shopaholic_man's Full Review: The Time of Our Lives [Walmart Exclusive] * by Mil...
Disney has raised quite a few pop stars, but eventually, you know, like all kids they grow up and move out. Some, like Britney Spears melt down and nearly burn out before finding their own spot. Miley Cyrus is the latest to step out of Disney's shadow to try to find her own spot in the music world. It's not like she didn't grow up with music, her father is Billy Ray Cyrus, a country western singer that forced us to listen to Achey Breaky Heart many more times than we should have back in the early nineties. As anyone with access to the internet, the magazines at the supermarket checkout or some passing familiarity with pop culture knows, one of Disney's hottest shows for the past three years has been Hannah Montana, a show written by Michael Poryes. Although Hannah was just a fabrication for the TV show, young Miley Cryus filled the role and went on to pop stardom with her fictional character.
However, kids grow up, and Miley is moving on from her blond wig and 'tweenage fans to find herself musically. The Time of our Lives is Cyrus's third album under her own name, and marks a departure from her Hannah Montana persona. It is an EP length album currently available exclusively at Wal*mart (death metal bands apparently aren't the only ones to sell their souls to the devil) , and my local public library. Although my musical tastes tend to run from opera, classical and jazz to hard rock and death metal, I occasionally indulge in pop music such as albums from Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. Of course it helps that I grew up in the eighties when pop music ruled the airwaves.
The Time of Our Lives
The album has eight songs on it, Kicking and Screaming / Party in the USA / When I look at You / Time of Our Lives / Talk is Cheap / Obsessed / Before the Storm / The Climb.
The Single
It makes sense to start with the single, which rocketed up the Billboard charts and is featured as a top song on YouTube, Party in the USA. It starts off simply enough with some quick catchy guitar chords that could start any number of Sheryl Crow songs. Then the drums kick in with the bass, and Miley sort of rap sings a catchy enough pop/dance tune. I hop off the plane at the LAX with a dream and my cardigan, Welcome to the land of fame, excess, whoa am I gonna fit in? Although Miley's voice is nice enough, there definitely seems like some auto tune there in the chorus. And a Britney song was [engage autotune]o oo ooonnn and a Britney song was oo ooo oonnn The video for it shows Miley in her cowboy boots and shorts, dancing on her car with a group of teens in a parking lot. The song is obviously about Miley moving from Tennessee to L.A. and all the changes that entails. It's a catchy tune though, and one can see why it spent some time up at number 2 on the Billboard pop charts.
The rest
The opening track, Kicking and Screaming is a girl empowered rocking tune about break ups and who will be sorry. Don't keep me waiting, anticipating, treating me like a fool. I got news for you, I'm turning my back, I'm dropping a bomb on you. Rock and pop stars from Joan Jett to Avril Lavigne would approve I'm sure. The chorus belts out So get down and get off, let me show you what you'll be missing, We break up, you break down. Gonna drag you through this kicking and screaming. The song has a simple slightly distorted guitar hook and has an overall good catchy rock pop sound to it.
When I look at You is a straight ahead ballad. Yea, when my world is falling apart, when there's no light to break up the dark, That's when I, I look at you. Miley has a voice that works well enough to carry the ballad well, and she actually fares better than Britney's attempt at ballads on Circus. On the other hand, there's nothing here that's going to move the likes of Sheryl Crow or Jewel from their spots on my female rockers list.
Time of Our Lives is a very generic sounding song that has an uninspired and repetitive hook and bland lyrics. For a song about the time of our lives, the song is pretty dull.
Talk is Cheap is another relationship song, and Miley sings just fine, but again the music behind it just lacks a good pop hook.
Obsessed is another ballad about a popular subject in music. Here, Miley sings from the obsessor's point of view. I just had to call you up and say Hello, I know it's 3 AM. The ballad like tone of the song doesn't seem to match the subject matter. Perhaps I'm showing my age, but one ofmy favorite obsession songs was from years ago, One Way or Another, by my favorite female rocker, Blondie's Deborah Harry. Cyrus drags out the Am I obsessssssed wi iithh you?, I just don't see the slow ballad tone working for this song.
Before the Storm is a duet with Miley Cyrus and another hot Disney property, the Jonas Brothers. (Wouldn't that make it a group harmony? My math says a duet is two...). I cannot stand boy bands, the male vocals here are weak. Okay, I admit it, I hated this song.
The Climb - The albums last song is also a ballad and actually a pretty good one. Miley Cyrus appears to have left autotune completely out of this, and just let her voice soar. The song has a bit of a country twang to it, but it shows that Miley actually has a very nice voice. THe song is about what the title implies, the struggle one faces in challenges in life. There's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move.
My Thoughts
I've been listening to music for thirty some years, and I've watched many stars in all genres, pop included come and go. There are a few songs on here that demonstrate that Miley Cyrus has enough talent to take her somewhere beyond her Disney fame. What she does with that remains to be seen. I gave the song three stars, the good pop tunes are weighed down with the generic filler, and this is only an 8 song EP.
Summary
Will Miley break away from Disney and become her own singer? Time will tell. This third EP length album under her own name has a few nice catchy singles on it and some filler. She still seems to be finding her way and exploring what fits her best. I gave it three stars.
This was an entry in our own Carstairs38 (aka West Coast Mark)'s Disney Writeoff! in celebration of all things Disney. If you love Disney too, read some of his reviews!
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