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Of all the many feelings a heartthrob like Jesse McCartney is apt to inspire, pity is not high on the list: Here's a 19-year-old with a bazillion teenage fans and firm traction on a couple of different freeways to mega-stardom, music and acting. Yet play
Right Where You Want Me--the follow-up to one of 2004's guiltiest, fizziest pleasures,
Beautiful Soul--and it's hard not to mourn McCartney's misspent youth. Replace this new CD's producers with a batch of one-named tastemakers, ramp up the writing for a more sophisticated crowd (i.e., make it raunchier), and bring on a slew of influential guest rappers, after all, and McCartney would be interchangeable with an intergalactic star like Justin Timberlake. His voice is as bendy and burnished, throwing off hints of Michael Jackson here and Adam Levine there, and he's not far behind on the style meter. Languishing a few levels below Timberlake-caliber celebrity, though, hasn't hurt his prospects of adding to his fan base:
Right Where You Want Me's dozen songs display a desire to come across as a grown-up (the title track and "Daddy's Little Girl" dispense with coyness in favor of explorations of what it means to be a full-on loverboy), but they also stay true to the nice-guy pop that put McCartney on the map. "Can't Let You Go," "Tell Her," and "Right Back in the Water" follow the same relationshippy formula that made
Beautiful Soul such a pleasure; "Feelin' You" takes it up a notch, but barely. If there's an experiment here, it's with breaching the boundaries of pop in favor of rockier terrain: "Can't Let You Go" is a pretty pulse-raiser, but instead of dripping with hard-driving 'tude it calls to mind Jackson's rock-obsessed bid to be "bad."
--Tammy La Gorce
Reader Reviews
Jesse McCartney really rocks with this album of twelve great numbers. He sounds much more polished than an average artist at such a tender age; and just one listen to this album proves it! What a singer/songwriter! The track set begins with "Right Where You Want Me." The electric guitars, drums and percussion carry the melody; and Jesse's voice, full of electricity, really impresses me. Jesse sings of how he badly wants some romantic time alone with his woman; and he never misses a beat--it's THAT good. Good tempo changes make "Right Where You Want Me" even better! "Just So You Know" features Jesse singing of how he wants the woman he loves even though there's another man in her life. The electric guitars and percussion carry the bulk of the melody; and Jesse sings this passionately with all his heart and soul. I'm very impressed. Moreover, "Right Back In The Water" gives us Jesse singing beautifully of his love for his girlfriend even though he realizes his love may not be the best thing for him. Jesse sings "Right Back In The Water" without a superfluous note; and the guitars on this number can't be beat! Awesome! "Tell Her" features Jesse singing of his passion and undying love for his woman; this tender ballad shines as Jesse sings it flawlessly. I predict that you will like ""Tell Her" very, very much. In addition, "We Can Go Anywhere" starts with a melody that at first resembles a rap tune but when Jesse comes in he sings this well to a rockin' beat! "We Can Go Anywhere" is a relentlessly happy ballad about how Jesse and his girlfriend have a bright and happy future ahead of them if they go through life together. "We Can Go Anywhere" is another passionate, sensitive performance by Jesse. Great! "Invincible" has great key changes to make this number quite remarkable; and "Daddy's Little Girl" gives us a strong guitar intro; when Jesse comes in this number takes off like a rocket! Jesse sings flawlessly of how he's able to spend romantic time alone with a young woman he finds very attractive. The melody alternates between something resembling rap and a rock and roll flavor; and this sophisticated arrangement works wonders for "Daddy's Little Girl." The liner notes include great photos of Jesse McCartney; and we get the song credits, too. There are instructions for how to download an extra song off the Internet; and the CD has multimedia features as well. Jesse McCartney certainly has a bright future ahead of him. He has exceptional talent both as a singer and as a songwriter. I predict that we will hear much more from Jesse; I hope that we'll be able to enjoy his fine artistry for many decades to come. Rock on, Jesse!
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