By now you will have already made up your mind wether this album is one to sync to your ipod or relegate to the bottom of your CD stockpile. I am still enjoying liking it and so every review I read that tends to use a negative comment i psuedoviolently react too. This comes not just from the outright negative ones, but even from the reviews that are most enthusiastic and positive, of which there has been plenty; not that popjustice or perez would care to acknowledge them.
In one instance, a critic caustically snipes at the contrast between this potentially high selling summer album, and the wintry title itself. Ironically people seem to think pop should only be high selling, immediate, epitomise that summertime feelgood essence and go some way to represent the modern zeitgeist. The best of it does. Just becuase Kelly spends her summer in grief and pain over her lost loves ('Sober' / 'Never Again' / 'Judas' and many more) doesnt mean she cant provide us with a pinnacle to define this present moment. ('Irvine' does this for me sounding like the wonderful Feist.) This summer is truly her December, and the title shows that she will probably laugh, love and perhaps even be a little bit more pop one day, but for now shes not quite pop enough.
While this album might not in actual fact be too far removed from Breakaway, it almost certainly marks a stepping stone further away from that era of Clarkson's creative life. So while Clarksons lyrical heartbreak may heal, her creative journey taken on board this year is looking to be a one way ride.
Eschewing the genius of Scandanavian Songwriting from Max Martin and his ilk, Kelly wrote the tracks herself. (Although 'One Minute' is a co-write that on the album is evidently from the pen of Kara Dioguardi.) Things escalated when it was revealed Kelly turned down $10million Clive Davis dollars to replace 5 album tracks with guarenteed pop hits. From there, a cancelled tour, a fired manager, limited airplay and promotion, and this week... a number one album by the looks of things.
This album ensures that even when Clarkson's ready to give us happiness, like Alanis 'Queen of Pain' before her, we wont be listening out for that from her. From Kelly i predict this kind of human frailty played out in song will become her trademark. While there are a few sour grapes that Max Martin songs will have to find a new idol to sing them -how about Leona Lewis?- these songs will still get made, so pop fans needn't despair. Yes we may grieve that they lack Kelly's vocals but this album proves Kelly is sticking around, and its about time people aacept that her voice deserves to sing what it wants. Had she stuck to Davis' plan surely she was only ever one bad chart position from being relegated while a younger ingenue takes her place as first in line in the hit song queue.
This is still pop, and while not summery, in your face, or particularly of the moment, it most definatly is a decent product from an unmanufactured pop idol.
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