Customer Reviews

Dignity

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Don't be fooled by that sultry over-the-shoulder cover photo - Hilary Duff's third studio album bubbles with enthusiastic electro-pop rhythms that would inspire even hardened couch potatoes to take a turn on the dance floor.

First single "Play With Fire" is about a young woman who has gotten over a break-up, and has just encountered the former object of her affection. Though not the best song on the album, it has an infectious '80s style chorus which makes up for a slightly monotonous vocal performance. Second single "With Love" is another '80s retro track and is strictly for dancing, but all is forgiven with the third single "Stranger", which has an unusual Eastern influenced beat running through it. "Stranger" mixes up the rhythms and allows Duff to show a little more range, and the lyrics are also much better than the first two singles. The song is about a couple who appear perfect in public, but this image quickly dissipates when they are alone.

And now for the rest of the album -

The title track is a wickedly funny take on the young publicity-hungry starlets, hotties and heiresses doing the entertainment circuit, and is one of my favorite songs on this album. "Danger" is another track with an Eastern influence, but although I like the beat, the lyrics make me feel really old. (The song is about dating an older man, who was born in 1974 - this makes me archaic) "Gypsy Woman" is about a woman who breaks up a family, a short track which leads into the bouncy "Never Stop", a disco number reminiscent of "Knock on Wood".

The slower paced "No Work No Play" didn't do it for me, but I like how she does the chorus lines - "Let the clouds roll in and fill the sky / Get that melancholy feeling inside". "Between You and Me" is just more of the same old, same old, except for that "oompah oompah" tuba bit, and the intro for "Dreamer" (a song about a stalker) sounds just a bit Paris Hilton in delivery. "Happy" doesn't really come over that way, but it's about a girl getting over a bad relationship and feeling much better about herself. Rounding out the album are "Burned", "Outside of You" (the only song not co-written by Duff, with Pink and Chantal Kreviazuk doing the honors), and "I Wish".

An enjoyable, danceable, guilty pleasure album that you should buy for a teenager and borrow every once in a while.



Amanda Richards, April 11, 2007

After not having released an album with fully original material since 2004's self-titled sophomore disc, Ms. Duff delivers the surprisingly grown up 14-track dance/pop Dignity. While similar pop starlets went the dirty route when `maturing' the former Lizzie McGuire star sets out just to have fun. From the addictive beginning beats of "Stranger" to the rock and dance ending gem "Play With Fire", Dignity is purely pop fun that will keep your toes moving and head bobbing. Granted as most albums have, a few of the tracks are filler material. Rating: 4/5

Highlights:
Dignity - The title track is a playful stab at all the self-absorbed girls of Hollywood (Paris Hilton? Nicole Richie? Lindsay Lohan?). Stating "Where's your dignity? I think you lost in the Hollywood hills. Can't buy my respect, but you can pick up the bill." Truly a novelty song that flows with the rest of the fun. 4/5

With Love - The second single and one of the best on the entire album. With Love has a great beep and guitar hook, saying "You can be tough, say enough is enough, you can even be blunt... just do it with love." 5/5

Gypsy Woman - Basically scorns against loose woman who cheat with taken men and move on to the next one with no guilt. Duff claims it's about her father cheating on her mother. No matter who it's really about, Gypsy Woman is a song that will have you moving. 4.5/5

Happy - "I'm happy and I know that makes you sad, if it were up to you I'd be in my bed crying." Duff exclaims on the self-empowerment Happy. One of the more rock songs which delivers just as well. 4/5

Play With Fire - Noticeably produced by Will.I.Am, Play With Fire mixes dance and rock to deliver a fun anthem that can be blasted from your car radio... with only some shame. 5/5

Fillers:
Danger
No Work, All Play
Between You and Me

I used to buy Hilary Duff's music because her CDs were among the rare "clean" ones I could let my girls listen to. Her first two CDs (Metamorphosis and Hilary Duff) were bearable if the volume was turned down really low. Most Wanted was better due to talented sound engineering. When I bought Dignity I thought it would be more of the same, however this one is outstanding! I listen to this CD even when the kids aren't in the car. The music is good and the lyrics are intelligent (unlike most of her contemporaries.) She'll probably never have a great
singing voice, but Hilary's got class- unlike most of her contemporaries. Bob Dylan wasn't a good singer either.

I never thought in a million years Hilary Duff would make an album like this. She seemed to my like a bubble gum rock queen. So this Electro dance pop CD seems to have come out of nowhere. The results are fantastic.

The songs lyrically are her strongest, not to mention most personal. They are actually very interesting to listen too. For example, on the title tack, Dignity, anyone who has ever read a tabloid will know this song is about Nicole Richie. Stranger is obviously about her ex Joel Madden. Dreamer is about the stalker she took to court last year, while danger is about an older man making moves on her, which in Hollywood this song could be about a handful of sleazy men. Her voice is not any better than before, but that's not a problem with material such as this.

The key tracks: Dignity, Happy, Burned, Dreamer, Stranger, Out Of You, Gypsy Women, Never Stop, and I Wish.

Out of curiosity, I decided to give this album a spin, not really expecting much. What I heard was something completely unexpected, a Hilary Duff album which is both mature and infectious. The songs flow delicately, and the production is flawless. Each song has both a strong melody and a dance beat which will sketch itself into your mind. There is no doubt, the real stars of this show are the army of stealth producers who craft quite the sound for Hilary, ranging from over-the-top disco to hip-hop infused dance. Think Kylie, Scissor Sisters and recent Madonna and you'll have an idea of what to expect from the sound of this album.

Fans looking for the Hilary of hits such as 'So yesterday' and 'Come Clean' are advised to look elsewhere, as this effort is a real step forward for an artist who is becoming her own. Lyrically, Hilary shows strength particularly considering this was the first time she contributed so much to an album.

Highlights include: Stranger, With Love, Gypsy Woman (the best track on the album!), Burned, I Wish, Playing With Fire.


Don't deprive yourself of this album, Grab it now!!

"Dignity" is a new type of record from Hilary Duff. It's more dance than her pop/rock songs from years earlier. It also shows her maturity and growing up but still not too much. She co-wrote all the songs and also showed more ranges of vocals.

My Fave Songs:
1. Stranger
2. Happy
3. With Love

this is definatly hilary's best cd!! the songs are more for teens than little kids now so they are better. she sounds older, too. my favorite songs are gypsy woman, with love, and happy.

I just received this CD yesterday, and I absolutely love it! The songs are so catchy and it leaves you wanting to keep listening to them! Here are my ratings for the individual songs:

Stranger- 9.5/10- A strong opening song. A song with good lyrics, a nice melody and beat, and great instruments!
Dignity- 10/10- This song basically talks about major movie stars/singers (Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan) and how they've lost their dignity. A nice song, with good lyrics. It would do Hilton and Lohan good to listen to this song.
With Love- 10/10- A great song! I love the beat and the melody! A nice song and a great single.
Danger- 8.5/10- Not my favorite, but still good.
Gypsy Woman- 1000/10- THE BEST SONG ON THE WHOLE ALBUM!!!!!!! I love this song! It has good lyrics, an amazing and catchy melody, and a wonderful beat and some terrific instruments.
Never Stop- 9/10- I forgot how this song goes, so I'm just giving it a 9/10 (I'm sure it's a great song)!
No Work, All Play- 9.5/10- A fun song with good lyrics.
Between You And Me- 8/10- A fun song, but you should know that she says "d--n" in this song, and that's why it has a lowered rating.
Dreamer- 10/10- I love this song! There's some lines in here that are so funny! Great song.
Happy- 10/10- I love the opening of this song! I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!
Burned- 9/10- Fun song, with good lyrics! It sounds sort of mysterious!
Outside of You- 10/10- Love the beat and melody, and it's a great, upbeat, fun, and great song to dance to!
I Wish- 10/10- Another wonderful song.
Play With Fire- 8/10- I heard this song before it came out on this album, from "Material Girls" and it's not as good as the others. It's not bad, but it's not terrible. It's just good.

Overall, this is Hilary Duff's best album yet! She tried a new style and I just love this CD! Trust me, the moment you buy this CD, you'll be hooked!

Way to go! Hilary has found her sound of music finally! To tell you the truth this CD is a guilty pleasure. You gotta love it because truthfully it's good. Duff won me over this time and she proved me wrong. I love giving an artist with a CD that sucks another chance and this is several steps foward from "Most Wanted" or any other of her childish music. My mom told me about the release of this CD and I was surprised that Hilary was doing another album, I though she was done for good or just doing another "Most Wanted" for XX MONEY! But she actually got her act together and released a halfway decent CD! This album is her best, most mature album. It is worth the money especially because unlike "Most Wanted" all the songs are GREAT and NEW! Duff herself writes thirteen out of the fourteen soungs herself. The artwork and vibe of this album is nicer and more mature. The CD visually draws you in to the shiny text. It's here to tell you SHE'S BACK!!!!! I reccomend this disk to people who love Duff, or hate Duff because of previous CD's or her stupid ways, she has changed and this CD is a new begging and it's awsome.

She was an regular teen turned child tv star, then tv star to movie actress, then movie actress to singer. Hilary Duff is like an everchanging occupational chameleon. Her music has shifted from the peppy pop-rock jams of her 2003 megahit debut, Metamorphosis, to the darker vibe of the modest hit of her 2004 self-titled disc, and even to a fluffy, less than pleasing, pop-rock-electro mess of a sound (the few new tunes on her premature hits release, 2005's Most Wanted, that somewhere still managed to land her a 2nd #1 album, and third Platinum release). After the repeatitive disaster that was her late 2005 single, "Beat Of My Heart", Duff took a 1 1/2 year break from music, and it seems that the break may have saved her sound from sure destruction. Furthering the slight exploration of electronic pop from her last release, Duff has redefinded the genre of electro-pop in the US, and has possibly brought the common European sound Stateside for years to come.

Dignity opens with a surprise Bohemian twang, in an addictive beat sounding distinctly like quickly rising bubbles. When Duff's usually petite vocals begin, you're surprised to here a deep, sultry tone (though very much synthesized, it proves to be infinately more pleasing than the mouse-like vocals on Most Wanted, and more like her second or even first release). This opening track, titled "Stranger" talks of a love slipping away and not feeling the same warmth from them any longer. It proves to be very pleasing; a perfect mix of her album Hilary Duff and dance, setting a nice tone for the CD. Moving on to the title track, "Dignity", the music sounds once again like the perfect balance of Duff's previous albums, but in a fresh new spin. The song's stinging lyrics depict the tale of self-obsessed celebrities, even going so far as to state, "You'd show up to the opening of an envelope". This track proves all too pleasing, and appears even more dance-oriented than the latter. But, speaking too soon, comes the lead single "With Love". Starting off with a beeping beat and a quick, yet intense guitar, "With Love"'s quick chorus makes you wanna jump up and dance everytime, and provides one of the strongest bridges of the past few years.

It's apparent that Dignity is Duff's most mature release to date, but no one would have expected the extremely risky, yet satisfying "Danger" to come along. Sounding like a track from Britney Spear's In The Zone, "Danger" possesses a clear sexiness, quite a new concept for the 19-year-old. Moving on to the very revealing track, co-written with sister Haylie, "Gypsy Woman" talks about her father having an affair with such a woman, and breaking up their family (as supposedly stated in a 2007 People Magazine interview). More Bohemian noises come along, as well as deep lyrics, like "Gold and black stare brought the night of your demise", and an interesting beginning (most likely a sample from an old movie), that says "The battle of France is over" and Duff replying, "Congratulations. You've joined the ranks of all the rest". The mood changes yet again, with the quick, Jessica Simpson's A Public Affair-esque beat, "Never Stop", that is thoroughly pleasing in it's cheery nature.

The album hits it's first glitch with the less than perfect, out of place "No Work, All Play". The song is the slowest so far on the disc, and sounds very Californian beach, and while being good at some points, it's the least pleasing of the tracks. However, the quality returns with the "Never Stop" twin, "Between You And Me". A potential single, the only puzzling thing is that for the first time in Duff's song history, the title is not once mentioned throughout the lyrics. Nevertheless, it makes you want to jump out and dance in a crazy fit of joy. The album's cheer continues from here, with the tongue-and-cheek "Dreamer", about a supposed stalker (Possibly about Duff's actual 50-year old stalker that she and then boyfriend Joel Madden filed a restraining order against in 2006). Starting off with a cute "Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum...", and later giving the sarcastic lines "I go to bed and I wake up. Isn't that interesting? I brush my teeth and feed my dogs. Isn't that thrilling? It must be fun to follow me, pretending we're thing..." and stating "stop watching me!".

Finally, a mellow track graces the many minutes of Dignity, with "Happy" being slow and acoustic in the verses, but very strong in the "self-powered" lyrical chorus (the track appeared in the trailers for Duff's flop 2006 film, Material Girls, and unleaked for months, had been craved by fans until now). The only mistake is the clear presence of background singers and a manufactered voice on the lowest notes of the track, which Duff could probably never truly hit. The next track has an even darker feel, and while being lyrically strong, could be better overall, but "Burned" leaves you slightly satisfied.

Comes next is what I consider the best track on Dignity. "Outside Of You" desperately needs to be the next single off the album, as it's inspiringly happy chorus seems like a dancier, improved version of tracks from Duff's first disc. Not much more can be said, except that you'll continue to replay this to-the-point, positive tune.
"I Wish" is all around good, with a very distinct and simple beat, and continous melody all throughout, but may be forgotten after the brilliance of the previous track and of course, the failed "first" single, "Play With Fire" is still good all the same, but is dull when compared to the strength of the rest of Dignity.

After a difficult break-up, Duff taking charge of this album (co-writing every track except "Outside Of You") seems to have payed off, as the darkest break-up anthems are the strongest of all. And while her talent behind the studio doors is debated, she clearly can put on a show. Perhaps Duff should seek another bad relationship partner to messily break-up with, if it means such fantastically dark material as this.

Best Tracks: "Stranger", "Dignity", "With Love",
"Danger", "Between You And Me", "Outside Of You"

Score: 8.5/10