Hotel Paper

The Spirit Room "So I'm a little left of center, I'm a little out of tune," sings Michelle Branch on her debut album's "You Get Me." Well, maybe. Branch offers a well-produced pastiche of chiming and strumming guitars, hip-hop-lite beats, quiet-verse-to-louder-chorus templates, and positive ...	Stand Still, Look Pretty The Wreckers are Grammy-winning songstress Michelle Branch and friend/journeywoman Nashville singer-songwriter Jessica Harp, a team whose solid craftsmanship and soaring, airtight harmonies often lift their hook-smart contemporary country stylings above what's too often mere fizz...	Be Not Nobody With her much-anticipated debut, ex-ballerina Vanessa Carlton more than makes good on the promise of her first single, "A Thousand Miles." Augmenting her classical training with a broad range of pop she soaked up playing New York City clubs and listening to classic rock in her fa...	Harmonium Sophomore albums are dicey affairs. With an early fork in the road before them, fresh-faced artists find themselves with a choice of either repeating the formula that worked before or venturing out in uncharted territory. Vanessa Carlton opts to test her range with her ambitious,...	Let Go Self-professed skate punk Avril Lavigne sings that she'd "rather be anything but ordinary" on her debut. While the fact that she had a record deal by the age of 16 separates her from the pack, too often Let Go's lyrical shortcomings drag the teenager's musically impressive record...
Coco Even without MySpace, singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat is sure to have found an audience, but her oft-accessed page accelerated the process, mostly on the strength of the effervescent "Bubbly." On her first full-length album, the California native conjures up clear skies and warm...	Heroes & Thieves Three time Grammy nominated artist whose hits include "A Thousand Miles", "Ordinary Day" and "White Houses" returns with her brand new album Heroes & Thieves, featuring the hit single "Nolita Fairytale." Album produced by Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind), Irv Go...	Under My Skin With her breakthrough 2002 debut, Let Go, Avril Lavigne tried to market herself as the bona fide alternative to tarty teen queens, Britney and Christina. Her guitar-pop hits were irresistibly bratty but the whole "Complicated" teen pose was a little hard to swallow, especially si...	Breakaway Kelly Clarkson could have played her American Idol-propelled career much differently, languishing in the role of dippy ingénue or shunting her musical development by leaning too heavily on overnight stardom. Instead she dug in her heels and allowed good sense (or a good manager)...	The Best Damn Thing The first clue to the sound of Avril Lavigne's third CD, The Best Damn Thing, comes in the form of her kickoff single, "Girlfriend," which is filled with singing, clapping, and cheerleader-style chanting. The song is quite a sonic contrast to her previous disc, Under My Skin, whi...

A Great Follow Up!
Most artists falter after a really successful debut CD, but not Michelle Branch. "Holtel Paper" maintains the same pristine musicianship displayed in "The Spirit Room" She is impressive and one to be reckon with. A lot of fans who play the guitar seems to really dig her, which is probably a a compliment in itself. "Are You Happy Now" the first track pretty much sets the tone and the more you listen to this CD, the more you are amazed. There's a duet with Sheryl Crow on track#7 which I find interesting because you can't hardly hear Sheryl because they mirror each other's vocals, and ofcourse there's "Breath" Let's all hope that Michelle will keep on making cool music.

It's spectacularly & superiorly gripping compared to what I once thought. Please don't overlook this budding songwriter.
Intro - *** Are You Happy Now (initial single) - ***** Find Your Way Back - ***** Tuesday Morning - **** Empty Handed - **** One Of These Days - **** Love Me Like That - **** Desperately - ***** Breathe (second single. faired better than the initial) - **** Where are You Now - ***** Hotel Paper - ***** Till I Get Over You - **** It's You - ***** Cover Art: B+ Other Art: A- Songwriting: B- Production: A- Length: A+ Overall: B-- 56/13 = 4.75 4.75 stars. Oh and IGNORE that, "SO superior to the sophomore album" thing I said about Her first album. It was great, but the Scores never Lie...

Great Music
I am a big Michelle Branch fan. It never ceases to amaze me the powerful sound that comes out of this womans vocal cords. I enjoy listening to this and the rest of her CD`s.

My Fave
This is my fave CD ever. If you like real music, this is it!

Bad News - Good News
Bad news is that I wasted my time listening to this whinefest. Good news is that I bought it used. I give it two stars because there are two tolerable songs on the CD and she is a cutie. More good news. I re-sold it for my purchase price.