While I wait for Vanessa Carlton's "Liberman" album to be release, I'll review her third album "Heroes & Thieves". Vanessa started recording the album when she went into the studio to work with Linda Perry and The Matrix for a re-release of her second album, "Harmonium". The re-release didn't happen as she left the label after promotion for the album ended. She would later sign a new record deal with "The Inc. Records" and release "Heroes & Thieves". She worked on the album with Linda Perry and her ex-boyfriend Stephan Jenkins, the lead singer of "Third Eye Blind". Here's my track by track review:
1) Nolita Fairytale: The first single from the album. The song was originally just called "Fairytale" and talked Vanessa's life in Nolita. The video showed a few fairytale characters as well as Vanessa paying homage to her first video "A Thousand Miles" in the beginning of the video where she sits down to play the piano and it begins to move. The difference is the she does since for a few short seconds before she stops playing, gets up and leaves while the piano is destroyed by a car. Great song and video. 10/10
2) Hands on Me: The second and unfortunately final single from the album. It was originally titled "Put Your Hands on Me" but the titled was shorted because "Joss Stone" had a song with the exact same title on her album, "Introducing Joss Stone". It's a beautiful love song and it had a simple, but great, music video. 10/10
3) Spring Street: This song is a little bit more serious than the first two songs. In the song, the narrator talks about their life throughout the years. For example in the first verse she goes to spring street with a suitcase as she leaves her mother, while in the third verse the narrator is now a mother with child of her own. It took a couple listens to like it. I can relate to the lyric, "And everything changes and friends become strangers", which makes me wanna cry sometimes. 10/10
4) My Best: This song is about the aftermath of a relationship. In this one the narrator says that while they didn't work out, the narrator wishes them well. A real departure from how Vanessa was when she released "C'est la Vie". The song is pretty good but it doesn't stand out as much as the other songs on the album do. 8/10
5) Come Undone: This song about being in love with someone who makes you feel comfortable to tell them everything without feeling judged. Loved the song from the first listen, I especially love the instrumental parts in the beginning and the end of the song. 10/10
6) The One (featuring Stevie Nicks): This was the first song I had heard that had Stevie Nicks on it. Keep in mind I listened to mainly mainstream music at the time. Anyway, the song was inspired by a conversation Vanessa had with Stevie about relationships and the search for "the one". Stevie sings background on this song and it would've been cool to see a video for it. 10/10
7) Heroes & Thieves: The title track track and my favorite song on the album. Because the song was performed as much as the singles from this album were, it makes me believe that this would've been the third single had Vanessa not left the label after promotion for the album was done. The song is about not being able to tell who the heroes are and who the thieves are. Very relatable song. Wish it was a single. 10/10
8) This Time: This song took me awhile to like it. The song is about trying to keep a relationship going when it's not working but you don't want to give up on it. I like it but sometimes I feel it's a little too long. 9/10
9) Fools Like Me: I love this song. The song talks about loving someone despite knowing it'll end badly. I think everyone can relate to this song. I wish it was a single! 10/10
10) Home: This was almost the second single from the album before "Hands on Me" was chosen instead. The song is a beautiful ballad about how someone makes you feel like you're home when you're with them. I love the song, especially the instrumental part at the end. 10/10
11) More Than This: I went through a couple years of ignoring this song before I listened to it. I feel bad for ignoring it when it's a great song. The verses made me sad at first but I like it a lot more now. Her dog also barks at the end of the song, which was very surprising. Vanessa also performed a stripped down version of the song for the album "Songs for Tibet". 10/10
Like I mentioned for the review of the song, "Heroes & Thieves" Vanessa left "The Inc. Records" after promotion for the album ended. It's a shame because the album is amazing and is my favorite album from her. I love all the songs on the album. Out of 110 points I give the album 107 which 97%, an A+. Vanessa Carlton's fifth album, "Liberman", will be released later this year. Thank for reading this review and I hope you liked it!
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