Jill A. Web

$14.38

Description not provided.

$17.99

By Amanda Palmer and The Dresden Dolls. Piano Personality. Softcover. 112 pages. Published by Cherry Lane Music

$14.95

By Amanda Marshall. For voice, piano and guitar (chords only). Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook. Pop Rock and Adult Contemporary. Difficulty: medium. Songbook. Vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names, guitar chord diagrams and black & white photos. 64 pages. Published by Hal Leonard

$11.18

Amanda Leigh is Mandy Moore’s full given name, so it stands to reason that this, her sixth album, finds the pop starlet turned singer/songwriter getting real — not necessarily confessional, but intimate, a record that follows the form and feel of her AAA makeover, Wild Hope. Amanda Leigh improves on that mannered, earnest record not by abandoning or heavily reworking the template (one that has essentially been in place ever since Mandy discovered ’70s singer/songwriters on her 2003 covers album, Coverage), but by strengthening its foundation through working with sympathetic collaborators, chiefly Mike Viola, the singer/songwriter behind the Candy Butchers who has also written period-specific pastiches for the films Walk Hard and That Thing You Do. Viola works on all but one song here — Lori McKenna, a Wild Hope veteran, is responsible for “Every Blue” — and Inara George, half of the Bird and the Bee, contributes to three tunes, and their work helps steer Moore toward the neo-classicist pop she’s been striving to create for the better part of a decade now. Echoes of her oft-cited ’70s pop inspirations abound — particularly Joni Mitchell, but also Harry Nilsson on the tinkling pianos of “Pocket Philosopher” and Todd Rundgren, whose influence reverberates on “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week,” the liveliest thing here — but emphasizing these influences too strongly is misleading, suggesting Amanda Leigh is a funky hippie throwback when it’s very much a product of its upscale tasteful times, a clean, classy collection of AAA pop recalling a user-friendly Fiona Apple or friendlier Jenny Lewis as much, if not more, than a ’70s canyon lady. Everything about Amanda Leigh is just a shade too precise — the production too transparent, the singing too on the nose, the mood too subdued — to achieve the homespun quality Moore so cherishes, but a large part of Mandy’s appeal is her good taste and her clean way with a song, something that is readily apparent and often winning on Amanda Leigh. She’ll never be a child of nature or a pop auteur — she’s still too much a showbiz kid for that — but she has successfully dropped all the tacky accoutrements of her past and turned into a sweet, classy singer/songwriter whose charms are readily apparent here, her best adult pop record yet. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

$6.77

Description not provided.

$16.79

Timing is everything for an artist. In order to achieve major success in music’s mercurial attention span, it’s important to capitalize on a style in the genre of music that you are pursuing. It’s probably the real reason why this album didn’t become a commercial success. Had Amanda Wilkinson been released in 2001, Wilkinson would be the queen of the teen country-pop crossover phase, and would have been a household name. Amanda Wilkinson is a majestic piece of work, one that is stronger than Jessica Andrew’s Who I Am, or Jo Dee Messina’s Burn, the real competition at the time. The album is only ten tracks long, and clocks in at 35 minutes; however the quality is strong enough to make up for it. Wilkinson shines on the album’s first official single, “Walk Away.” The other more country-influenced tracks don’t disappoint, either. “Something Else,” “It’s Okay to Cry,” and “Life is a Beautiful Thing” are southern greats. Interestingly enough though, the more mainstream portion of the album sounds even better, with the strongest radio-friendly track, the upbeat exciting “No More Me and You” being a highlight of the album. Her voice is never compromised, either, considering what most pop artists are forced to fight against on their albums. In addition, Wilkinson doesn’t try to sing about stuff she doesn’t know: she sings about what any 25-year-old should; new loves, nasty breakups, and poignant road trips. The real marvel of the album is that it is the ballads that sparkle the most and are the most captivating. They don’t overpower, they aren’t too poppy (Faith Hill, you should take a listen here), and represent Wilkinson, letting her emote. “Pontiacs” is the moment where Wilkinson is forced to reminisce on the night she endured a tough break-up, and the result shimmers. “A Man to Me” is a dedication from a woman to a man about his greatest qualities, and with a simple arrangement simply shines. In addition, the final song on the album, “The Art of Letting Go,” is a terrific single country-pop ballad. Yet the other songs aren’t hokey. Unfortunately, teen pop-country is fading out, and this album is unfortunately too late. In this particular case, though, country music listeners should take a listen to this dazzler. So what if the album is five years late? This debut by this Canadian prodigy is fantastic, and worth a listen for anyone. ~ Matthew Chisling, Rovi