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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Time To Grow Up Jun 07, 2009
If you like the song "Girlfriend" a lot, and I mean a whole lot, then the limited edition CD+DVD of "The Best Damn Thing" from Avril Lavigne is probably for you. Out of the 17 tracks on the CD, three of them are versions of "Girlfriend", and if that isn't enough, then you will also have three video versions on the DVD. For me, this was much too much in the way of "Girlfriend". No doubt it has a catchy tune and the cheerleader like cadence to it is somewhat appealing; but the lyrics are juvenile and mean spirited. I am sure there are many who like this piece, given how much airtime it received, but for me it is only so-so. The lyrics might have been okay when Avril Lavigne was 17 and fresh on the scene, but a 22-year-old should have put high-school behind her. This leaves me with a rather mixed reaction to the song, and that carries over to the whole CD+DVD set as well.
"The Best Damn Thing" is Avril Lavigne's third album, and was released on April 17th of 2007. The opening track is the aforementioned "Girlfriend", though since it is the "Mature" version it includes some rougher language than what one sometimes hears on the radio. The second track is "I Can Do Better" and the obvious retort is that she definitely can (and fortunately does) do better, starting with the very next track. "Runaway" is where the album begins for me; it is the kind of song you want to hear from her, and it makes the listener remember how nice it was to finally hear some pop music with a rock base to it as opposed to the dance oriented offerings of so many others., "The Best Damn Thing", and "When You're Gone" are two more strong tracks which help make the opening two pieces a distant memory. This brings us to "Everything Back but You". One might think that I wouldn't like this song after bashing "Girlfriend", but I find this to be one of the songs I like the most on this album. I suppose it is because she is the person wronged and so when she lets loose with the name calling it is more acceptable, and when it comes down to it, it is a flat out hilarious lyric.
The second half of the original album opens with "Hot". It is decent, though not quite up to the level of some of the other pieces, and in particular to that of "Innocence" which follows it. The album then hits a brick wall with the horrible "I Don't Have to Try", which is easily the worst song on the album. I can appreciate that she is trying different sounds and styles, but this one just doesn't work at all. Things improve with "One of Those Girls" though it isn't as strong as the earlier pieces - it is much better than "I Don't Have to Try". "Contagious" is roughly similar in quality as "One of Those Girls". "Keep Holding On" is a decent closer for the original album, but the flow which had developed from "Runaway" through "Innocence" had already been disrupted and was not restored.
There are five bonus tracks included; the first two are "Alone" and "I Will Be", both of which are solid additions to the album, and the latter being the better of the two. Next is an acoustic version of "I Can Do Better" which is much worse than the electric version, and one has to wonder why that particular track would have been selected for an acoustic version. The final two tracks are two additional versions of "Girlfriend", the first being The submarines' Time Warp '66 mix, and the second being the Dr. Luke remix with Lil Mama, the latter of the two being the more interesting of the two.
There are two sections on the DVD, the first is a series of live tracks including the wonderful "Everything Back but You", "Girlfriend" (of course), "Hot", and "When You're Gone". The second section is the videos, which includes "Girlfriend", "When You're Gone", "Hot", and (you guessed it) "Girlfriend" - the Dr. Luke remix version with Lil Mama.
With nearly a quarter of the selections on the CD and DVD combined being variations of "Girlfriend" it is no wonder that one might have had enough of it by the time one has made it to the end. I am sure that it appeals to an audience which buys a lot of CDs, and that is no doubt why it is featured so heavily. In my opinion that is a shame, because Avril Lavigne may well have much more to offer if she is allowed to develop and grow as a songwriter and performer. There have been promising signs on all her albums, and let us hope that she moves in a new direction before she finds herself singing songs like "Girlfriend" in her 30s and 40s to a bunch of people trying to recapture their youth. This is an uneven album, with highpoints as good as anything Avril has done, and then there are some moments which make one cringe inside. All-in-all it is slightly above average, though I have to round it down to three stars.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 This is the best damn thing for sure May 30, 2009
If you are reading this review because you are trying to decide whether to buy it or not, BUY IT!
This is her best CD ever and way better than the other ones, which are already good. Every song is so good that I can't figure out a favorite yet because each one I listen to makes me think that is the one. All of them are the one.
Even if you don't think you like her, get it. We all have down days and on those, this music will pick you up from the ground, lift your spirit and fill you with energy. There is no way you listen to this and don't dance and sing along.
Well, words alone cannot describe how amazing it it, so just get it!
BTW, if you have heard that her music is just for teenagers, not true, I left my teenager years a while back (long while) and I love it!!!!!
This will be the best CD in your collection.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Big hearted songbird! May 27, 2009
Song writers' songbird to help us feel better. Kick-out the sound Avril and make it sound HAPPY.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
surprising! May 21, 2009
I've enjoyed Avril's music in the past, but this one definitely tops them all. The DVD was pretty entertaining as well, showing interesting bits of when she was creating the music and getting it recorded.
I am glad I threw down the money for this. There's only one song that I don't like a lot, but the rest of the CD is great.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Even after 2 years of listening, I still love it! Apr 11, 2009
I own Avril Lavigns previous 2 albums, and I adore them very much. When I heard about her third album being released I bought it straight away. After the first time of listening to it, I noticed how some of the songs were quite different from her other albums so I was unsure if I'd like it or not. However after listening a couple of more times, I had a sense of the album and loved it. I like how there is some upbeat catchy songs, such as Girlfriend, The Best Damn Thing, Hot, but I also like how there is some slower songs such as When You're Gone, Innocence and Keep Holding On. I think its great that Avril had some fun with this album, it does make a nice change.
The only song on the album which I'm not too keen on is "I Don't Have To Try". The only reason I dislike this song, is due to how it starts "I'm the one, I'm the one who knows the dance" followed by 2 similar lines, but once that is out of the way with, I quite like the song.
I also enjoyed seeing the footage on the DVD. :D
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