| Disney Girlz Rock (2005) | Label: Walt Disney Records | Reviewed August 23, 2005 by Stephanie Wien |
 Click to Buy | ||||
| Overall rating (Out of a maximum of five) | ||||
Songs/Tracks
- Can’t Help Falling In Love – A *TEENS
- Ultimate – Lindsay Lohan
- Together We Can – Cheetah Girls
- Our Lips Are Sealed – Hilary & Haylie Duff
- Superstition – Raven
- Reach – Caleigh Peters
- Drama Queen (That Girl) – Lindsay Lohan
- Go Figure – Everlife
- Rush – Aly & A.J.
- Anytime You Need A Friend – Beu Sisters
- This is My Time – Raven
- I Fly – Hayden Panettiere
- Let’s Bounce – Christy Carlson Romano
- Reflection – Christina Aguilera
- Miracles Happen – Myra
The CD
This CD is a compilation of tracks sung by female vocalists, most having
already been released on previous albums. It is clearly aimed at the tween/teen
girl market, with clever packaging meant to resemble pen doodles on a
pair of jeans. The songs tend to have a positive message to believe in
yourself and do your own thing. However, the songs in the collection tend
more toward the pop end of the spectrum rather than the rock end, making
the album title, Girlz Rock, a bit of a stretch.
The Lowlights – The remake of the Go-Go’s hit “Our Lips Are
Sealed” by the Duff sisters is a bit too peppy to compete with the
original; more bubble-gum pop than poppy punk. The songs by Raven are
not my cup of tea, and were skipped over after the first listening. “Reach,”
sung by Caleigh Peters is an uninspired, standard be-all-that-you-can-be
movie song; nothing particularly memorable in this one.
The Highlights – The two tracks by Lindsay Lohan, “Ultimate”
and “Drama Queen,” are a bit more edgy. Ms. Lohan’s unpolished
vocals lend a rock cred to her songs that is absent from some of the more
poppy tunes on the album. “Go Figure” by Everlife is
one of the songs that comes closest to being a good rock tune. Driving
guitar and a good drum beat make this tune memorable.
The highlight of the album is the song “Rush” by Aly & A.J.,
a sister duo who show promise to hit it big with the teen market. I enjoy
their vocals – something akin to a cross of Hillary Duff and Avril Lavigne.
Another single, “No One” off their upcoming album, Into the
Rush, is another memorable tune that is getting airplay on Radio Disney
and Yahoo! Radio. I’m going to be sure to check out their debut once it’s
released.
The Final Assessment
This album is bound to be a popular one with its target market of teen
girls. It’s got a good set of upbeat pop and rock tunes by both popular
artists and newcomers. However, most of the tunes are available on other
albums, so if you already have them it won’t really be worth your while
to buy this just to obtain the Aly & A.J. track. You’re better off to
wait for the release of the album in August.
| Go Figure (2005) | Running time: 30:01 | ASIN: B0009NZ3LE | Label: Walt Disney Records | Reviewed by Stephanie Wien |
 Click to Buy | ||||
| Overall rating (Out of a maximum of five) | ||||
Songs/Tracks
- 1. Go Figure – Everlife
- Greatest Day – Bowling for Soup
- I Can Do Anything – Caleigh Peters
- She Said – Brie Larson
- I Want Everything – Hope 7
- Anthem – Superchic[k]
- Life is Beautiful – Raven-Symoné
- Crash Goes My World – Cadence Grace
- Life is Good – Junk
The CD
Another album aimed at teen girls, the soundtrack for the Disney Channel
movie Go Figure features songs from popular and breakout artists.
The album is short, with nine tracks clocking in barely over 30 minutes,
but what is here is sure to appeal to its target audience.
The Lowlights – Raven-Symoné. Need I say more? I just donÕt
like her music. Caleigh Peters is like a peppier Avril Lavigne, and her
song “I Can Do Anything” isn’t bad, it’s just not that original.
The Highlights – Bowling for Soup are a fun rock/punk-light group,
and their track “Greatest Day” has a great driving guitar line
and drum beat. This song is what Green Day might sound like if they were
writing happy songs instead of political-angst music.
Rocking group Hope 7 puts forth a tune that calls out for you to jump
around your room and sing into your hairbrush. “I Want Everything”
is a great single from a promising new group.
The Superchic[k] song “Anthem” includes some great girl-power
lyrics. One of my favorites is, “we are lipstick and cleats”
– that says it all right there. Hard rocking guitar and bass along with
a driving drum beat make this song a favorite.
Junk are a British group who are just hitting the scene. Having just
signed with a new label, they have yet to release a full album stateside,
but show promise, with good exposure through TV and movies. Their song
“Life is Good” is another in the pop-punk vein and one that
stands up to repeat listening.
There are also good tracks by newer artists Brie Larson and Cadence Grace;
both of these women have new albums on the horizon, so the singles on
the album give a good preview of what’s to come for them as well.
The Final Assessment
Go Figure is a fun rock album whose main drawback is its short
length. Ironically, the Go Figure soundtrack rocks more than the
Disney Girlz Rock CD, and I would recommend it over the latter. The album
will satisfy the teen girl in need of a rock fix, while being devoid of
any offensive content that might disturb her parents.
