Mandy Moore

So Real

Actually differs from the rest

Review Score:

(6/10)
After hearing "Candy", I wrote Mandy off as another Britney; however, they are quite different, and in my opinion, "So Real" as an album is much better than "...Baby One More Time." Mandy Moore has a distinct sound that I'm not sure I like all that much. Britney Spears has the heavily produced sound that's very "Jive-ish" and "Nsync-ish." I bet most teenagers know exactly what I'm talking about. Christina Aguilera has a more vocal sound with less production and has these weird sound effects, and every song sounds different. Mandy Moore has modest yet decent vocals with Euro-pop background music with some Mo-Town vocal arrangements, but the styles do vary on most tracks.

SO REAL: This song is okay, but it's not all that. The chorus is rather simple and boring. It's a good thing that this song wasn't released as a single in the U.S. - there's just not that much special about it. (7.5/10)

CANDY: Oh ... my ... goodness. This may be the most annoying song in the whole world. Since this was the only single off of "So Real" released when I was buying this album, I probably wouldn't have bought it at all - but I got this great Korean import version with the new songs of "I Wanna Be With You" with the whole "So Real" album ... hence, this review. (2/10)

WHAT YOU WANT: I enjoy this song. It's a good pop song. There's a special sincerity about Mandy's voice ... it makes the listener believe that she truly means every word about her fears about trust. (9/10)

WALK ME HOME: Mandy's writers take every advantage possible of Mandy's innocent image. This ballad is excellent ... it's not too boring for those people who don't like slow songs. (10/10)

LOCK ME IN YOUR HEART: This is my personal favorite song off of the album. The guitar in the beginning is infectious. One thing that could have helped the enjoyablitity of the song would be cutting one or two repititions of the chorus from the end ... a little repetitive, here? (10/10)

TELEPHONE: This is an interlude, not a song. (NO RATING)

QUIT BREAKING MY HEART: Again, Mandy makes the listener believe every word she's saying and sympathize with her, but the vocals are so ... nothing. (8/10)

LET ME BE THE ONE: This problem is common throughout pop ... the chorus sounds plain and lame, but the verses and lead-ins are pretty catchy. (8.5/10)

NOT TO YOUNG: This seems like a Pink song only teenagerized up a little bit. It's pretty catchy, but she uses a Justin Timberlake voice in the beginning. UGH! (8.5/10)

LOVE SHOT: This sounds like the Spice Girls came back from the dead ... the return of the Spice Girls is never good news, even when they take over Mandy Moore's body! They tried with a third album, but thank goodness it failed, and this song did as well. (3/10)

I LIKE IT: Too bad no one else likes it! What a horrid song! (1.5/10)

LOVE YOU FOR ALWAYS: A pretty good song ... very typical of Mandy. (8/10)

QUIT BREAKING MY HEART (REPRISE): This track serves a purpose, surprisingly. When you're listening to the WHOLE album at once, this reprise is a pretty good way to end it ... it works better than how "Love You For Always" would have ended it; however, this is just a reprise, so ... (NO RATING)

Overall, I think Mandy Moore would fare better as an organic singer rather than a teen pop star. What I mean by "organic singer" is someone who plays the guitar or piano in coffee houses or small concert auditoriums and writes meaningful lyrics. She has the write voice for that, and she leans toward that in "I Wanna Be With You", and she did something like that very well in TRL Top 40 Videos of the Summer on MTV.

More Reviews: