Customer Reviews

A Little More Personal (Raw)

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2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

Four ROCKING Stars!! Lindsay, Rocks! On my third pass thru 'my first' LL CD, she gains another star. And it gets better and better. Her beautiful rangy voice is on target, while still leaving 'room to grow' for the future, which is bright based on this CD. (Had to delete my previous review b/c Amazon won't let you upgrade star ratings any other way.)

Her dad is obviously on her mind as she deals, not two, but to my ears, four savvy songs in his direction, reaching out and looking back at the same time. And she's not beyond covering some pretty well known songs from the past, from none other than Stevie Nicks and Cheap Trick, with personal versions of a whirlwind "Edge of Seventeen" and a tricky "I Want You To Want Me", both are totally enjoyable.

My personal favorites are the title track: "A Little More Personal", It just plain rocks hard; "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)"; "If It's Alright" is fiery and wonderful; and "Who Loves You" and "A Beautiful Life" are incandescent, full of intensity. WoW ! What a voice!!

The 'Piece D'Resistance' is a poignant, rocking ballad called "My Innocence". She generates a great deal of heat and emotion, while pushing the song hard. A rocking, bluesy ballad that deserves a place on my special cassette tape. It's a keeper!

I think Lindsay Lohan is well on her way to being a big force in the singing world, if that's what she wants. Let's hope so! Good for you, Lindsay, keep steppin' up your game. Highly Recommended!!' Four ROCKING Stars.

(NOTE: This review is based on the 14 track ITunes CD download: track 13 is a digital booklet with song verses and 8 great pictures, track 14 is a remix of "Confesssions...". This downloading is great.)

It seems rather apparent to me that people en masse are trying to fool Amazon's customers into purchasing A Little More Personal (Raw), Lindsay Lohan's second album. Food for thought ... maybe these people work at the record label that signed Lindsay Lohan? So many reviewers with only one review to their credit, some with similar names (Marta Loosky AND Marta Laloosky? Hmmmm...), and all of them basically talking about how deep and daring this is, and how Lohan is the greatest singer and songwriter of all time. Some even mention "even though I normally don't listen to pop music, this album is amazing!!!". Let's shed some light on this, shall we?

First, start by looking at the credits for the album, where Lohan gets co-write credits for 7 of the 12 tracks. However it must be emphasized that she is working alongside professional songwriters - song doctors, if you will. And the sound is what you would expect from a batch of songs written by said song doctors - predictable, glossy, and incredibly bland and commercial. Lyrically, there is little depth to be found - seriously, how could you call the shameless I-hate-you-Daddy rants of "Confessions Of A Broken Heart" or "My Innocense", the corny bubblegum of "Who Loves You", or the "I'm a celebrity and no one understands me" sentiments expressed on many of the other songs, deep and profound? Musically, this is not "dark, moody and grunge-like", as described by some, but instead is not drastically different from the debut. Much like the equally weak Ashlee Simpson's album, the songs are basically in a number of varieties, provided it's a style with proven sales success (but would you expect anything more from an actress, and one that's about on the level with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Tara Reid at that?). You've got your garden-variety Avril Lavigne-styled power pop, your Britney Spears-esque dance numbers, and a debut single which is piano-pop so weak that it makes Vanessa Carlton look like Tori Amos. We haven't even discussed Lohan as a vocalist - which is her main contribution, after all. Her voice is thin and raspy, tends to crack at times, and seems to be digitally corrected at some points - with the studio technology that we have today, anyone can become a popular singer, regardless of whether they have talent or not. You have to look at Lohan from the perspective of the record company - her name is marketable right now thanks to the success of a few movies she has appeared in. This means the record label has to do a lot less work to promote her than they would someone who has toiled as a recording artist for years and has limited radio exposure. In my opinion this is unfortunate, because thanks to people like Lohan, a lot of excellent musicians are without recording contracts because these labels would rather go for the quick buck. Why would you encourage people to support someone like this?

Regardless of your favorite genre of music, I can't recommend A Little More Personal (Raw). Even by commercial pop's modest standards, this album suffers from weak vocals, mostly hookless songwriting (the only two memorable songs are the Cheap Trick and Stevie Nicks covers), bland music and ridiculous cliches (Lohan saying "I like it when people talk beginning a song" on the album's title track). You can do better anywhere else, whether it's pop (Kelly Clarkson), reggae (Sean Paul, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley), hip-hop (Juelz Santana, Paul Wall), or rock (Korn, System Of A Down). I also highly recommend the new Darkness album, One Way Ticket To Hell .. And Back. Check this album out instead - you won't be disappointed!

I LOVE this album.. It is such an inspiring and deep album. Huge score for Lindsay in my book. She has surpassed Hilary Duff, and Ashlee Simpson and now sits as the most mature and most developed of the Teen Pop Queens. Delivering an inspiring album beyond her years, Lindsay has MUCH success ahead of her.

This is an awesome album! Run...don't walk to buy it (I did) and believe me it's worth it! L.Lo rocks out on this album with personal songs like secret windows into her life, you'll definitely feel deep and fall in love with this CD. I'm surprised but so proud that she seems to be coming into her own style of music, instead of just dishing out the same been said a million Xs before type pop songs..(as everyone else seems to be doing). Just get it, ASAP!
My favorite songs so far
1.Confessions of a Broken Heart
2. Black Hole
3.I Live for the Day
4.My Innocence
5.A Little More Personal
6. If it's Alright
7.If You Were Me
8. Edge of Seventeen
9.A Beautiful Life (and that's more then 1/2 of the album so it's definitely worth the buy!

A good album to sing along to, Lindsay's sophomore release is perhaps best downloaded (LEGALLY please :-) ) as individual tracks after you listen to clips online. A lot of the songs are mediocre, but the good ones are REALLY good. As in, I had them on REPEAT for weeks. The breakdown:
1. "Confessions of a Broken Heart": powerful retelling of her broken relationship with her father. Memorable chorus. 8/10.
2. "Black Hole": Very relatable "why did you change, we're not in love anymore" breakup-ish song. Some of the lyrics don't rhyme, which seems kind of like a lack of effort on the writers' part, and some seem cliche: "I don't need those sneakers or that money after all/I'll trade them for an old message you called." Average to kind of good--6/10.
3. "I Live For the Day": Catchy, uptempo rock-y song, one of my favorites. About wanting your ex back and also wanting him to pay for what he did. 9/10
4. "I Want You to Want Me": a cover. Personally, I think the vocals here are a tiny bit weak. 4/10
5. "My Innocence": I guess you'd call it a rock ballad? Again talking about her father. Like somebody else said, reminds me of Christina Aguilera's "Fighter" but slower and a little sweeter. Some of the lyrics are weak: "You took my innocence away/I never had a chance to/You broke me in with your mistakes" She never had a chance to what? 4/10.
6. "Little More Personal": If you think of this as a song about getting more real with her fans, it would have worked better as an intro to the album, because there aren't any really deep confessions that are personal on this song. But if you look more at the verses than the chorus, it seems to be directed at a love interest, and it works better that way. Also, some of the vocals on the verses don't seem to be as strong as they could be. Still not one of my favorites. 5/10
7. "If It's Alright": My absolute favorite on the album. It has haunting background music that I can't get enough of. It's about a breakup, the actual process of doing it, not the aftermath like most songs are. I love the accepting mood of the song: "We must have met for some reason...It wasn't a lie/It just wasn't right". Even if you hate Lindsay, if you're a fan of slightly darker pop/rock music kind of Kelly Clarkson-esque in style, I think you should give this a listen. A 10/10, hands-down the best.
8. "If You Were Me": Very catchy and fun to belt along to, but there's a few things that might make you press SKIP: her vocals are a little more like shouting than singing, and there's this terribly annoying background noise that reminds me of my phone ringing. It drives me nuts. Listen to a clip and decide for yourself whether you can take it or not. 5/10
9. "Fastlane": The chorus of this seems a little immature for Lindsay: "So don't wish upon a star/Cuz a star can only get you so far." The rest of it is better. 6/10
10. "Edge of Seventeen": cover of Stevie Nicks. I like it. Interestingly, the lyrics printed in the CD cover have extra verses that Lindsay's song doesn't include. 8/10
11. "Who Loves You": "Who-o-o-o-o, who-o-o-o-o (repeat 2x) loves you?" That's the chorus, and it's ingratiating. I often skip over this song completely. Ugh. Also, a little PG/PG-13 in content, with a swear word partially blanked out. 2/10
12. "Beautiful Life": Very nice power ballad kind of song. Shows she's thankful for her life but that there's a lot of pain in it too. Kind of spiritual--mentions God (interestingly, as a she). Most of the song is really excellent, although there's a little something about the chorus that bugs me. Like "Fastlane" and "Black Hole", it seems like a couple of the lines could have been improved. But overall, it's a great song. 8/10

I hope this helped. A must-buy if you're a die-hard Lindsay fan, of course, but for everyone else, you should give the clips a listen before you decide whether to shell out your cash for it.

1. Confessions Of A Broken Heart - great start to the cd, its an emotional song, the chorus is a scream-out-loud type, but Lindsay manages to do it perfectly! 10/10

2. Black Hole - The piano plays in the start, and gives you a nice and easy sounding song, then the chorus comes, and it comes with a BANG! I cannot begin to explain how good this song is! People say its just a copy to "since u been gone" by Kelly Clarkson, but I say its not, but a much better one instead! 12/10

3. I Live For The Day - The possible second single, its an ok song, and its beginning to grow on me. Its a good song, but I would choose Black Hole as the next single, but I guess this song means a lot more... 9/10

4. I Want You To Want Me - The first of two covers, its a really good one too. Its a lot more upbeat, and it gets you to feel the song a lot more than Cheap Tricks did. You'll be dancing/singing along to the song everytime ot comes on! 10/10

5. My Innocence - This is a rock ballad, and I emphasise the word ROCK! The guitar and bass in this is awesome! Its got a really heavy sounding chorus, which I LOVE about the song! 11/10

6. A Little More Personal - Lindsay starts the song off by talking at the beginning saying how she thinks talking at the beginning of a song is kinda 'rad'. She could have done without this one. It sort of doesnt "fit in" with the rest of the album. Its still an ok song though...7.5/10

7. If Its Alright - After the small break of listening to pound out loud songs, comes the next one...a great one too! This one is a must turn up loud song! Its just an awesome song! 12/10

8. If You Were Me - Great song, the electric guitar is awesome, and the chorus is really catchy! I find myself singing away to it all the time! 10/10

9. Fastlane - Good song, but its missing the rocking feel that the rest of the album has, the electric guitar is cool and all but the chorus is a little too well "teeny bopper" type. Its a feel good song, one that you could see teen girls singing along to in a roofless car on a nice sunny day. 8/10

10. Edge Of Seventeen - The second cover of the album, the start of the album is just so awesome! Its really mysterious and clever! Its a nice buildup to a heavy chorus. The chorus I felt could have been a little mroe heavier but its still good the way it is. Where's the bass? 10/10

11. Who Loves You - This song too doesnt fit with the album, its more of a Britney Spears type of song. Its still a good one though. Its a little like To Know Your Name from Lohans first album "Speak". 10/10

12. A Beautiful Life (La Bella Vita) - Beautiful song! Nice lyrics and the guitar in the start is really cool. The drum work shines in this one too. It was interesting hearing Lohan refer to God as a "she". It reminds me of Confessions Of A Broken Heart, but with less screaming and more singing. 11/10

Overall A Little More Personal is a MUST have for anyone who enjoys rock or heavy pop/rock. And this one aint just for the girls, but for the guys too. Great albuM! And cant wait to see what Lindsay Lohan will bring next...

i'm not really a kid (i'm 19), i just didn't want to have to give an email address to post my comment. i think that it is sad that once every disney channel child actress that is remotely attractive grows up, they sell themselves to get more money. why do they find it necessary to use their bodies and sex to sell stuff just to make their wallet a little fatter? the love of money blinds people, and it takes away their dignity, integrity, and nobility. truth be told, i have never even heard a lohan song (although i'm sure it sucks), but i'm giving this album one star out of sheer principle. we are far past due for a true role model, not just for kids, but for adults as well. we need someone with significant social stature to take a stand and show that morality and values are more important than money. too bad that collective american society indocrinates people to believe the opposite.

I don't want to type a review that is too long. But I do want to defend Lindsay a little.
This CD shows her growth from the first disc. She can sing, and I wish people would think back to the 60s and 70s when not every singer had the range of Christina Aguilera or the melisma of Mariah Carey. It was pure fun melody.
Stevie Nicks, for example, has a great voice. But she does not have the voice of Whitney Houston or the like. Does that make you think less of her at all? It shouldn't. She has great music.
The same goes for Lindsay. She has a good strong rough voice. Her voice may not alwaysbe on key and sometimes waverout of control, so did John Lennon's! And thousands of other singers out there.
So please, take it for what it is. She sings live and does a fine job. (check out her AMA performance of 'Confessions of A Broken Heart' and 'Edge of Seventeen' on Youtube if you'd like). And she has developed onto another level than Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson.
Go Lindsay Lohan.

Number 1, Carrie Underwood sings country music, not Rock/Pop. Nobody said anything about Kelly, she rocks! But this is Lindsay's page, stop referring to other artists, it just shows you have no argument. So you are comparing apples to oranges. Number 2, Lindsay is not bad on this album, she is fantastic! Anybody who can tell true effort from filler songs would tell you the same. Can we try a little more personal? Can we throw away all the casual? Thanks, Eliza OUT!

5 Stars for Effort, Vocals, Writing, and Originality.

|| A Little More Personal (RAW) ||

Ms. Lindsay Lohan has done it again, with her exceptional sophomore album. Her first album SPEAK, was highly anticipated, and received a great fanbase and response. Now, how does her sophomore album size up too the first..?

The album starts off of course, with the first single released Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Daughter to Father) which is about her highly publicized and in-the-spotlight relationship with her father. It's a song driven by strong feelings, and thoughts she has towards her father, letting him know ..that she still loves him, wherever he may be. It's a great song, and I totally love it. It shows people that just because she may be famous and have money, she does have real family problems that everyone else has. <3

The second song is "Black Hole". Definately one of my favorite songs on the whole album, the way the song starts and ends up picking up at the chorus, is really well done. Amazing song. <3

The third song is "I Live For The Day". I totally effing love the chorus of this song, it flows so nicely. This album progresses with more greatness, every new track. <3

The fourth song is "I Want You Too Want Me". Which, is of course a cover of the original by Cheap Trick. This is only one of two covers she does on this album, and I have heard people say "Who does she think is..? Covering on only her second album? Let alone, two?" I think if you are able to portray the song, as it was originally done, or even ..make it sound better than it originally was it doesn't matter. And, she definately succeeds with this song. It's a lot more upbeat and fun than the original, and her vocals work perfectly. Great job, girl. <3

The fifth song is "My Innocence". This song is once again, towards her father. This song is put-together amazingly. And, I absolutely love the lyrics. "You took my innocence away. But, the best of me stayed.." So true. <3

The sixth song is "A Little More Personal". I love the beginning of this song, where she talks about talking at the beginning of songs, its totally rad. The song has a nice 80's pop feel too it. Great. <3

The seventh song is "If It's Alright". This song is really great, and I love the lyrics. Very catchy. <3

The eighth song is "If You Were Me". This song is definately funky sounding, the way the music goes along with the way she sings the lyrics, its really fresh and cool. The song picks up into an extremely catchy rant sounding chorus, everyone will be singing this. Scream it out aloud! <3

The ninth song is "Fastlane." This song is about being famous and known in hollywood, and how its always non-stop, and not what everyone thinks it is, sometimes. This song is very good, and very catchy. <3

The tenth song is "Edge Of Seventeen". This is the second and last cover song on the album. This song was originally sung by the great Stevie Nicks. This cover is absolutely amazing in my opinion, and I'm sure Mrs. Nicks is probably very proud. And, its great because this will help her younger fans recognize and listen to the new version of a great 90's classic. <3

The eleventh song is "Who Loves You". Now, this song. EFFING. AMAZING. This might be my favorite track on the album, it is incredibly catchy and has a great 80's/synth-pop feel. This song is talking about someone that she really holds close. Rumor is, this song is most likely towards Jared Leto. Whoever, this song is about ..they are goddamn lucky to be in this gorgeous starlet's heart. I love the way they distort and add effects to her voice while it repeats the lines "Who loves you?" "I think I do." I. love. this. songgg. <3

The twelth and final song on the album is "A Beautiful Life (La Bella Vita)". This song is a great ending track, its very beautiful and touching. This song is said to be about her Grandpa who passed away, its named after a tattoo she got on her lower back for her grandpa's passing, which says "La Bella Vita" which is italian for "A Beautiful Life". Very pretty song. <3

That's the whole album, and I severely recommend whoever is reading this, to buy this album, if you haven't already. This is a great album, and anyone who says it isn't or she "can't sing" is incredibly wrong. They are haters, haters, haters. Give her a try. THIS. ALBUM. IS. AMAZING.


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