Drake Bell - 'It's Only Time (Throwback Album Review)

For this review, we'll be going back to a stellar album of Beatleseque goodness that 'Drake & Josh' star Drake Bell released in 2006.
Release date: 5 December 2006
Record label: Universal Motown
Genre: Power pop, pop rock
Best songs: "Makes Me Happy", "I Know", "Fallen For You", "Fool The World", "Do What You Want", "Rusted Silhouette"
Worst songs: "End It Good"
Rating: 10/10
NOTE: Skip to second paragraph to skip background info.

Ah, Drake Bell. Most of reading this will know who he is... because of me. But I don't praise someone without good reason, and this album is a very good example of that. Drake Bell's an amazing musician, showing prowess on several instruments. While he's mainly a guitarist, he's a pretty good pianist as well. And his range is really good, especially in his later works. Now, for those who don't know, Drake Bell's an actor/musician who got his start at the age of 5 in several commercials, notably one memorable one for the video game 'Pokemon Red & Blue', and a nice little role in Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement'. He later, when filming the 2001 film 'Chasing Destiny', got his initial guitar lessons from The Who's Roger Daltery. And Daltery clearly had an influence, as he went on to take guitar as his primary instrument, and his music from 2005-2014, encompassing three studio albums, got major influences from the 1950s and 1960s, and a bit of 1980s as well. He later went on to star on Nickelodeon's 'The Amanda Show', and 'Drake & Josh', where he had his breakthrough roles. Now, to music. Bell's most successful record, it shot him to super stardom in Latin America. While it only debuted at #81 on the Billboard 200, with 23,000 copies sold (it later went on to sell 200,000 copies in the US), and he only had a song reach the Bubbling Under chart, in Mexico, the album was a Top 5 success, and yielded the #1 single "I Know". Which led to him to selling out Auditorio Nacional, a venue with over 10,000 people, and performing to 50,000-60,000 people on several occasions... and that record was 'It's Only Time'.

I didn't understand it at the time, but if this came out from a current Nickelodeon star, I'd be astonished. Most artists from Nick are putting cookie-cutter pop... and here we get Beatles harmonies, references to Norma Jean, Mildred Davis, and Harold Lloyd, and production that sounds like it was largely influenced by Abbey Road Studio. Colour me intrigued. Now let's get to the tracks themselves. "Up Periscope" is a breezy jam that could've fit well in the summer, with obvious references to sex. It opens up with a monologue of a... submarine captain? This guy has been listening to 'Yellow Submarine' or something? And while there are some cheesy lines like "Don't you want to be the captain of your submarine?", which sounds like he wants to ride her, not the other way around, Bell's charisma pays off. The second track, the lead single "I Know", which was promoted at TRL, became huge in Mexico, and reached over 20 million views on YouTube. Opening up with really good instrumentation, the piano diddly is clearly very 60s influenced. It's clear the girl's despreate for love, and she'll take anyone who will fulfill her fantasy. This track's surprisingly accusatory despite it's more upbeat sound. Calling her out as "the pride of every fake that comes around". She's just a groupie who isn't in any way talented and just hangs out with celebrities all the time. But he does acknowledge they're both in the wrong, and that he's in love with her, something not a lot of people can do... I'll give him some credit.

Then we get the track "Do What You Want". Another piano driven song, the relationship doesn't appear to work out after the break-up, as they're pretty angry. He does censor out the cursing, but Bell tells her to just do what she wants, be free, live how you want, if that's what you want. It's clear she doesn't want this anymore. And he just wants to be done with it. The anger really shows here, and it's a pretty damn good song. Now, the title track, has a bigger gear towards guitar on this song. Oddly enough, the lyrics seem to tell that he's cheating, and "It's Only Time till you find out", and it's because she wasn't appreciative enough. Hmm... okay. Not going to typical route of saying "sorry". "Found a Way" is next, of course the 'Drake & Josh' theme song. I'm not too fond on the acoustic version of track, his delivery doesn't fit the acoustic backing. Still decent though. The second single, "Makes Me Happy", reminds me largely of "Baby's Coming Back" by 80s power pop band Jellyfish (believe me, hear the guitar line in both songs), and it's a pretty upbeat love song about how this girl makes him happy, and it's basic, but effective all the same. Damn catchy too. Now I don't even know what "Fool the World" means, but it's piano line sounds so 60s, I just couldn't not love it. "Everyone would love me if I could fool the world", hmm... what I got from this, is Drake doesn't have to be honest about who he is, and if he fooled the world, everyone would love him. Pretty interesting I guess. Now, what followed was a interesting medley.

"Fallen For You" starts it with references to Jelly Shoes of the 80s and 90s... okay. And he name drops Buddy Holly, Betty Page, and Norma Jean. Seriously, I'm just thinking this kid was really born in the wrong era. He likes classic girls, I guess. I do wonder why he should lie about his age, though. Is she older? I mean, he was dating Stevie Ryan at the time, and she was a bit older, so maybe it was her? Sounds sweet. "Rusted Silhouette", once again, loving the 60s feel. Sounds like something I could see Paul McCartney putting out. Drake here, appears to have been friend-zoned, after "Falling For You". He gets cocky, calling her a "lucky one" that he's coming over, but she wouldn't have it. It's a very dreary track for just being rejected, saying he likes her company more than a "sympathy symphony". Now, "Break Me Down" is a medley of both songs, where he takes about him wanting to get his "78s and 45s" back after a break-up... seriously, man. Retro references all over. And finally, we get "End It Good", which goes even more retro and sounds like a ragtime song from the 1910s. And it's pretty good, albeit, short, and really goofy and cheesy, with again, another retro reference, to B.B. Daniels. It also features vocals from the late Stevie Ryan, and does end the album "good", I guess.

All in all, this was a really amazing record that I'd recommend for any Beatles fan, especially of their weirder stuff or records like 'Yellow Submarine' or 'Abbey Road' or 'Rubber Soul'. 10/10, I'll take this over whatever kid pop star's putting out a record now. So, thanks for reading, I will be reviewing Taylor Swift's 'Red' next, so stay tuned for that.

Top 10 Songs From Artists I Hate

So, for my first Top 10 list, I will be talking about my favourite songs from some artists I hate. I could probably do multiple of these, so I might. This will be based on a mix of factors, how much I hate the musician, and how much I like the song. At the end of the day, it's mostly interchangeable. I love all these songs. Starting off with...

10. Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough"

I know, the pitchforks and torches. You don't like Michael Jackson? Burn the witch! Wait, just hear me out before we start re-enacting the Salem Witch Trials. Now it may sound hypocritical coming from me. As I have a feminine voice and I love voices like Mitch Grassi's or Chris Colfer's, his androgynous sound always sounded fake to me. Like a man trying to sound like a woman. Not a man that naturally has a feminine touch, or like Grassi, just straight can sound like a woman, Jackson sounds like he tries too hard. Really evident from the more spoken sound at the beginning of the song. It's airy. And Jackson's voice seems to think volume equals power. But yeah, this song is really good. The 80s production, Jackson's upper range sounding pleasant, and his lower notes sound powerful. I love the six-piece horn section as well.

9. Drake - "Best I Ever Had"
Oh, when Drake was good. Not all that good, mind you. I can't even really point out why I like this song. His singing and rapping doesn't sound lazy, and he actually sounds invested. But he tends to go off-topic, and this song comes off as cocky. No one knows who you are at this point really, and girls think your songs are about them? Please, bitch.

8. Maroon 5 - "Won't Go Home Without You"
Back when Maroon 5 wasn't the worst thing ever, I didn't dread a new song from them, and Adam Levine was a competent vocalist. Neat. Well, I love this song to this day. Getting a very similar guitar line to The Police's excellent song "Every Breath You Take", Levine of Maroon 5 delivers a heartfelt track, that's affectionate. Please, Maroon 5, go back to this. Don't continue to be garbage.

7. Kanye West - "Stronger"
Now, with West, it's mainly his ego. Because he's a very good producer and rapper. But there are times like with 'The Life of Pablo', he can just be terrible. Make more stuff like this and "Gold Digger".

6. Skrillex - "Purple Lamborghini" (with Rick Ross)


Not much to say. Rick Ross is a decent rapper here and Skrillex actually does the production quite well.

5. David Guetta - "Titanium" (ft. Sia)
Now this song's just beautiful. Sia's beautiful voice telling about no matter the hardships in life, whatever "bullets" get to us... that we're bulletproof and they'll just bounce off. You know, after I saw this video, I found the Christina Grimmie cover... and I just got depressed as hell, so let's just end this here, shall we?

4. Black Eyed Peas - "Where Is The Love?"


Such an excellent track before the Black Eyed Peas went to shit. Being an actual hip-hop group rather than EDM, the group tackles issues such as terrorism, racism, war, and even violence against gay people. And it goes along with very good uncredited vocals from Justin Timberlake. If they went back to making music like this... I probably would have been a fan.

3. R. Kelly - "I Believe I Can Fly"
He could be good, but R. Kelly is too garbage of a human being. And that forever taint his music for me. Look, this song was a part of my childhood, and R. Kelly definitely has a good delivery. But since he thinks it's okay to marry 15 year olds and run sex cults... all I gotta say is fuck you!

2. Thomas Rhett - "Craving You" (ft. Maren Morris)
Now, this one's a bit more lighthearted. I always hated Thomas Rhett for the nepotism and the fact country radio gives him hits despite his songs being bottom of the barrel when it is country, and there's some pop disguising itself as country. This song is a full pop song, and I admit, it's pretty good. Thomas Rhett should be focusing on pop radio. Very nice, albeit familiar sounding melody, the harmonies from Maren Morris are pretty good, though I wish she got a bigger part. "Star Of The Show" definitely could have qualified for this list as well.

1. Justin Bieber - "Maria"


I feel like this song is very similar thematically to "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Stan" by Eminem, or "Loretta" by Will Smith. Crazy fans. And I tend to like these songs. And while this one's a bit brighter toned, it's amazing. Bieber has a strong falsetto, the production is catchy. This is Bieber at his best. If he did music like this on a regular basis, I'd probably be a fan. Good work.

Conclusion
So, yeah, that's my list. Let me know of what you think in the comments, and maybe give a list of your own. Thanks for reading!

Drake Bell - Artist Review

Artist grade: B+

Vocal grade: B

Vocal range/type: Lyric Tenor, E2-G#5 (Three octaves, two notes, and a semitone)

Best album(s): It's Only Time

Worst album(s): Ready Steady Go! (though it's not really bad)

Best song(s): "Makes Me Happy", "In The End", "Found A Way", "Bitchcraft", "Big Shot", "Down We Fall", "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", "Bull", "Somehow"

Worst song(s): "Melina", "End It Good", "Back Of My Hand"

Positives: Charismatic vocals, can portray emotions easily, which is likely helped by his acting career. His voice brings a lot of presence, drawing attention to a song. Sporting a good lower range for a tenor, as the typical tenor range only goes down as far as C3. Able to utilize different sounding voices, allowing for his voice to fit in several genres such as rock and pop. Has received acclaim for what is often mature songwriting for his age, having even won an award from ASCAP. Writing can range from depressing and sad, to happy, showing to be a versatile writer. Can play several instruments, although his primary instrument is the guitar. Refusal to use a ton of vocal effects is appreciated (he even recorded an entire album live).

Negatives: His more rougher sounding vocals he usually presents may not be to everyone's tastes, he can come off as too "try hard" with emotion. Live vocals are often not powerful enough it seems to go through the instrumentation, though that could be due to bad recordings rather than quality of voice. Some songs' compositions can sound similar, though this may be artistic choice. Also, he will occasionally not distance himself enough from his influences, and may come off as an imitator. 

Miranda Cosgrove - Sparks Fly: Album Review

The Nickelodeon actress gives us one of the best pop albums to come out in 2010, and the best of what teen pop has to offer. 

Genre: Pop/Teen pop/Pop rock

Best songs: "Disgusting", "Kissin U", "Hey You", "Adored"

Worst songs: "Oh Oh"

Rating: 9/10

If you see the score, this will probably be one of my most biased reviews I’ve ever done. I will probably overrate this. I was raised on Nickelodeon, and I’ll admit, I had a crush on Miranda Cosgrove from the younger girl during her Drake & Josh days, to iCarly, and even to the woman she is today. I mean, she always had the charisma, the looks, and cute, albeit, more immature of a persona. I even attended a concert and met her. So yeah, celebrity crush territory. You were warned.

Now, while she got bigger push for her music than her fellow Nickelodeon stars like Drake Bell and Victoria Justice, she still didn’t do stellar. This album debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200, with 36,000 copies. While it sold more than Drake Bell’s It’s Only Time (23,000) in its debut week, the latter album eventually sold more, even with her hit songs like “Kissin U” and “About You Now” (the former of which was certified Gold). Now, this album was a guilty pleasure for me as a kid. I couldn’t admit to people I was listening to the iCarly starlet. It was girly pop music. But, listening to it today, I can appreciate it more.

But enough background, let’s get into the actual album and while critics underrated it, I’m going to give it a fair shake. Let’s start with Miranda herself, who, on the verge of her 17th birthday, sounds great on this album, and makes up for her limited range, with tons of charisma and presence on the microphone. The album opens up with the lead single, “Kissin U” (one of the two songs Cosgrove wrote), which basically tells of how Cosgrove feels when kissing a boy. Simple premise, but it doesn’t come off as sensual or sexual in any fashion, it’s cute, and actually appropriate for the demographic, which is why it works. The second song is “BAM”, which has a very EDM feel, but at the same time I had a feeling of pop rock. Another love song, and how much she loves this guy. Again, simple, but that’s what pop is for. Now, we get the best single on the album, the Kesha-penned “Disgusting”, which was left off her debut album Animal. It definitely sounds like a Kesha track, something Cosgrove does on her later EP High Maintenance, with the song “Dancing Crazy”. This song has a different take on hating that she loves him. Another EDM sound with the bass, and has a good hook that doesn’t heavily emphasize the percussion. And I can’t help not liking it, especially with how cute she sounds on the bridge leading up to the final chorus. Then we get to “Shakespeare” which is a very pop rock track which names drops Jeff Buckley of all people, who died when Miranda was only four. What follows up, is the amazing, feel good ballad, “Hey You”, which is telling a friend or lover that she sees that person in the best ways, and “if you would only see yourself the way you see everyone else” and thinking it’s wrong for them to be “hiding in the background thinking you’re not pretty”. Which, I have personal reason to love this track that I won’t get into, just that it makes me feel good about myself. We also have the Avirl Lavigne-penned “Daydream”, another pop rock song that fits very well with Miranda and this album. The two other tracks I’d like to talk about on the positive side (since this is getting long), are “Adored” and “Brand New You”. “Brand New You” plays a similar theme to Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”, telling the guy she can find someone just like him, even with the same anatomy, talking like them, walking like them, etc. It shows a different side to her, a stronger side. Now, “Adored”, Miranda also wrote, which is telling the guy to show her that she’s “adored”, not just saying “I love you”, but showing that he loves her.

And now, we have to get into the negative side. “Oh Oh” reminds me of Ariana Grande’s “Focus”. Annoying male vocals that ruin the song. Yeah, it shows the stronger, and more mature side of her. Her vocals sounds slightly attitude filled, which I actually don’t like her voice that way. She fits better with softer sounds. “I look so hot, the boys forgot that after N comes O”. Great, now I’m thinking of Meghan Trainor’s “No”. Also, I wish they had Miranda wrote more tracks. She’s like Hilary Duff, a very strong songwriter. I’d like to see return to music. Like I said, one of the best pop records of 2010, and the best of the teen pop genre.