Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years since a 16 year-old named Avril Lavigne burst onto the music scene with her teen pop hits "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi."
Following the success of her debut CD, "Let Go," Avril returned two years later with a more serious collection of tunes called "Under My Skin." Proving she was no flash in the pan, Lavigne continued her streak of platinum records and hit singles with her 3rd CD "The Best Damn Thing" which found Avril going full on power/pop/punk and was one of my favorite CDs in the summer of 2007!
It's now 2011. After marriage and divorce Lavigne is back with her 4th CD "Goodbye Lullabye." On her latest effort, Avril has embraced all of the styles of her first 3 releases, thrown them in a blender and given her fans a little bit of everything they have come to know and love about this pint-sized rockstar.
"Goodbye Lullaby" starts with a lullaby (of course) called "Black Star." Clocking in at 1 minute 30 seconds, this is a nice little tune written by Lavigne and produced by her ex-husband Deryck Whibley. The lyrics are simple and sweet and this song seems written as a farewell to Whibley. Tough time in the studio that day (see: Fleetwood Mac: Rumors.)
Next up is the first single "What The Hell." This song would have fit perfectly on "The Best Damn Thing" plus its "Mickey" inspired dance beat would make Toni Basil proud.
Songs of break-ups and love lost abound -- such as the obvious Alanis Morissette influenced "Push" and "Wish You Were Here." Usually when an artist has a CD with 14 tracks, about 4 or 5 of those are just filler. But "Goodbye Lullaby" is that rare disc that is enjoyable from start to finish and just might be Lavigne's most well rounded album to date.
I'm not embarrassed to say that as a man in his 40's I liked Avril Lavigne when she was 16 and now that it's legal I like her even more!
Drumroll please… 8 out of 10 drumsticks!
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