Released: September 2004
Purchased: My mom got it for me shortly after its release (I'd guess October). I still remember getting out of school and going to the car to see it on the seat, and being so excited to listen to it when I got home. I hammered it very nearly as hard as Metamorphosis - tween/teen me was really into Hilary despite her being so uncool.
Playthrough:
Fly was a big song for me in middle school, as I started to be alienated from my classmates (and as my depression flared up again, though I didn't know at the time that was what it was). It's pleasant, but basically a Kara DioGuardi-by-the-numbers song. Not very inspired, and a little faceless.
Do You Want Me is sort of absurd with its syncopation, and it comes across as Hilary trying to be a safer version of Avril and not really succeeding. Not terrible, though.
Weird wasn't one of my favorites then, and it's even less so now. It's noisy.
I also didn't like Hide Away, but it's one of the better songs on the album to me now. Her vocals are weak in spots, though.
I still don't understand what compelled Hilary and Haylie to write a song called Mr. James Dean, but it's very enjoyable despite the bad vocals in the chorus. Very slightly like Roxette. Ariana could NEVER.
Underneath This Smile is where the vocals really get bad, and it's not much of a tune.
Dangerous to Know has a sort of sinister beauty, even though its lyrics don't make a lot of sense.
Who's That Girl is still a gem. Her vocals are thin, but the emotion actually seems genuine, unlike much of the album. Just checked Wikipedia, and it was co-written by Andreas Carlsson, just as I suspected.
Shine is pretty shit.
I Am is still that bop. Apparently it was written by Diane Warren, which surprises me given how basic the lyrics are, but it does have her melodic touch.
The Getaway is awfully good. I remember being happy it was included on Most Wanted even though it wasn't a single. It has some of the better lyrics on the album.
Cry is probably the worst song of Hilary's career. Absolutely no melody.
I loved Haters at the time, but it hasn't aged well at all. Her vocal inflection on "it all goes on behind closed doors" is great, though, and I loved scandalizing my mom with that lyric.
Rock This World is obviously out of a second-rate teen movie (which I've still never seen), but goddamn if it's not one of the album highlights. I think because even though it goes against Hilary's sparkly-spunky-shiny ethos and is totally unconvincing as a transition to Avrilness, it obviously has some real energy behind the recording.
I've included Someone's Watching Over Me in several playlists over the years. Totally should've been a single worldwide, not just in Australia - it's gorgeous. Maybe her best "ballad" (midtempo) to date.
The download I have is sourced from iTunes, which has a very different mix of Jericho than what's on the CD. It's 3:53 as opposed to 3:59 and has a cold intro, as opposed to the one I know, which has a longer intro with a guitar lick that sounds like the State Farm Insurance jingle. (CD mix / iTunes mix) This mix is way too harsh-sounding to me; I still like the one I knew, though. Her vocals aren't up to snuff, but it's a good pop ditty.
The Last Song is a very pseudo-deep closer, but it's good for what it is.
Final verdict: This is not nearly as good as I remember it being, which is really kind of sad. I did always like Metamorphosis better, but I remember jamming out to this one too. It could have been a five-song EP and the world wouldn't really have lost anything.
Highlight: Someone's Watching Over Me
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