Under My Skin [Import]

Avril Lavigne | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 7, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bmg/Arista
• Copy Protected
• ASIN: B0001K5SUG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,143 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,289 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Take Me Away

2. Together

3. Don't Tell Me

4. He Wasn't

5. How Does It Feel

6. My Happy Ending

7. Nobody's Home

8. Forgotten

9. Who Knows

10. Fall to Pieces

11. Freak Out

12. Slipped Away

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With her breakthrough 2002 debut, Let Go, Avril Lavigne tried to market herself as the bona fide alternative to tarty teen queens, Britney and Christina. Her guitar-pop hits were irresistibly bratty but the whole "Complicated" teen pose was a little hard to swallow, especially since two songwriters called the Matrix--who had at least twenty years on the Canadian singer--fed her most of the material. Having had the chance to live a little, Lavigne returns to make good on her angsty image with Under My Skin, an album rippling with delightfully dour melodies and heartfelt lyrics about loneliness ("How Does It Feel") and fractured relationships ("Don't Tell Me"). Is it clichéd? Sure. Will it scare off her necktie and t-shirt wearing fans? Possibly. But there's nothing quite as satisfying as watching a teen-pop icon actually reveal her soul. --Jaan Uhelszki

Product Description

CD AUDIO SIDE: Entire Album

DVD SIDE: * Entire album in enhanced LPCM Stereo * Music Video for #1 single "My Happy Ending" and "Nobody’s Home" * Behind the scenes footage * Photo Gallery This disc is intended to play on standard DVD and CD players. May not play on a limited number of models. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avril Lavigne starts growing up on her second album, July 5, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Under My Skin (Audio CD)

When we picked up "Under My Skin" it was one of several albums that went into the CD player in the car and when I did a milk run and was first listening to "Forgotten" I thought I was listening to the new Alanis Morissette album. But after "Let Go" this second album by Avril Lavigne is certainly a step in a better, arguably more mature, direction. On "Let Go" Lavigne worked with producer/songwriters Clif Magness and the Matrix, who polished up her melodic, edgy sound. Her singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" both went top 10 and we figured we had Lavigne pegged as another female teenager singer-songwriter with pop sensibilities and shallow lyrics.

But for "Under My Skin" there are two key changes. The producer is now Don Gilmore (engineer on Pearl Jam's "Ten" and producer of several Linkin Park albums) and fellow Canadian Chantal Kreviazuk (who I recognize from "Time" on the "Uptown Girl" soundtrack) has a hand in writing half of the dozen tracks and does piano, keyboards, and string arrangements as well. Do Gilmore and Kreviazuk get the credit for making "Under My Skin" a better album or does Lavigne actually get most of the credit? Damned if I call tell, but somebody did some serious upgrading of the lyrics.

Lavigne is writing songs about the down side of teenage boys, which is an expansive subject matter to contemplate. After all, teenage boys are the modern equivalent of the giant dinosaurs of the past that needed a second brain at the other end to help them along. When dealing with them the fundamental rule is to remember that whenever the other brain is engaged, do not believe anything that is being said. As she points out in "Forgotten," it is not like they are listening to you:

Have you forgotten
Everything that I wanted
Do you forget it now
You never got It
Do you get it now

If there is an obvious anthem on this album it would have to be "Don't Tell Me," where she finds these boys wanting because of what they want and have the gall to expect:

Guess it wasn't enough to take up some of my love
Guys are so hard to trust
Did I not tell you that I'm not like that girl?
The one who gives it all away

[Chorus:]
Did you think that I was gonna give it up to you, this time?
Did you think that it was somethin I was gonna do and cry?
Don't try to tell me what to do,
Dont try to tell me what to say,
Your better off that way

The consistent perspective in these songs is rather retrospective, as the charm and illusions on the teenage infatuation that passes for love is dispelled by the harsh realities of being a teenage girl. It is not surprising then that "My Happy Ending" is about anything but:

You were everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
And all the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending

The theme is rather pessimistic from the start as we see in first track, "Take Me Away," which establishes the idea that teenage love is pretty confusing:

All the pain I thought I knew
All the thoughts lead back to you
Back to what was never said
Back and forth inside my head
I can't handle this confusion
I'm unable; come and take me away

But since I keep thinking that this perspective smacks more of realism than pessimism, it seems to me that in the final analysis Lavigne is not only comforting young women but giving their male counterparts broad hints on what they are doing wrong. Teenage boys can just listen to "He Wasn't" and then do the opposite:

Sit on the bed alone, staring at the phone.
He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no.
He wouldn't even open up the door.
He never made me feel like I was special.
He isn't really what I'm looking for.

This is when I start to bite my nails.
And clean my room when all else fails.
I think it's time for me to bail.
This point of view is getting stale.

If teenage boys listen to the lyrics of "Under My Skin" then they should not how to do better. But they better not try to fake it because Lavigne's target audience is going to be singing along with these songs and the words are going to get through. I have been listening to this album repeatedly for about two weeks as you can tell even I started paying attention to the lyrics when I was singing along. I have two teenage daughters and I certainly made sure that they got hooked on theses songs as well.

94 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than exceeded the high expectations of this Avril fan, July 3, 2004

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under My Skin (Audio CD)

Following up a smash hit debut album is possibly harder than getting that first magical recording contract in the first place - the artist oftentimes feels he/she must outdo himself/herself, and fans oftentimes resist any deviation from what has come before. Many young artists crash and burn, never to be heard from again. Avril Lavigne is not among those, and with this really quite incredible sophomore release she cements her place in the present and future of the music industry. While there are echoes of Let Go to be found here, I found this to be a surprisingly different album from its predecessor - the artist has grown as a person, a musician, and a song writer, and the expanding life experiences of this remarkably talented teenager have infused her music with a palpable sense of something quite real and deep that speaks volumes to the listener.

I have been listening to this album constantly since it came out (and I might mention Avril Lavigne is one of the few artists whose new album I simply had to purchase as soon as it was released), and I can't find a bad song on here. Not only is this a five-star album, it is a collection of twelve five-star songs, in my opinion. I have a sentimental attachment to many of the songs from Let Go, but as a whole this new album is a much more impressive offering. Avril co-wrote each of these songs, and as far as I'm concerned, the doubts some voice about her song-writing abilities are quite misplaced. The first single, Don't Tell Me, is a great song and in some ways it forms a natural bridge from the first album to the second, but it is far from the best song on the album. Take Me Away starts Under My Skin off with a bang; there's no gradual immersion into this new album, as Avril reaches out and yanks you by the collar from the very start. Then comes Together, which I love; teen angst fuels the fire of this song, and the manner in which Avril delivers the chorus of this song really appeals to me. He Wasn't is a fantastic song of independence and self-worth; its up-tempo delivery has a Green Day feel to it, and the song itself is all about not settling for anything less than the best.

How Does It Feel is the only track that didn't win me over immediately, and at first I wasn't sure there was really much to this song; over time, though, I have come to appreciate and love its comparatively simple style and delivery. In this song as well as the album's final track, Avril seems to step away from the bold and brash persona she carries so well to reveal a little bit of her soul. My Happy Ending has hit single written all over it; this song of dreams unfulfilled sweeps a vast panorama of the singer's soul, as she moves back and forth between regret at what has been lost and inspiring defiance at the wrong that has been done. This theme is reinforced by Nobody's Home, the subject of which lacks such inner strength, and Fall to Pieces sort of falls under the same broad theme. I think Forgotten might be my favorite song on the album, as it gives us Avril at her most fiery and determined - when she says she won't be forgotten again, she really means it.

If you're looking for strong shades of Let Go, I think you'll want to direct your attention to Who Knows and Freak Out; these are tracks of great energy and pace, speaking ably to Avril's amazing mesh of inner strength, confidence, and vulnerability. Slipped Away closes the album out quite impressively. Dedicated to the memory of Avril's grandfather, Slipped Away is a moving tribute to a loved one who has been lost.

And there you have it: twelve great songs on one very impressive album. Let no one doubt that Avril Lavigne will be a forceful and innovative force in music for some time to come.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dual Disc Disaster?, June 10, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Under My Skin (Audio CD)

All dual disc problems aside, might I say that I love Avril Lavigne's music. She is a great and fresh addition to today's music realm. I was at first skeptical about her first album, "Let Go," but it captured my attention and devotion, and now, "Under My Skin" has strengthened my loyalty.

Anyway, the Dual Disc was a pricey investment. The original copy of the album came out in June of 2004. I had already purchased it the day it arrived in stores. Of course, now in 2005, the Dual Disc formatted version comes out and I'm left to pay for a second copy of the exact same album. This was only because I was interested in the music videos and behind-the-scenes footage. As for the "high quality" sound, you can't tell the difference. I suppose you would be able to if it was say, an acoustic or opera performance. I thought that the original version was already produced in enhanced stereo anyway... I only wish that Dual Disc had been available last year. Nevertheless, it IS nice to have a back-up copy of the original. I also noticed some differences between the two versions. On the original, the album cover art is a clear, black/gray/white and a clear image. On the Dual Disc version, the album cover art is a more sepia/old-photograph style with a soft, blurred image. I'm not sure if this is coincidental, but maybe it will lead to something in the future.

All in all, the bonus videos and behind-the-scenes footage is a nice addition to an Avril fan's collection. It is well worth the extra $14.00 if you already have the original copy.

Always keep rockin' on...