"Listen Up!" - Reviews Thread

[Miguel]

I purposefully didn't link to that review because I didn't find it credible. If you do leave a comment, please focus on pointing out the review's inaccuracies rather than attacking the reviewer.

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Below, a 2 out of 4 stars review that stings a little because "The RedEye is a daily publication put out by the Chicago Tribune geared toward 18 to 34-year-olds."

A few things to keep in mind when it comes to my take on Haley Reinhart: I've never watched a full episode of "American Idol" and female vocalists readily described as "old souls" kinda drive me nuts.

The basic facts: Reinhart is young, from Chicago (suburban Wheeling) and placed third on "Idol" season 10, which I think was last year.

Also, she appears to like '60s bathing suits and tank tops. Which is about as good a transition as any to the idea of "throwback" voices. You know the ones--Duffy, Adele, etc. Bold yet nasal-y. Backed by lots of swingy horns. It's retro! No one does this anymore! Except everyone kind of does.rns. It's retro! No one does this anymore! Except everyone kind of does.

But if you've gotta have a gimmick to get noticed, Reinhart has it covered. Her debut album leans heavily on her "unique" voice. She sounds like the middle ground between Amy Winehouse (RIP) and Natasha Bedingfield. Middle school me would have loved this stuff.

The first track, "Oh My!" features a phoned-in B.o.B. verse and immediately drives home the '60s feel with heavy big band drums and horns. If you hate it, turn it off. The album really doesn't move from this formula. I haven't heard this many horns since Mark Ronson got his hands on Winehouse. The tracks all kind of blur together in forced, fuzzy nostalgia after a few minutes.

One exception would be the refreshingly horn-free piano-backed ballad "Undone," which begs a comparison as a (lyrically/musically) weaker version Adele's "Someone Like You," but remains the best feature of Reinhart's full vocals.

Overall, I wasn't unimpressed by "Listen Up!" Reinhart's got some unique pipes. To really shine, she's going to need to step away from artists with similar quirk. It's hard to launch a powerful retro album in the days of Adele domination, but at least she didn't fall flat on her face.

http://www.redeyechicago.com/entertainme...3273.story

The comment I left in response:

The disclaimer "I've never watched a full episode of American Idol" was not needed. This album has nothing to do with the show. Implicit in your statement was the message "Please don't think I would ever stoop to watching American Idol." Implicit in that message is a bias against anyone who would appear on the show.

Haley does have a unique voice and, being a singer, it’s not surprising her debut album “leans heavily” on it. Notice I didn’t feel the need to put quotes around “unique.”

Ironically, the statement “Middle school me would have loved this stuff” reflects your immaturity. A more self-assured reviewer would have stated “She sounds like the middle ground between Amy Winehouse and Natasha Bedingfield” and left it at that.

I disagree with the assertion that “the tracks all kind of blur together” While they share a retro sound there is a lot of variety among them. What you call “forced, fuzzy nostalgia” the New York Times calls “fresh and convincing.”