When I heard that Vanessa Hudgens was putting out a second album I expected more of the same. Listening to the end result I would say that in certain aspects that fits and in others it doesn’t.

The problem with the first song on the album, Last Night, is that it simply doesn’t sound like Vanessa. Seems like they wanted to add a soul feeling to the song with the lower voice. I first wasn’t sure if the voice was manipulated but listening to the rest of the album where she sounds completely different I just can’t get around it. I think the pitch of her voice was changed in the computer to fit the song more, not that it really worked. It’s just not Vanessa.

The song Identified actually has a nice beat to it but again her voice was altered in the computer though now they’re obvious sound effects. Please record companies; stop doing that. Once in a while it’s fine but don’t do entire songs where you never hear the actual natural voice of the singer.

First Bad Habit isn’t half bad actually with a nice quick beat interrupted with slightly slower sections. It also seems that Vanessa is singing most of the song without help from the computer though there are altered sections in this song as well. The main clue to that is another thing that’s like a disease on records these days, hearing a singer twice at the same time.

Hook It Up, I don’t know what to say. Vanessa, you’re not a gangster rapper (not that the lyrics are like that), don’t try to fool people into thinking you’re something you aren’t. Especially not if you follow it by a song like Don’t Ask Why which is more of a ballad. Not bad but nothing that really sticks and makes you want to hear it again. After this comes Sneakernight, which I already mentioned before I don’t like. It’s just a dumb song to be blunt, I don’t get why this was chosen as the first single though. It’s hardly the best song on the album.

Amazed comes straight out of a computer so in all good conscience I can’t like this. Don’t Leave is another standard ballad, not really bad but nothing that makes you want to listen to it again right away. Paper Cut is also a ballad but has more of a listen again factor, I actually like it even though it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.

Party On The Moon yet again comes straight from a computer, just one question Vanessa: Why? Not to mention that the lyrics of the song are on a same level as Sneakernight, just no meaning behind it. So this is a song that’s not really sung by Vanessa and it has no meaning. Why is this song even on the album? Did It Ever Cross Your Mind suffers from the computer syndrome again, I’m starting to wonder if Vanessa can actually sing or is there another reason for her voice never being untouched on this album?

The last song is Gone With the Wind which is a ballad again and again it’s not really special. I can’t say it’s really bad but it’s nothing that sticks with you. So after about 38 minutes the album comes to an end. I don’t know why record companies don’t know that you can fit 80 minutes on there but in this case I can’t say that I’m too upset about it. I wouldn’t say this is better or worse than the last album, even though there are some different sounds on it I still don’t think that Vanessa has found hers. Though I don’t think she has a lot of involvement in writing the songs. I can’t give this a high rating but it’s not too bad seeing there are a couple of nice beats on it and one or two songs are actually somewhat enjoyable. I don’t see this making big numbers in stores though. The rating would have been a lot better if half the album hadn’t come out of a computer.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am and is filed under CD Review, Vanessa Hudgens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.