Kelly Clarkson CD Review: Not All I Ever Wanted

The first time I heard Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You,” I was totally unimpressed. But as you know, I eventually fell in love with it.

So when I had an immediately negative reaction the first time I heard Kelly’s CD, “All I Ever Wanted,” I knew I had to give it another chance. And another, and another, and another…

In fact, it wasn’t until at least the sixth listen that I finally started to feel it and realize that yes, it is actually a good CD.

So what took me so long? I don’t know. Maybe I’m still bummed about the whole “My December” thing (I still don’t understand why people didn’t like it.). Or maybe my expectations were just too high. Or maybe people kept interrupting me during the best parts. But whatever it was, I’m finally on board the Kelly Clarkson comeback train.

Now granted there are still some songs that I don’t get or like, but for the most part, it’s a return to more of the pop sounds of “Breakaway.” Thankfully, however, that “My December” angst is still present as well…

The CD kicks off with the #1 smash, “My Life Would Suck Without You”…

Then it’s another catchy ditty, “I Do Not Hook Up,” which was originally recorded by Katy Perry (but not included on her album) and co-written by Perry, Kara DioGuardi and Greg Daniels. The song is—just as its title suggests—about holding hands and moving slow, which is a nice change of pace from what we get on the radio today. And yes, I agree that it doesn’t seem like Katy Perry’s kind of song, and in fact, there are some lyrical changes from Perry’s version…

“Cry,” which Kelly co-wrote, is a beautiful rocky ballad full of angst (Sample lyric: Is it over yet/Can I open my eyes/Is this as hard as it gets/Is this what it feels like to really cry)...

"Don’t Let Me Stop You" is one of those songs I’m just not sure about. It’s okay, it just doesn’t make me want to jump and down...

I want to like the title track, "All I Ever Wanted," because it has a great beat, but something about the production of the chorus just doesn’t quite sound right...

But there is no doubt about "Already Gone," which Kelly co-wrote with Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic). It’s a great breakup ballad with that patented Kelly Clarkson edge...

But Tedder ruins his hot streak with "If I Can’t Have You" which is just too overproduced...

Fortunately he gets it back with "Save You," which sounds like it came right off "My December"—and I mean that as a compliment. The song goes on for a little too long, but it’s still solid.

But then the same team that brought us the title track goes totally over the top—and not in a good way—with "Whyyawannabringmedown." The song just tries too hard to be whatever it’s trying to be...

However, "Long Shot," another Katy Perry co-write, gets things back on track with another catchy chorus (It’s a long shot and I say why not/If I say forget it I know that I’ll regret it)…

Then it’s another great pop song from Kelly and Ryan Tedder called, “Impossible.” The driving beats of the chorus are impossible to escape…

“Ready,” another Kelly co-write, has some great sounding verses, but the chorus doesn’t quite match up…

I first wrote off “I Want You” as silly, but the more you listen to it, the more catchy it gets with its staccato repetition of “I want you” for a chorus…

Kelly closes the CD with the Keri Noble song, “If No One Will Listen,” a gorgeous inspirational ballad that Kelly produced…

As I said, not every song works for me; but as a whole the CD does. I just wouldn’t say that it’s all I ever wanted…

“All I Ever Wanted” hits stores Tuesday, March 10th. You can take a listen here...

Photo Credit: RCA