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.

Taylor Swift Spends a Third Week at No. 1 With "Look What You Made Me Do", RHYMEBERRY Debuts

Taylor Swift continues to dominate, being No. 1 for a third week with "Look What You Made Me Do". Also, RHYMEBERRY debuts.

Obviously, as previously stated "Look What You Made Me Do" spends a third week at the top. Interestingly enough, it appears to have a small gain in performance. Now, while it can't challenge just yet, "Marry Me" by Thomas Rhett inches up, moving 3-2. It's still going pretty strong, and could become the next No. 1, unless something robs it. Having a better week than expected, "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen moves 7-3, almost nearing the points of the No. 2 song. 

In a particularly bad week for Kirstin Maldonado, "Break a Little" fell hard out of the Top 10, and "Hey Guapo", her collaboration with Play-n-Skillz, falling to No. 4 with heavy losses in performance. Bleeding points fast, it can be out of the top 10 in as early as two weeks. At No. 5 we get "Craving You" by Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris. It seems to be a Top 10 mainstay as its points are falling, but extremely slowly. "My Mind Is For Sale" by Jack Johnson rises to No. 6, which is unexpected for a mellow, indie folk like this. But it hit a point peak and may not be sticking around much longer. To continue Taylor Swift's fortunes, "...Ready For It", moves 9-7 for a new peak, and a new peak in points. It'll likely be heading for a Top 5 position in the future. Now, a previous No. 1, "Unforgettable" by Thomas Rhett, is in the opposite position, falling 5-8. It won't be lasting much longer, but it had a pretty good run. 

Now, we get two new Top 10 entries. The first being "Too Much to Ask" by Niall Horan, which boosts 11-9, with decent performance, but nothing stellar. And our second song is a debut, and an unexpected one at that... "Bring It On Down" by RHYMEBERRY. The J-pop/rap song debuts at No. 10, despite having less than five days of tracking. This can be a No. 1 within the next few weeks. This is a very good week for international acts, as we have acts from Canada, the United States, Russia, the UK, Japan, and France on the chart.

Looking to next week, based on early predictions, Taylor Swift will likely be holding her #1 spot, "Hey Guapo" could be falling out of the top 10 entirely, and "...Ready For It?" and "Bring It On Down" will be fighting for a spot in the Top 5.

Taylor Swift Returns to #1, Jack Johnson Earns His First Top 10 Entry

In a particularly eventful week, Taylor Swift returns to #1 with "Look What You Made Me Do", Jack Johnson earns his first top 10 entry, and Carly Rae Jepsen and Sabrina Carpenter make big returns.

To start, "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift goes 5-1. It tallies its second non-consecutive week at #1. Now, this could've faced challenge from "Hey Guapo" by Play-n-Skillz and kirstin... except it had a pretty bad week. The real challenger is "Marry Me" by Thomas Rhett. Despite it not being a single, it is getting pretty big gains, so it will likely overtake "Hey Guapo" soon. Speaking of Thomas Rhett, he takes up the rest of the Top 5, as "Craving You" with Maren Morris holds on to #4, despite having a pretty bad week, should be out of the Top 10 soon. But it still held up over his other song, "Unforgettable" which took a massive loss in points as the album hype fades. As such, it replaces Taylor Swift's spot at #5.

Now, we get two returning entries to the Top 10, as "Why" by Sabrina Carpenter comes back at #6 (going 14-6), for a new peak. It only left because Thomas Rhett flooded the chart. And in a huge surprise boost, "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen returns to #7 (rising massively from 25-7), off of its music video. Could it gain more? Who knows. It's got competition from our only new song, "My Mind Is For Sale" by Jack Johnson. See, I did not expect this, but it's really good. The anti-Trump single reaches the top 10 with huge momentum. It is the first political song in the top 10.

And at #9, we get "...Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift, which is sticking around longer than I expect but not in the top 10 much longer. And finally, at #10... "Break a Little" by kirstin bounds 12-10? It really just shows how weak the bottom two songs are. In some good news, two big arrivals come right below. "Too Much To Ask" by Niall Horan debuts at #11, and "GUY.exe" by Superfruit at #12.

In our very early projections, it'll be a battle between "Marry Me" and "Look What You Made Me Do" for #1.

Full chart: http://crownnote.com/charts/naos/my-top-50-15

Thomas Rhett - 'Life Changes' (Album review)

Time to look at the third studio album from pop country star Thomas Rhett... and how it's... good?!
Release date: 8 September 2017
Record label: Valory Music Co., Big Machine Records
Genre: Pop country
Best songs: "Marry Me", "Craving You" (ft. Maren Morris), "Life Changes", "Sixteen", "Gateway Love", "Grave"
Worst songs: "Leave Right Now"
Rating: 8/10

To be honest, I didn’t even expect to cover this. Because to be honest, I hated Thomas Rhett when he was putting out atrocious songs like “Crash and Burn” and “Vacation”. Sure, his debut album ‘It Goes Like This’ could have been way worse, considering it was bro-country. But then, ‘Tangled Up’ was released, and oh, god, was it bad. Let’s just say, ISIS could’ve used it as torture. But, I did like “Die a Happy Man”, and “Star Of The Show”. “T-Shirt” wasn’t that bad. And then, we got the two singles, and I really liked them. And with all the promotional singles, I liked them much better than I thought, and I was excited for the album, so how was ‘Life Changes’?

Well, far better than what I expected when looking back at 2015. Pretty much everything is better. “Craving You” is a electric guitar driven song, and while it does do the overdone “love = drugs” kind of thing, it really doesn’t bother me. There’s a lot of energy to it, and Maren Morris definitely does well here. Even though she kinda blows Thomas Rhett out of the water. We also get “Unforgettable”. A pretty likable acoustic pop song. Sure, the percussion could be a little bit heavy, but the lyrical content is alright. It’s a nice love song. It’s followed by “Sixteen”, another acoustic driven song that leans a bit more country. And it’s surprisingly mature coming from Rhett. Looking back on the years, back when he thought big of things that were really pretty little. And I can get that. Then we get the obviously country “Drink a Little Beer”. Which features his father Rhett Akins. It’s not really a song like too much. It’s basically a song full of country cliches, and the little outro regarding his father’s possible comeback album, I wasn’t too fond of the advertisement. Just seemed pointless to me. And following this, we get the best song on the album, “Marry Me”. This is something I certainly didn’t expect from him. Basically, it's about if his wife (who he knew since they were like, 7) ended up marrying someone else, and the depression and alcoholism he would have to deal with, and that he'd still wish her happiness, despite loving her and having been friends forever. And I can understand that sentiment. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in this situation soon. And this is probably one of my favourite songs to come out in 2017. Another showing a ton of maturity, and emotional intensity that you don’t expect from Thomas Rhett. Piano was a good choice for the backing, but i don’t think the drums or anything else were necessary. Still a really good song.

“Smooth Like The Summer” is a pretty breezy track that would’ve worked for the… well, summer. But like “When You Look Like That” and “Sweetheart”, they weren’t all that interesting. Definitely not bad songs, but they’re barely above average. Although we get good tracks like “Life Changes”, where he talks about how his life is changing, how he’s all of sudden got two kids. Life can change that quickly. And… yeah, it’s catchy, mature, it’s pretty good. “Gateway Love” is a weird one. I didn’t like it at first, but it’s actually pretty good. Range is diverse, and his upper range again, sounds pretty decent. “Kiss Me Like a Stranger” seems to be R&B inspired. Nowhere near my favourite, but it isn’t bad. It's a fine enough hook-up jam. Also, "Grave", It's actually pretty good, especially the hook and message behind how Thomas will take her love to the grave. Then we get “Leave Right Now”, pretty basic, an generic EDM Chainsmokers song, which is of course, stealing a guy's girlfriend. Only bad song here, but even then... it isn't abysmal.

I liked it so much more than I thought. The writing’s a whole lot more mature, the production is still all over the place, but it’s usually good. Thomas Rhett doesn’t go into asinine territory with his lyrics, and he appears to have finally grown up. Those kids are doing good on him. Solid 8/10, I definitely recommend this! I'm looking forward to the next album!

Thomas Rhett Takes #1 and Dominates The Week With 'Life Changes' Album

Achieving far more than predictions indicated, the Country star achieves his first #1 with "Unforgettable". Along with this, he ties Taylor Swift for songs record, and ties for most songs in the Top 10.

As Thomas Rhett's "Unforgettable" moves 4-1, Rhett scores his first #1 song on the chart. He narrowly just missed the chart previously with "Craving You" (which moves 5-4), which peaked at #2. Along with this, Rhett debuts four songs in the wake of his 'Life Changes' album. Rhett's third studio album, has allowed him to match up records with the likes of Pentatonix and Taylor Swift.

The debuting songs are "Marry Me" (#3), "Life Changes" (#7), "Leave Right Now" (#9), and "Kiss Me Like a Stranger" (#10), which brings Rhett's Top 10 total to seven, tying Pentatonix, Superfruit, and kirstin, who have all achieved the feat. Rhett also narrowly beat the record, as "Gateway Love" debuts at #11. This disruption has kicked several successful songs out of the Top 10. Previous #1s, "Break a Little", and "Honest", took major drops this week due to Rhett. 

Rhett also ties pop/ex-country singer Taylor Swift for her record of having most songs in the Top 50, as Rhett achieved 16. All of 'Life Changes' is in the chart this week, aside from two tracks. Three of his previous hits remain in the chart: "Beer With Jesus", "Die a Happy Man", and "T-Shirt". He also debuts with his cover of Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man". He also narrowly missed beating this record as well, as "Star Of The Show" (which previously peaked at #8), just missed the required points to re-enter.

As of the rest of the Top 10, "Hey Guapo" falls 1-2, "Look What You Made Me Do" sinks 2-5, and "...Ready For It?" rises 10-8. 

Next week, we should see the fallout of an album bomb. But who knows? It could all stick around. Full chart coming soon.

kirstin and Play-N-Skillz dethrone Taylor Swift with "Hey Guapo"

So yes, kirstin returns again to #1 with "Hey Guapo". But Taylor Swift's not completely out of the running.

As "Hey Guapo" pushed "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift down to #2, it's not losing all that much. Both songs have over 9000 points. The rest of the chart seems pretty irrelevant, as all songs have almost less than double the points of these two. 

Naturally, this causes push-backs. "Honest" by Drake Bell down to #3 as it is just nowhere near as strong. However, a music video could be coming soon, so if it's good... who knows? But till then, it'll be replaced by "Unforgettable" by Thomas Rhett. Holding on to #4 with good gains. He has two other songs, "Craving You" falls to #5 as it's just losing in points now, with "Sixteen" up to #6. All songs may be getting a boost, as Rhett's 'Life Changes' album released on the 8th. 

"Break a Little" by kirstin falls to #7, falling pretty lighter than I thought, and "Why" by Sabrina Carpenter holds a #8. And we get two songs entering or re-entering the Top 10: "Sexy Ladies" by Superfruit boosts to #9, and the top debut goes to "...Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift at #10. The first promo single from 'reputation', as it was released on a Sunday, it had less chart impact than it would have. 

Now for next week, looking to predictions, "Hey Guapo" and "Look What You Made Me Do" will be battling it out for #1, and Thomas Rhett could push "Unforgettable" into the top 3. Full chart comes Friday.

Note: Also, I'm running out of pics for that girl.

Taylor Swift boosts to #1 with "Look What You Made Me Do"

The pop star goes 40-1. She also debuts a song in the Top 10, and takes up over 10% of the whole chart, breaking the record for most songs on the chart.

"Look What You Made Me Do" rises 39 spots to take the #1. It breaks multiple records this week. Most points earned in a week (10,000). This amount overtakes the previous record holder, kirstin's "Break a Little", by 3000 points. It also breaks the record for biggest jump to #1. I could this sticking around for a while, if only a certain someone didn't decide to drop a amazing song of Spanglish goodness (which I will get to later). Now, this pushes back "Honest" by Drake Bell down to #2, which is facing a lot of competition despite its momentum. Now, what doesn't have a lot of momentum is "Craving You" by Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris. Its days are numbered, it's lasted quite long. It'll be replaced soon likely by the #4, "Unforgettable" by Thomas Rhett. 

Now, "Imaginary Parties" by Superfruit and "Break a Little" by kirstin, these Pentatonix members have done well on the chart, but those songs are starting to sputter out. Now, we get to our #7, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it's "Sixteen" by Thomas Rhett, meaning we could have three Thomas Rhett songs in the Top 5 eventually. Joy. Now, another competitor is "Why" by Sabrina Carpenter, which rose 10-8, and it's still doing fine. Now, "Cut To The Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen... well, it might get a modest boost from Leap!, but it's falling to #10. If it does come back, it'll be short-lived. 

Back to discussing Taylor Swift, as the heartfelt ballad "Ronan", about a 4-year-old boy who died of nueroblastoma back in 2011, debuts at #9. It's a damn good song, and when people say all Taylor Swift writes about is breakups... there you go. Along with this, she takes over 10% of the chart, with 16 songs currently on the chart. But, the big challenger is "Hey Guapo" by kirstin and Play-N-Skillz. With only three hours of tracking, the Spanglish pop song debuts at #42, and like I said, could make a serious play for #1.

According to predictions, it may slightly overtake "Look What You Made Me Do", and could achieve double the points of Drake Bell's "Honest". If it does, it'll be the first foreign language song to top the chart, and will mark Kirstin's third #1 (not counting her work with Pentatonix). Although, these two songs may not be the best thing for the chart, as this could lead to a lock up of at least the top 2 spots, if not more.

For a link to the full chart for this week, click here!