The first thing you’ll notice is the voice. As the first few notes roll along on the opening track, it’s easy to get swept up by the strong, rich, and somewhat unexpected vocals. That voice belongs to Amanda Marshall and is being showcased on her latest release, Tuesday’s Child. The only thing that I have a problem with is what she’s singing.
Tuesday’s Child is very much your basic pop album. And a good, solid one at that. “Believe in You” kicks it off with everything it would need to become a Top 40 hit: a memorable tune, a catchy chorus, and a good message too. The album is full of these up-tempo, feel good songs with contagious melodies, as in “Love Lift Me” and “Ride”. The alternative is the done-wrong love song, examples being the slower “Why Don’t You Love Me?” and “Too Little Too Late”.
However, there seems to be something missing here, and that is feeling. At times it seems like many of the lyrics and melodies are too manufactured, too trite and clichd to really be felt. When she sings, “But it’s too little too late/ No going back to the start/ You only lose when you hesitate/ And now that I would give you my heart/ It’s too little too late,” you don’t feel it. That’s what separates a good song from a memorable one; the former only lives for you as you listen to it while the latter sticks with you.
Nevertheless, there are some worthwhile tunes on the cd. “Shades of Grey” could be considered the rocker of the album, deviating from the other love drenched tracks by tackling the issue of racism. Despite the codependent lyrics (“Cause I wouldn’t wanna be me if I didn’t have you”), “If I Didn’t Have You” offers one of the prettiest melodies on the album. The best song, “Out of Bounds,” closes out the album with its explosive chorus.
If the aim of this album was to create a good and safe pop album, then Tuesday’s Child definitely accomplishes this. Still, it seems like Marshall has so much more to offer.
+ julie pecoraro
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