Well if I'm correct the, pretty abysmal, Herbie:Fully Loaded marked the end of Miss Lohan's tenure as Disney's leading lady. And let's face it, even if it didn't, the drugs and bulemia confessions may well have taken care of that.
It's immediately noticeable upon the start of this album that Lohan, or someone behind the project, wants to make it totally clear that this isn't the Disney version of Lohan presented to us on her last (rather surprisingly good all things considered) album. Indeed "Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Daughter To Father)" makes a pretty brave stab at a confessional torch song with just one problem...it's ever so slightly dull. This is the kind of song that Evanessence could do and sell millions, but whatever the real sentiments behind the song, this listener was never totally convinced. And co-icidentally, or maybe not, Ben Moody is one of the pro's roped in to bring this whole album together
The trick is repeated to similar effect elswhere. "My Innocence", for instance, is in some ways a stirring piano-driven ballad with a rousing chorus, but again in the final analysis it fails to convince.
Much like many a band with serious pretensions, Lohan is actually better suited to the tracks where she bypasses her angst and troubles and just concentrates on belting out a great pop-rock tune. "A Little More Personal" cranks up the fun and is the kind of song that deserves to be a huge hit. The likes of "Fastlane" (which reminds me of the fantastic and much over-looked Katy Rose) and "Who Loves You" (which somehow manages like Goldfrapp producing the Nine Inch Nails) have their angst-driven lyrics, but these are somewhat hidden by their catchy pop tunes.
There is also the surprise of two rather good covers. The Cheap Tricks "I Want You To Want Me" literally had me dancing around my room when I heard it and even a stab at Stevie Nicks' "Edge Of Seventeen" isn't the unmitigated disaster you might fear and is probably the higlight of the album as far as I am concerned.
The problem is of course is that Lohan's previous audience may well have matured in the past few years, but will they appreciate the change of direction? There is also the slight problem that Kelly Clarkson may well have cornered the market already for this kind of thing (although a Billboard Top 20 entry for the album suggests that Lohan may carry it off).
Much like "Speak" this is a surprisingly good album, although how much input Lohan had into it in terms of everything but singing in open to question. And of course, because it's Lindsay Lohan, it won't get the accolades that it deserves. This is a brave stab at a "proper" music career, and I for one hope it pays off.
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