Quick Review: Kelly Clarkson- All I Ever Wanted

You could count me as one of the few who really appreciated Kelly Clarkson’s 2007 effort My December. I thought the somber tone really let her vocal range shine and I appreciated the slightly darker tone in her bubble gum pop lyrics. Of course I was in a minority as many thought the album lost the fun, infectious tones of her best work on Breakaway. Clarkson’s latest effort, All I Ever Wanted should please all of her fans and bring in some new ones, as it should be called Best of Both Worlds.

Wanted features a number of tracks that evoke past hits like Since U Been Gone. The first single, My Life Would Suck Without You is currently blazing up the charts but I’ve got to warn you folks, it’s nothing compared to I Do Not Hook Up and Whyyawannabringmedown. These two tracks are already instant staples on my car mix and I imagine my next road trip will be spent singing to these up-tempo tracks. Also of note is The Day We Feel Apart.

Kelly also represents her artistic growth on the album by trying new things as she did on My December. Already Gone and Tip of My Tongue are two distinctly different tracks but they do share something in common in that they sound new coming from Clarkson. The ballad Cry even shows some new range in her amazing voice.

If anything this album is bogged down by excess. At 16 tracks, there are a few clunkers but nothing offensively bad. I’d skip over Save You, If No One Will Listen, and Ready which just sound like weaker efforts of similar tracks on the album.