21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A nice start from Angel!, August 28, 2004
This review is from: Believe in Angels Believe in Me (Audio CD)
I vaguely remember the JIVE Records recording group No Secrets, and I never heard any music from that group, so I wasn't familiar with Angel. So as far as I know, Angel was the lead-singer for that girl group. I read some things about Angel online, and heard some snippets of the album, so I decided to pick it up.
I was very impressed! Angel was very fortunate to work with some great producers, like the Matrix and the Wizard of Oz. Angel's voice is very mature for her age, and glides through most of the songs smoothly, with the occasional revealing of vocal limits on a couple songs. The album is full of high-energy pop gems, and quite a few really stand out from the countless unimpressive tunes in the pop world today, which, surprising, Angel stays clear from.
After music from Britney, Christina, BSB, and *NSYNC, labels started signing a BUNCH of ill-fated, manufactured pop singers and groups, with songs that were too over-produced, badly written, and thrown out to the public. This is when the whole pop world starting becoming too much. This is about the time I started driving away from the pop world. While really poppy music isn't my thing anymore, this release is actually quite good, and I could see some potential in these songs.
The album starts out with the energized "Believe In Angels" which shows off Angel's awesome vocal skills, at surprisingly only 16 years old. "Believe In Angels" is a great opener for the album, and my favorite song on the album. "Lessons In Love" delivers some clever lyrical rhymes and a small rap from an unknown rapper, which should've been left out. "Wild Guess" is more of a suggestive, sexier song with a very upbeat chorus. "Once Upon Our Time," one of the Matrix produced tracks, really stands out with its powerful, catchy, vocally-driven chorus. The album tones down slightly with "Chinese Whispers", and is followed by "Mama's Little Girl," and really picks up again with the lead single "Just The Way That I Am." I think "That's Just The Way I Am" is an okay song, pretty predictable and not so original. I think a different lead single should've been chosen. "Three Small Words" and "Angel" I wasn't too particularly fond of. I think a ballad should have been added around this time, because the album starts to feel too upbeat. "Love Is" is a little more of a mellow song, which I do like... a nice addition to the album. It reminded me of Hilary Duff's "Love Just Is." "Love Is" followed by the beautiful ballad "To Forgive You," which the great classical piano ballad sound. "To Forgive You" is the only ballad on the album. The album closes with "You Release Me" which offers a great production track, but the lyrics are a little too cliché, but a nice closure for the album.
Overall, the album is nothing revolutionary, but has it's moments. A couple filler tracks here and there, and the occasional stumbling upon some trite lyrics, but overall a good pop album. I wish a few more ballads were added into the mix to kind of even out the album a little more. Also, for Angel's next album, I hope she goes in more of a edgier sound, or more R&B, as poppy music isn't the sound anymore.
My grade : B-
At this pace, Angel just might be here to stay!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Impressive, April 1, 2006
This review is from: Believe in Angels Believe in Me (Audio CD)
Angel's debut album did nothing but shock me. All the songs and lyrics are very meaningful and captivating. Angel has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard either; definitely having a voice of an Angel. Me being a huge fan of No Secrets, I was definitely going to get this album no matter what. But the album was definitely better than expected. She does not lip sync, Angel Faith is her real name, and she IS a very good role model. Do not believe everything you hear.
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