Mandy Moore

The Best

Review Score:

(10/10)
Wow. What can I say about this CD? You just cannot compare this album with either Britney Spears' debut disc or Christina Aguilera's self-titled album. This particular Pop record contains Middle-Eastern beats & sounds in tunes like "In My Pocket", "Saturate Me", & "One Sided Love". It's more mature & romantic than Miss Moore's previous releases because there are hardly any corny lyrics in this project & the music itself (the drumming, chimes, hooks, beats; etc.) do not come off as poppy-sounding as Moore's first CD. Mandy's vocals seem just a little bit more womanly in some of the songs & I feel that the difference in the instruments/music & what she's singing of has to do with that. She also did not record the songs for this CD when she was fourteen as she did for "So Real".

Mandy wanted to make a marking/statement with this record...a positive one of musical growth & diversity. That's one reason why it's so appropriately titled, "Mandy Moore". Artists that wish to experiment with different kinds of music are more likely to be praised & receive good critical reviewing than those that release & perform the same material over & over again. Moore was able to have more of her imputs & ideas in this album. She also co-wrote, "When I Talk To You". This violin-based & acoustic track is the last on this record & it's full of sorrow; dealing with the loss of a frienship & wondering whatever went wrong. Mandy's voice is pure & sweet & emotional here. The first two singles from the disc, "In My Pocket" & "Crush", were U.S. smashes in their own right; showcasing Mandy's growth from singles such as "Candy", "Walk Me Home", & "So Real" (which all yet remain great Pop tracks in my opinion).

The songs I treasure the greatest from this album are "In My Pocket", "Saturate Me", "17", "Cry", "It Only Took A Minute", & "Yo-Yo". "It Only Took A Minute" is the most romantic love ballad on the disc & Mandy's singing close to the end of the track is as angelic & innocent-like as it can possibly be. The third single, "Cry", is incredibly recognized from Mandy's hit film "A Walk To Remember" & it's soundtrack. The words of the song are beautiful; involving one that pictures another person differently after falling in love with them & seeing them in an emotional state of being. Moore's lovely talent really glows in this song.

Overall, this is a very good album & it was hard for me to pick between the ratings of four stars & five stars. I ended up chosing five for this because the facts that Mandy is my favorite Musician & this second CD showing terrific character allowed me to.

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