed out) but so was Debbie. The main problem was her fans, and especially the media, were stuck in a time warp.

So while Debbie forged ahead, everyone else was lagging behind, looking for the sound of a 16 year-old kid instead of welcoming the maturing sound of a 20 year-old woman. Shame on us.

I listen to "Anything Is Possible" every now and again and find myself enjoying it just as much "Out of the Blue" and "Electric Youth." It's only now that I'm able to appreciate Debbie's growth as a musician and producer.

I'm glad to see other folks like this as much as her other work.

Debbie Gibson / Anything Is Possible
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1990
Track Title
1. Another Brick Falls
2. Anything Is Possible
3. Reverse Psychology
4. One Step Ahead
5. Stand Your Ground
6. Deep Down
7. It Must've Been My Boy
8. Lead Them Home My Dreams
9. One Hand, One Heart
10. Sure
11. Negative Energy
12. Mood Swings
13. Try
14. In His Mind
15. Where Have You Been?
16. This So-Called Miracle

Contrary to what the other reviewers said, I enjoy this album thoroughly. Even though this album would be considered "uncharacteristic" to many D.G. fans, D.G. shows "another side" of herself. On the NRG UP (first side) of the album, she performs songs with "a little pop infused with r&b and hip hop." I was impressed by her rhyming skills and, of course, her positive messages thoroughout (Title Track, Stand Your Ground, Another Brick Falls etc.) that inspire me. On the Mood Swings (second side) of the album, she performs mostly catchy ballads-I enjoy the digital keyboard "feel" of Negative Energy the most. In addition, Lamont Dozier, a songwriter of MOTOWN fame, co-produces a couple of the tracks on the album (You might've seen him on "American Idol" this past season as a co-host!). All in all, Deborah proved that she had the guts to risk an "untraditional" album.

This came out at the start of the 90's when the music was changing. I didn't care for a lot of the stuff in the early 90's; I preferred the music from Debbie's first 2 albums. Some of the songs on this album are catchy and positive but never had the impact that "Out of the Blue" "Foolish Beat" "No More Rhyme" or "Lost In Your Eyes" had on me from her first two albums.
I guess when I bought it I liked it a lot because I'd play it over and over, and her upbeat songs really encouraged me. Thanks to Debbie doing songs like "Stand Your Ground" and "Anything is Possible" and I can't remember the other song it says something about "energy up" (I didn't listen to that album as avidly as her first two), well those upbeat songs inspired me to buckle down and apply myself in school, and as a result I totally brought my grades up that year. That's what I remember about Debbie's "Anything Is Possible" influince on me!

I just recently purchased this cd here off Amazon, I think this one is out of print, only because I wanted Deb's best ballad ever, "One Hand, One Heart." They should have released this song back then as the first single, I'm sure it would have gone to the top! Why they chose the title track is beyond me!
I love songs with pianos as the main focus and it is simple, her voice and the piano. I don't really care about the rest of the album, buy it for this great ballad!

She is a very talented lady, unfortunatly the early 90s doomed a lot of great artists, I think a lot of people were shafted back in the early 90s. This album went gold but it is quickly forgotten because Anything is Possible only charted at 26, Debbie is talented but I suggest "Electric Youth".

I think that this is an excellent CD to own if your a fan of Debbie Gibson all the songs are cool and they sound great also,it's a great album to have in your collection if you into collecting music.

"Electric Youth" is still the Debster's greatest album, but "Anything is Possible" works excellently as an introduction to some mature teen-pop. When I listen to this, I'm reminded of just how vacuous teen pop is, in this day and age. Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were light years ahead of their time, and imagine - they didn't have to take their clothes off to sell records! Of all the albums from the teen-pop brigade, I find this to be the most clean and decent, for various reasons. Its also the Debbie Gibson album with the most musical variety - pop, hip-hop, and even soul and Motown. This is literally a record that everyone can love, and it's a pity that this gem is currently out of print and relegated to bargain bins across the world.

The title track (for which there exists an obscure video!) is surely the best thing here. Listen to this on a great sound system and marvel at the sophisticated production. The channeling and multi-layering of Debbie's voice (especially during the verses) are wonderful. Equally addictive is "Another Brick Falls", with an infectious synthesizer opening that you will be humming for days. But there is a gospel-tinged number "Deep Down" that is clearly the most accomplished thing on this record. And the album also contains Debbie's best ballad - "One Hand One Heart" (what a song! What lyrics!), and the slinky, groovy "Negative Energy" (another one of those very catchy pop songs that only Debbie could write).

If you are at all a pop fan, and at some stage loved the teen-pop genre (and who secretly didn't?), then you should search this one out and get a copy of it for your collection. Commercially it marked the end of Debbie's career on the Billboard Charts, but this was a personal and musical high for her. There are only three five star teen-pop albums from the late 1980s to early 1990s - Tiffanys' debut CD, "Electric Youth" by Gibson, and this one.

For the record, even though this album was a failure - numerous videos were made for all the singles - chances are you never saw them the first time around, but they are easily available online.

Highly Recommended.

i love this album. it has some very good songs on it. i like the songs anything is possible, one hand one heart,one step ahead,and another brick falls. i think you will enjoy this if you pick it up.

This is a great (underrated) concept album. The first eight songs are called "NRG Up" & the last eight songs are called "Mood Swings". The "NRG Up" tunes are danceable pop music from 1990. I love "Another Brick Falls" even though it's a blatant ripoff of "Electric Youth." The hit single "Anything Is Possible", & "It Must've Been My Boy" were co-written, produced, & arranged by Deborah & legendary 1960's Motown writer Lamont Dozier. This was an odd musical coupling, but it works. "It Must've Been My Boy" has a 60's feel to it, so Deborah's paying homage to that type of music which she loves. The "Mood Swings" songs are in the ballad/adult contemporary vein showing a more mature Deborah than her first two albums. Her talent for writing this type of music came in full effect later with the release of her fantastic album "Think With Your Heart" in 1995. Out of these songs I like "One Hand, One Heart", "Sure", "Try", & the sexy sounding "Where Have You Been?" "This So-Called Miracle" is a bloated 7:28 minutes long & sounds very over-produced. Most of the songs on this generous 16-track album have stood the test of time. Unfortunately, this is the case because the album got lost in the shuffle of changing musical tastes as the 1990's emerged. So you can play it now, & it sounds dated yet fresh at the same time because radio didn't play these tunes ad nauseam (like Madonna's early music) until they made you sick of them. Deborah Gibson = A CLASS ACT!