Love CRJ forever and always, but my expectations for this aren't particularly high.
That Dedicated was mediocre, as has most of the stuff she has put out since?
Believe me, I tried as hard as any CRJ stan to fall in love with Dedicated, but I just couldn't. It's meh.
To each their own, though.
Sorry for the triple quote, but this is exactly where I'm at. I absolutely loved
EMOTION and
EMOTION Side B. They are in my Top 5 albums of all time. Then came
Cut to the Feeling and
Oh. My. God. A
perfect pop song. That triple play put her in the pantheon of pop legends for me. Went back on her catalog and found a ton of songs I really love, even if they are more vanilla pop (
Tiny Little Bows, More than a Memory, Guitar String / Wedding Ring, Your Heart is a Muscle, Talk to Me, etc.)
Party for One. Loved it. Upbeat, catchy, a bit naughty. But then
Dedicated was released and... fell flat for me. Dedicated Side B was better, and with time I've come to appreciate more some of the songs in both (
Want You in my Room [especially the Spotify Sessions version],
Now that I Found You, Comeback, Let's Sort the Whole Thing Out). I know it's unfair, but after EMOTION and, especially, Side B... I feel she won't be able to make something as good as that. Mind you, I'm not saying anything bad about her as an artist, though. It's just that
EMOTION +
Side B is such a masterpiece that
anyone would have a mountain of a task trying to surpass it.
Western Wind isn't doing much for me. And I dunno if it's just me, but I'm having a real hard time figuring out what she's saying. The vocals are very muted and too processed. They get drowned in the music, I feel.
Crossing my fingers this is more like
EMOTION than
Dedicated.
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