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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lisa Marie Presley has some things to get off her chest..., April 8, 2003
The most impressive aspect of Lisa Marie Presley's debut album, "To Whom It May Concern," is that her lyrics are blatantly confessional on a scale that makes those of Courtney Love look like Kurt Cobain's widow had taken a vow of silence. From the death of her father when she was 9 years old ("I wish that I had spent just a little more time with you") to her tabloid marriages to Michael Jackson ("You're in some blind elation, a kind of delusion") to Nicholas Cage ("When I turned my back you cut my throat") Lisa Marie lays it out there for the world to see. Such emotional honesty certainly earns our respect, especially in this age of carefully packaged pop princesses and the album's cover shot makes it perfectly clear that nobody ever has to ask Lisa Marie the question, "who's your daddy?" Unfortunately "To Whom It May Concern" is often as over produced as a Brittney Spears album (remember her?). This is someone surprising given that the album is produced by the likes of Eric Rosse (Tori Amos), Andrew Slatter (Fiona Apple) and Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette), all of whom have worked with artists who refrain from hiding the vocals behind overwhelming layers of music. The opening track, "S.O.B." is a perfect example: it starts off with Presley's semi-sultry alto vocals, and then then the band cranks it up big time. You might have to go back and listen to the song again to see if Lisa Marie said what you think she said in that song (yeah, she did). You find the same pattern on "The Road Between," "Important," etc., and you have to conclude that these guys must have thought they were covering up limitations of her voice. That might be a concern when you are doing nothing but singing songs written by someone else (classic example, Paula Abdul), but not when they are your songs. Besides, on "Nobody Noticed It" they dub some nice harmonies that showcase her vocal strengths, albeit buried beneath several layers of sound. Then again, sometimes the fault is in the music itself. The first single off of this album, "Lights Out," has a perky tune that sounds AM-radio friendly, and it is all about her family "dead and gone" back in Memphis, buried "in the damn back lawn." The problem is that the blistering lyrics are totally mismatched by the aforementioned perky music. Besides, it is not one of the better songs on the album; in fact, it is my least favorite track at this point. Most of the songs are set at angry girl rock tempo, the exception that proves the rule being "So Lovely," a slow song with a slow guitar dancing around the theme from "Midnight Cowboy." The bottom line is that, on balance, Lisa Marie comes out ahead of the game on "To Whom It May Concern." She also has the advantage of not having come up with such a great first album that she has nowhere to go but down, a constant fate in the music business. The big question is now that she has exorcised her demons in song, where does she go from here? The tabloids can dissect Michael Jackson and report Elvis sightings for the rest of her life, but Lisa Marie is going to have to move on. This album opens her to new possibilities for doing so.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LMP storms the rock music scene, April 10, 2003
Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the most famous rock star ever, blazes her own trail. She definitely steps in the right direction, supported on the album by very good musicians and fine back vocals. Perhaps I should quote Letterman, who said, after a performance of 'Lights Out' on his show (apr 9), that she has "a powerful voice". That is true, indeed... What a powerful voice!To Whom It May Concern contains glimpses of the best from yesterday's and today's pop songs ; adult alternative, folk-rock, new country and gothic mesh together in a splendid aggregate that should leave you astounded in the best sense of the word. The result is, sometimes, dazzling --most of the compositions and lyrics have guts and energy (with unexpected novelty, as in 'Sinking In' and 'Gone' in particular). One of her best songs, in my opinion, is 'Savior', included only on the single-cd (in limited edition, I presume, it will become a collector's item). LMP will make big waves with the release of To Whom It May Concern, I'm sure of that. A nice album, and a nice treat for those enamored of solid rock and chunky-but-still-subtle ballads. On this cd, she invents something, she does not replicate. Rock music of the 21st century. In fact, her debut album cannot be compared, its content is much original (even though there are the inevitable references to Sheryl Crow and Cher). The album honors the electric guitar, with shades of acoustic guitar hovering here and there. I seldom heard such beautiful guitar sounds to support a rock singstress --except, perhaps, from the likes of Penny Framstad or Mae Moore. LMP takes the scene by storm. The wild child is too wild to tame... Still, her voice is very good, sweet as well as "beefy" (she never shrieks or get abbrasive). Not surprisingly, she has a striking resemblance to her father --even in some gestures on the stage, as shown in the 'Lights Out' video : the way she holds the mike, etc. She's a beautiful young woman doing remarkably beautiful music.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
<3, April 14, 2003
By A Customer
This album is just absolutely amazing. Hard to describe in words. Her voice is beautiful, every song on the album tells a story, a story of heartbreak, of happiness. All of which are her, her life, 100% real. To be honest, I didn't expect much from Lisa Marie (and now I see it was stupid), not many people did, because she is her fathers daughter, I was very impressed with every track on the album. Her lyrics are so powerful, and have so much meaning. 'Nobody Noticed It' is an incredible song, written for her father, with such strong lyrics "You're still lovely, You were lovely then" "You made me, I love you, and do you know, nothing has changed, now everyone they notice it, everyone notices". Also with backing vocals by her children on the track 'To Whom It May Concern'. I recommend this album to any and everyone that enjoys listening to just great music. All songs written or co-written by Lisa Marie herself, which is something you don't see now-a-days. Just go buy it, it'll be worth every cent, I guarantee.<3 LMP <3
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~ Lisa Marie Presley
~ Lisa Marie Presley
~ Lisa Marie Presley
~ Kid Rock
~ Britney Spears
by Lisa Marie Presley 
