“Bittersweet World” Album Review

Mention the name Ashlee Simpson, and I tend to get the same response from people.

“Ew. You don’t listen to that!”

or

“That’s not real music!”

In the music world (and even to an extent the less snooty pop culture world) the poor girl is basically a joke. To be fair, she’s been delt all the wrong cards in her pursuit of musical success, starting with the underrated misfortune of being a sibling of a more famous (but equally unrespected) singer, and ending with that disastrous performance on SNL a few years back. Unfortunately for Ashlee, she also lacked both the material and the talent to sever the ties between herself and the aforementioned associations.

With “Bittersweet World,” Ashlee may be able to resolve at least one of these deficiencies. The material is fresh, fun, engaging, and even . . . innovative (who saw that coming?). Let me clarify – this album is not going to start a music revolution. It probably won’t even win any Grammies. But it is innovative in the way it combines some of the signature sounds of other artists to create a very new sound for Ashlee. Imagine, if you can, the experimentalism and alternative-funk stylings of Gwen Steffani, the attitude of Fergie, and the flair of Britney, and you would probably come up with something close to the sound of “Bittersweet World.”

Standouts from the tracklisting include “Rule Breaker,” a recycling of Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” that rivals the original, the interesting and different “Hot Stuff” (the beat here sounds really familiar but I can’t quite place it. Bonus points to anybody who can name it), and the poignant “Never Dream Alone.”

Few, if any, of these songs will explode on radio, yet virtually none of them are the kind of filler tracks so common of other artists’ work. Each song has it’s own life and personality, from the “Fever”-ish title track “Bittersweet World” to the rocking “What I’ve Become.” Only a single song didn’t attract me: the trippy “Murder” (I got a monkey on my back . . . he helpin’ me get it off?). All in all, musically the album is very solid.

In my opinion, the only thing holding Bittersweet back is the second of the two problems mentioned earlier. Now Ashlee has the material, but she still lacks the . . . well, talent.

Let me explain. I mentioned earlier the names of three artists Ms. Simpson’s new style reminds me of. None of these artists are especially talented in the typical sense of the word. Yet each of them possesses a distinctive attitude and personality that somehow makes their music . . . exciting. Ashlee tries hard on this album to develop her own edgy, I-do-what-I-want persona, and it works sometimes (Rule Breaker), but most of the time it comes off a little forced. Unlike how I feel about the work of Gwen, Fergie, and Britney, I just don’t believe that this is the real Ashlee Simpson (maybe that has something to do with her previous albums – entitled “Autobiography” and “I Am Me” – sounding completely different).

Regardless, I am ready to call this album a great success for the artist because of its uniqueness. She very wisely decided she needed to reinvent herself a bit, and while the risk may not pay off commercially, in my own eyes, her musical respectability has gone up a dozen notches or so.

My Review:  B+

Other reviews: Caryn Ganz, Rolling Stone (3 Stars)