Album Archives: Scotty McCreery, Evanescence, Joe Jonas

Arts & Entertainment, Krista Sanford, Opinion — By jennie.alcantar on October 21, 2011 2:47 pm

by Krista Sanford, A&E Editor

 

Scotty McCreery, Clear As Day
No. of Songs: 12
Release Date: Oct. 4
Genre: Country
Rating: 5/5
Favorite Songs: “Out of Summertime,” “Walk in the Country”
Sounds Like: Keith Urban, Brad Paisley

A little drum solo followed closely by a mix of guitars and fiddles starts off Scotty McCreery’s first album, “Clear As Day,” with potential of greatness. McCreery’s voice sounds like that of veterans in the country music scene. With a mixture of slow and fast songs, I was falling in love with him all over again.

The first song, “Out of Summertime,” reminded me of hot summer times, making me want to go back to those days. With the energetic beat and lots of fiddles and drums, I imagine summer even before he sings about hot July days and driving to the beach.

As the album goes on, McCreery mixes the energetic songs like “Out of Summertime” with slow, sad songs like “Clear As Day.” In “Clear As Day,” McCreery sings about a love that ended too short due to a tragic car accident. With gentle percussion, fiddles quietly in the background and words like, “there ain’t one second times erased/Every detail is still in place…Yeah, that night’s still clear as day,” McCreery captures my heart and opens my heart to the tragedy of the song topic.

I remember rooting for McCreery to win American Idol back in May, after listening to “Clear As Day,” I’m happy with how much has happened to him. McCreery deserved to win American Idol. He worked hard and created an amazing first album. I can’t wait to hear how much McCreery will grow as he figures out his sound.

 

 

Evanescence, Evanescence (Deluxe Version)
No. of Songs: 16
Release Date: Oct. 11
Genre: Rock
Rating: 5/5
Favorite Songs: “What You Want,” “Lost In Paradise” and “Secret Door”
Sounds Like: Flyleaf

Evanescence captured my attention from the second I started playing their newest album, self-titled “Evanescence.” With an intense beat throughout the album and gentle piano and violin blending into the background, “Evanescence” didn’t bore me one bit.

Starting with a really fast beat, “What You Want” blends different instruments like guitar and piano, a heavy rock drum beat and changing keys to draw me in. I definitely couldn’t wait to hear the rest of the album.

Slowing down the album a little, “The Change” added just the right amount of variety. The song still had a heavy drum beat, but the slower vocal notes and gentle string instruments in the background creates a difference from the other songs on the album.

Throughout the rest of the album, Evanescence stuck with the same upbeat, rock tune that fans talk about. Amy Lee’s, singer, voice fits perfectly well with the heavy tone of the band. Her voice along with the mix of guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, violins makes me want to keep listening to them.

“Evanescence” ends on a slow note, not fast and upbeat like the beginning. In “Secret Door” takes away the guitar, bass and drums, leaving only Lee and soft string instruments like violins as well as a piano. While the beginning made me excited for the album with its intense beat, the ending made me want the album to never end because of the softness.

 

 

Joe Jonas, Fastlife
No. of Songs: 12
Release Date: Oct. 11
Genre: Pop
Rating: 3/5
Favorite Song: “All This Time”
Sounds Like: Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber

After hearing the Jonas Brothers throughout the years, I expected Joe Jonas’s album to sound similar to the pop him and his brothers did. Listening to “Fastlife,” I found out Jonas took on a more pop rock vibe. “Fastlife” didn’t stick out to me as something wonderful. The songs seemed generic and just like every other pop artist trying to add something unique to their sound.

The first song, “All This Time,” opened with a somewhat mysterious vibe. The guitars created a glissando, sliding the note, as the bass played a consistent chord. Jonas’s voice sounds similar to his brother Nick Jonas’s voice. This song was the most like his music in the past; yet, I could hear a little bit of J. Jonas wanting to be like every other pop artist out there.

Once I heard the first note of “See No More,” I knew my suspicions of J. Jonas trying to sound generic were right. The drum beat was a consistent, four four, generic beat. J. Jonas’s voice sounded less like N. Jonas’ and more like Chris Brown. His pop sound went away from the usual pop and aimed more toward a dance pop, just like every overplayed song on the radio.

Throughout the rest of “Fastlife,” J. Jonas kept up the same pop/dance beat. After the first couple of songs of the same tone, I couldn’t wait until the album was over. I knew what the next song would sound like because it sounded just like the song before it. One of my pet peeves is when all the songs in one album sound exactly the same or slightly similar, with no variety whatsoever. So, by the end of “Fastlife” I was really disappointed in J. Jonas and the little variety he used (the song “Sorry” was somewhat on the slow side, but still had a dance beat to it.) If J. Jonas comes out with another album, I’m hoping he tries to be him and not the radio.

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