Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 04.18.2007
Heck yeah, she’s a mother-flipping princess…
My Story
Unlike other stuffy reviewers, I’ll tell you straight up that I don’t much like Avril Lavigne and this album will have to do a lot to impress me. But I’m not the type to not give someone a chance purely based on their media image. I mean, sure, I can’t stand Lavigne’s punk posturing, her stupid fashion sense (props for dropping the necktie, at least), the bulk of her puke-pop hit singles, or the style-over-substance attitude of her media promotion. Still, there’s something about when Avril gets it right that I really like. “I’m With You”, for instance, was a gorgeous, honest alt-rock single that, despite its tinges of youthful loneliness, managed to sound more grown up than most modern singers 10 years Lavigne’s senior.
So, yes, I do hate Avril Lavigne. But I’m will to give her a chance. What will she give me in return?
Her Story
Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario in 1984 and, according to her parents, began her career as an aspiring singer at the age of two. By age 14, not only had young Avril taught herself to play guitar and discovered a knack for performing, but she’d already won a local singing contest that put her on stage with Canadian country sensation Shania Twain. Several other local gigs led to Avril’s big break, a recording contract with Arista Records, in 2000. During the recording of her first album, Lavigne’s talent was being championed by no less than label head L.A. Reid.
In 2002, just a few months before her 18th birthday, Lavigne released her debut album Let Go. The album took the world by storm, thanks in part to the #2 hit pop hit “Complicated”. The song pushed the record to #2 on the US charts and, thanks to follow-up hits like the bouncy “Sk8er Boi” and the teen ballad “I’m With You”, the set has sold over 16 million copies worldwide to date. Critics and fans enjoyed Lavigne’s in-you-face, punky attitude (reminiscent of label-mate Pink, though with a younger face attached), a striking contrast to the teen queen dance music that was populating the charts at the time thanks to the likes of folks like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
When the dust from Let Go settled, Lavigne followed up brilliantly with the slightly more serious Under My Skin in 2004. The album bested Let Go on the charts, debuting at #1 and generating the Top 10 hit “My Happy Ending”. Further singles failed to chart quite as well, however that didn’t stop the record from going three times platinum in the US.
Following the large tour in support of her second album (including a 21-date mall trek), Lavigne took some time off from recording to pursue other interests. In 2006, she made her acting debut in the films Fast Food Nation and as a voice in the animated film Over The Hedge. She also married her longtime boyfriend Deryck Whibley, frontman of the Canadian punk band Sum 41. Lavigne was also involved in the film Eragon, performing the soundtrack’s hit single “Keep Holding On”, which hit #16 on the US charts in late ’06.
Currently, Lavigne is in the midst of a short small venue tour to promote her upcoming third album.
The Album
On April 17, 2007, RCA Records released The Best Damn Thing, the third album by Avril Lavigne and the follow-up to 2004’s Under My Skin. The album is available in a standard and edited CD version. There is also a CD/DVD package that contains a “Making Of” featurette and photos. International and exclusive versions of the CD include the bonus tracks “Girlfriend (German Version)”, “I Will Be” and “Alone”. The Japanese Enhanced CD version contains the music video for “Girlfriend”.
The Band: 6.0
Avril Lavigne: vocals
People compained about Avril Lavigne hype long before the last strands of “Complicated” finished hitting the airwaves. The problem is, once you get rid of the hype and the ridiculous rebel-without-a-penis attitude, you're not left with much else. People tell me that Avril’s a great singer, but I’ve yet to hear it. It’s sure as hell not showcased on this album, as Lavigne’s flat vocals and snotty, faux-punk delivery are just as mind-numbing as they were 5 years ago. Even on the ballads, Lavigne’s range is severely limited. The girl just doesn’t have it in the singing department. Her only saving grace is that she’s not quite as annoying as her contemporaries (the hideous sounds of Pink and Nelly Furtado come to mind).
Still, there are some nice sound on this album. The hooks abound and, if bouncy Hot Topic…no, make that Gadzooks, punk-pop is what you’re looking for, then this album has it. The production is just as sleek as Lavigne’s mega-hit debut and it’s shiny and, holy fuck, somehow pink Chuck Taylors and black and white stripe stockings just flew out of my speakers. There’s no other way to describe this music. That’s the perfect visual for the audio.
In the end, fans of Avril are gonna be getting everything they’d hoped for here, but those of us who never were or are looking for a bit more substance half a decade later will likely be left rolling our eyes.
The Songs: 5.0
1. Girlfriend
2. I Can Do Better
3. Runaway
4. The Best Damn Thing
5. When You’re Gone
6. Everything Back But You
7. Hot
8. Innocence
9. I Don’t Have To Try
10. One Of Those Girls
11. Contagious
12. Keep Holding On
It’s funny. When Avril Lavigne debuted back in ‘02, I thought, wow, she’s one of the younger girl rockers I can remember. Then I found out she was already 18 at the time and I was kinda surprised. You see, Lavigne’s debut album was just so fucking JUVENILE that I assumed she was still in high school herself. Turns out, she just wrote like she was. Well, if you missed that, she’s back to writing that way, and you’ll be happy to know that you still may mistake her lyrics for the musings of a study hall poet.
There’s barely anything reddeming here for a music lover unless you just LIKE pure bubblegum. And even I can tolerate that at times but, like Pink, this music seems to want to be taken a little more serious. It’s bubblegum with an attitude and silly mall princesses should NOT be giving me attitude.
Let’s put it this way: if you liked “Complicated”, you’re gonna be able to brainlessly spin this CD and enjoy it. It’s poppy, it’s silly, it’s in your face, there’s some swearing (which is why I gave it a 5.0 over a 4.0), and there’s hooks aplenty. But if you thought Avril was just beginning to mature on her last album, well, that was more of a detour than a point along a new journey. There are a couple of nice ballads here. Both the big singles “When You’re Gone” and “Keep Holding On” are good in the way, say, Kelly Clarkson is good (minus the vocal ability, of course), but it’s just not enough to make this album recommendable to anyone not riding in the passenger seats of a mini-van.
The 411: The Best Damn Thing is far from it. It’s silly, it’s juvenile and it’s just plain annoying at times. There will be those who love this album because, admittedly, it’s insanely catchy. But, at the end of the day, Avril Lavigne just isn’t a good enough singer or lyricist to satiate any real musical hunger. It’s irritating enough (and slightly vulgar enough) to be less of a hit with parents, which means this is a perfect teenager album. If it weren’t made by a married 20-something, I might be a bit more forgiving. As it is, Lavigne has somehow made me and other critics respect her less, which is a feat in and of itself.
