Melissa Etheridge - Lucky

Melissa Etheridge's considerable talents as writer/singer/performer have often seemed confounded by expectations--the artist having burdened herself with more than a few of them. Etheridge spent the '90s alternately proving her mettle as one of the era's most successful female rock artists (peaking with the multi-platinum Yes I Am), trying to recapture those glories, then plumbing the depths of an all-too-public romantic flame-out on '01's confessional Skin. But here, the singer seems content to engage in a little musical soul-baring of a wholly different stripe, showcasing her bluesy, ever expressive chops on a record that refuses to apologize for its contemporary production slickness and unashamed positive vibes. The ghosts of recent personal troubles get swept away by the breezy of "When You Find the One" and the romantic anthem "This Moment" and the wistful "Will You Still Love Me." "Mercy" engages her in a compelling, reflective duet with vocalist Bernie Barlow while the spare, bittersweet "Tuesday Morning" pays tribute to the heroes of 9/11. There's a confidence born of maturity and hard-won wisdom throughout--and the courage to simply play it straight down the middle of the road. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

I'm Surprised

You know, I just hate to stick my neck out and go against what seems to be the main trend in reviews on an album, because I know it's gonna get a bunch of "not helpful" votes since people seem intent on rating a review not by how actually helpful or not it is, but by whether or not it regurgitates their own personal opionion. (Sorry, bit of pet peeve rant there.)

So anyway, I'm really surprised that the majority of reviews for this album are so overwhelmingly not just positive, but raving about how great it is. It's an okay album. I don't think there's anything critically wrong with it, but honestly, I just don't see anything incredibly great about it either. It has mostly left me feeling blah.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Melissa fan and have been since her debut album. Maybe if I was a more casual fan I would have liked this album better, but it just doesn't feel like anywhere near her best effort. I do really like some of the songs, such as the title song "Lucky". "Will You Still Love Me" is one of my favorites that Melissa has done, "When You Find the One" is really pretty, and "Mercy" made it onto one of my custom Melissa playlists. I also like "Giant" when in certain moods. The rest I rarely to never listen to and don't feel my life is any less complete because of it.

In the end, whether an album is a good to great album or not is dependant on how it all fits together, not just on individual songs. And in that respect Lucky seems more like an album that has just been slapped together than one that has been carefully crafted. So that's me sticking my neck out and waiting for all the negative votes. But sometimes a reasoned dissenting point of view is needed to help those wondering whether they should lay out the cash for a CD or not. My opinion for this one is to just buy and download the individual songs you want and skip the CD. December 11, 2007

A soulfull surprise

The album,"Lucky" was a real surprise. I bought this album originaly for one song, "Breath" but I found myself being drawn into all of 13 tracks. This is one of those sleeper CD's that you want to recomened to everyone but, the lyrics are so personal you still want to keep it to yourself. All the songs on "Lucky" are a moving tribute to life, liberty, and the pursute of it all. THANKS MELISSA! October 6, 2007

Awesome As Always!

I love the passion Melissa sings with. I love that she puts her heart right out there.
My favorite song on this album is Tuesday Morning. It sent chills down my spine. Such an awesome message! Go Melissa!! April 1, 2007

Melissa Is Finally Happy

I give this album 4 stars because it took me a few listens to really get into it. There is certainly a mix of different messages and a lot of emotions and examination going on with Melissa and her new life that come about in this album. There are a couple of songs that I loved immediately and a couple that like I said above took a couple of listens before I was able to really get into them.

This was the first CD I've ever owned of Melissa's so I didn't know what to expect and didn't go into it with any kind of preset notions of how it should sound so I think it helped me to enjoy the experience more. Since I bought this album I have also purchased three other Melissa Etheridge CD's and you can certainly hear the change in the tone and in her voice.

I love this CD and I would recommend you buy it but I would stay away from comparing it to her other albums. If you like her darker sound you probably won't like this album but if you are like me and don't mind something a little different than what she usually sings then you will love it. January 17, 2007

Good

This is a good album, though not her best work, still a good album.

The song "Breathe" is a cover song. It was written and originally recorded by a St. Louis band called Greenwheel on their album Soma Holiday. I love their version so much more. September 3, 2006

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