In This Skin

by

Jessica Simpson

Edit

"In This Skin" is Jessica's album! She wrote 9 of the 11 songs on it, and they are all from the heart. Jessica has continued to mature with each album, but this one show exactly how far she's come. She shows just what her beautiful voice is capable of, and every single song is sung with tremendous emotion. She found her own sound and voice, and unlike many artists today, did not produce a "trendy" sounding CD.

Song by song:

1)SWEETEST SIN (9.5/10): The first single off the album, and it is sexy and smoldering. Jessica's breathy vocals create very intense mental images.

2)WITH YOU (9/10): This song is a light, upbeat song talking about how being truly loved for who you are is the most liberating thing in the world.

3)MY WAY HOME (9/10): This song has a great downbeat and slinkyness to it. The melody is very enticing.

4)I HAVE LOVED YOU (10/10): I love this song--the melody, the vocals, it's just a beautiful song that was made for Jessica's voice.

5)FORBIDDEN FRUIT (8.5/10): Probably the most "pop-y" song, but kind of has an old school Paula Abdul vibe, not trying too hard to be hip. You can get into the beat of this one!

6)EVERYDAY SEE YOU (9/10): A sweet, beautiful song that makes you forget all your problems and just relax for 3 minutes. Very soothing

7)UNDERNEATH (9.5/10): A wonderful, powerful song that describes love at it's most passionate, and every bit of that passion flows through Jessica's voice.

8)YOU DON'T HAVE TO LET GO (11/10!!): The best song on the album. Jessica wrote this song for her father, and it is the most touching, poignant, amazing song I've heard in a long time. It actually brought tears to my eyes. It shows what an amazing person she is to have this much gratitude towards her father for making her the person she is today. Her voice is spectacular here. If this song doesn't at least give you chills, then I give up!

9)LOVING YOU (9.5/10): My favorite up-tempo song on the album. Has a great groove. Another incredibly sexy and sultry song.

10)IN THIS SKIN (10/10): This is probably the most revealing song on the album. Jessica tells about her insecurities, but it is very motivating in that it emphasizes being comfortable with yourself. A very touching and uplifting song.

11)BE (10/10): The best "love" song in my opinion, on the CD. It talks about hope and happiness and what love really feels like.

Jessica bares her soul and we see her vulnerabilities and her passion for life, love and family. She has truly found the "skin" she is comfortable in!

Let's face it, Jessica Simpson is a singer with absolutely nothing of any relevance to offer. From the synthetic melodies to the trite grade-school lyrics and Simpson's overwrought caterwauling, her music is pure product - sadly, her continued success (along with her equally dreadful peers, Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera) represents the apparent triumph of commerce over art. You're not going to hear anything here that hasn't already been done a million times before - and better (although with this genre, that's not saying much).

The secret to Simpson's success? Why, it had absolutely nothing to do with crafting an album of epic proportions that would make even the strictest skeptic raise his eyebrow? Of course not! It had to do with marrying another third-tier pop star (Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees) and broadcasting their life together on television! Why America has fallen head over heels for these irritating, self-absorbed prima donnas is anybody's guess - Lachey is an embarrassment to men everywhere and Simpson is an uncouth, spoiled mama's girl. Not only are they hard to identify with, but their attitudes make it hard to stomach them, let alone like them.

Now, let's review In This Skin - it's unlistenable dreck and only appealing if you think Jennifer Lopez's "Dear Ben" was a great song, as the whole album is Simpson's nauseating love letter to Lachey. "Sweetest Sin"'s imagery transforms the deeply religious Simpson into a sultry seductress, all in the name of marketability - I'm not buying it for a second. "With You" goes through many dumb incongruous cliches (including "Wish I could save the world / Like I was Super Girl") before she gets to the chorus - where she says there's nothing quite like "being with you", rendering the rest of the song pointless. It doesn't get any better from there: In "My Way Home" she sings "I'm the lover of your soul / Deep inside this man that I know", the treacly and grammatically incorrect "Everyday See You" ("I got the sun / I got the moon / I got someone I can talk to / 'Cause I get to everyday see you") and the ridiculously vain title track, where she repeats the phrase "I am beautiful in this skin" more times than you'll ever want to hear. All this over the tired song-factory melodies typical of a teen-pop and Simpson's many attempts to cover every note on the musical scale in a single breath - this, my friends, does not constitute a good singer.

In summary: A lackluster effort from an incredibly overrated performer, In This Skin wouldn't have received a fraction of its publicity without Jessica Simpson's trivial reality show - any performer associated with MTV is guaranteed maximum exposure, and this proves it. I recommend that you spend your money on something other than this tired collection of pop cheese.