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194 of 237 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Immature. Bratty. Boring. , April 19, 2007
Well, the first single, "Girlfriend," should give you a clue. For those of us who thought her last album, 'Under My Skin,' was a great step forward (from a decent debut album, 'Let Go') will lament this major step back. Apparently Avril really wants us to believe that she's punk; unfortunately this means immature cheerleading rants (think Gwen Stefani at her most annoying) with the opening track and repeated in nearly identical fashion in a couple other songs on the album, with obvious borrowings from Toni Basil's eighties hit, "Mickey" ("Hey, Mickey, you're so fine,..."). The rest of the album doesn't fair much better (with a few exceptions, like "Innocent"). Take the lyrics from "Hot" as a case in point:
"You make me so hot
Make me wanna drop
It's so ridiculous
I can barely stop
I can hardly breathe
You make me wanna scream
You're so fabulous
You're so good to me baby, baby"
Sorry, this is crap. The music isn't much more creative. There's a general banality running throughout the album that simply wasn't found on her last album, 'Under My Skin.' And I think it's interesting to note that 'Under My Skin' was co-written with Chantal Kreviazuk, a legitimate singer-songwriter, and co-produced by Chantel's husband, Raine Maida (of the brilliant rock band, Our Lady Peace) among others. The new album, however, was co-produced by Luke Gottwald (aka Dr. Luke) with such credits as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Sovereign, Missy Elliott, Pink, Mos Def, The Backstreet Boys, Daughtry, and Paris Hilton. Uhhhh, no thanks.
I know this has been a harsh review, but I do this in hopes that the next album will be much improved. Avril is still young with a long career ahead of her.
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67 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A talented artist, some mediocre material, April 18, 2007
Avril Lavigne proved, with her debut LET GO, that she had what it took not only to be a pop star, but to be a real musical artist. Her follow-up, UNDER MY SKIN, had her delving into deeper, darker material, putting her in a more alternative-minded suit.
Apparently, she had enough of that. THE BEST DAMN THING is spunky, perky, happy-go-lucky sing-a-long that, definitely, is catchy as hell, but isn't near as good as what Lavigne can do. "Girlfriend" kicks off the album and sets the mood; several of the tracks sound like knock-offs of this tune (including the title track, on which she boldly declares "I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen"). Ironically, with a couple exceptions, Lavigne sounds at her best when she's in this spunky mood (the exceptions being the powerful ballads "When You're Gone" and "Keep Holding On").
Basically, this is an immature album from an artist we know is capable of mature material. She hints at it here and there ("Damn that boy can make me cry," she sings in "Contagious;" in the next verse, "Damn that boy can make me smile"). But basically, THE BEST DAMN THING is THE BEST DANCE THING, because that's what it'll make you want to do--dance. Lavigne's got a good voice on her, and she knows how to write a well-crafted song; hopefully, her next album will show her branching out. This album makes her out to be the "pop princess" persona she so adamantly defied earlier in her career.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Brat is definitely back , but is it the best damn thing for Avril's career?, May 1, 2007
So much for the serious side of Avril Lavigne. Whether it is because she is now in her early twenties and a married woman or because she did like the way her last album resonated with her audience, the brat is back big time in her third album, "The Best Damn Thing." I would be in the camp that thought Avril Lavigne's second album, "Under My Skin," was a significant step up from her debut effort "Let Go." Fans who preferred the first album and thought "He Wasn't" was the best offering the second time around, will find "The Best Dam Thing" a return to her roots as an appealing brat (and proud of it). Those who would point to "My Happy Ending" as the best song on the sophomore effort will find this a mixed bag and contemplate the shift in Avril's songwriting partners from the likes of Chantal Kreviazuk to Lukasz "Doctor Luke" Gottwald (tracks 1-3, 9, 12), Evan Taubenfeld (tracks 7-8, 10-11), and Butch Butch Walker (tracks 4-6). Of course, Walker co-wrote "My Happy Ending" with Lavigne and their "When You're Gone" is the song here that most sounds like it belongs on "Under My Skin," along with "Keep Holding On," which came out last year as part of the "Eragon" soundtrack and seems a bit out of place since the message of its title applies equally well to fighting dragon slayers and enduring teenage heartbreak.
The dialectical tension between the bratty Avril and the serious Avril are captured on the first two tracks. In "Girlfriend" affirms that she is the "motherf___king princess" and is promising that she "can do it better," while on "I Can Do Better" the chorus is all about the angry aftermath as she yells out: "I hate you now, so go away from me/You're gone, so long/I can do better, I can do better." I like the energy of the latter song better, not to mention the rhetorical stance of the chorus. But then I am the father of two daughters and if the sentiments of Lavigne's "Don't Tell Me" could be programmed into the brain of every teenage girl in the country I would feel a lot better. However, I have no doubt those teenage girls are more drawn to such thoughts as "I just wanna scream and lose control/Throw my hands up, and let it go" ("Runaway") and "Waking up I see that everything is ok/The first time in my life and now its so great/Slowing down I look around an i am so amazed/I think about the little things that make life great/I wouldn't change a thing about it/This is the best feeling" ("Innocence").
But more often that not some guy comes along and messes everything up, which is why she ends up singing: "I hate you why are guys so lame/Everything I gave you/I want everything back but you" ("Everything Back But You"). The opening track matches up with the title song, which also mixes it what I want to call her "cheerleader rap," with its bratty declarations (e.g., "I hate it when a guy doesn't get the tab/And I have to pull my money out and that looks bad"). But then we get to the chorus and its infectious pop hook and the other side of her musical appeal. You will also find that the line of attack against certain types of women begun back with "Sk8ter Boi" continues here with not only "Girlfriend" (duh) but also "One Of Those Girls," which reminds us that Avril has drawn not only a vertical but a horizontal axis in the war of sexes. Whether you call it being empowered or being a brat, that overarching attitude is what ultimately connects all of these songs, summed up in the declaration "I'm the one I'm the one who wears the pants" ("I Don't Have to Try"). The bottom line would be that for me "The Best Damn Thing" is not on the same level as "Under My Skin," but I still find it worth listening to and if it takes her an album or two to grow into that serious side she revealed last time then I am willing to wait.
You are probably aware that "The Best Damn Thing" is available in both an explicit and a "clean" version. The four explicit tracks are "Girlfriend" (the aforementioned "mf" princess," "I Can Do Better" ("sick of this s__t"), "Everything Back But You" ("bitch, slut"), and "I Don't Have to Try" ("get ready motherf--ker 'cause I'm on the scene"). On the "clean" version of the album with the first two you basically have the __ parts inserted in the song, the third replaces the derogatory words with "hey, hey!" and the last one has the "get ready" repeated as a replacement, and this is how civilization is saved. The irony is that musically the clean versions end up sounding a bit better, because in terms of rhetorical implications it really strikes me that Avril is drawing a line of demarcation. If you are still on the other side of the great sexual divide and "Don't Tell Me" sums up your life, then you want the clean version. If you have crossed over and been seriously burned in a relationship (which almost always seems to be the case), then increasing the intensity of your vocabulary to describe the male of the species will sound like a good idea. All things considered, Avril's use of profanity indicates her target audience remains the legions of teenager wannabe brats, who will be thrilled by the dirty words even if they are thrown out inartistically. I would still say that on balance the attitude of these songs will outweigh the outbursts of obscenity for those fans.
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by Avril Lavigne 
