|
|
Under My Skin | align="center" bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Under My Skin | | lign="center" colspan="3"| | | lign="center" bgcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Album by Avril Lavigne | | lign="left" valign="top"|Released | colspan="2" valign="top"|May 25 2004 | | lign="left" valign="top"|Recorded | colspan="2" valign="top"|? | | lign="left" valign="top"|Genre | colspan="2" valign="top"|Pop-Punk | | lign="left" valign="top"|Length | colspan="2" valign="top"|40 min 58 sec | | lign="left" valign="top"|Record label | colspan="2" valign="top"|Arista Records | | lign="left" valign="top"|Producers | colspan="2" valign="top"|Butch Walker, Raine Maida and Don Gilmore | | gcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Professional reviews | | lign="left" valign="top" width="33%"|Metacritic | valign="top" width="33%"|metascore: 61 | valign="top" width="33%"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|E! Online | valign="top"|B+ | valign="top"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|Q | valign="top"|4/5 | valign="top"| | | lign="left" valign="top"|EW | valign="top"|B+ | valign="top"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|Billboard Magazine | valign="top"|n/a | valign="top"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|Rolling Stone | valign="top"|4/5 | valign="top"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|AMG | valign="top"|3/5 | valign="top"|link | | lign="left" valign="top"|Launch UK | valign="top"|6/10 | valign="top"|link | | gcolor="orange" colspan="3"|Avril Lavigne Chronology | align="top"|Let Go
(2002) | valign="top"|Under My Skin
(2004) | valign="top"| | - For the 1950 movie, see Under My Skin (movie).
Under My Skin is the second album by pop punk singer Avril Lavigne, released on May 25, 2004 by Arista Records. In its first week of release, it reached #1 on the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Making of the Album Lavigne wrote much of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. She also co-wrote one track, "Nobody's Home", with Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence, and the rest with her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Lavigne used three producers for Under My Skin, notably: Much of the album was recorded in Raine Maida's Malibu studios as Maida is Kreviazuk's husband and the rest was recorded nearby. On her website, Lavigne states that she has learned a lot since her debut record Let Go: "I was involved in every aspect of making this record. I'm very hands-on. I knew how I wanted the drums, the guitar tones, and the structures to be. I understand the whole process so much better this time because I've been through it. I'm really picky with my sound." The first single, "Don't Tell Me", is a response to a boy who is pressuring a girl to have sex when she is not ready. The final track, "Slipped Away", is about the death of Lavigne's grandfather. Chart Success Under My Skin was released on May 25, 2004 in the USA and went to #1 around the world, notably in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan and on the Billboard Internet charts. The first single, "Don't Tell Me", was released early, and as of June 2004 has gone to #1 in Argentina, top 5 in the UK and Canada, and top 10 in Australia, Brazil and a European composite chart. The second single, "My Happy Ending", was released to radio in June 2004 and to retail stores on August 2, 2004. It returned Under My Skin to number one again in Canada for several weeks and to the album to top five in the USA, Germany, the UK, Australia, and other European countries. The third single is "Nobody's Home". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA in July 2004 http://www.billboard.biz/bb/riaa/archive/0407.jsp and double platinum in November 2004. http://www.billboard.biz/bb/riaa/archive/0411.jsp Critical Response According to Metacritic.com, Under My Skin received an average rating of 60 reflecting a mixed reception from critics. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/lavigneavril/undermyskin/1. The reviews included: - Q Magazine rated it as 4 out of 5 saying it was "an altogether more satisfying, suppy of air punching, stadium sized choruses. (June 2004, page 103);
- Entertainment Weekly rated it as a 75 saying "As contrived as the results can be, there's no denying the level of craft at work" (May 28, 2004, page 121)
- Launch UK (formerly Dot Music) rated it as 6 stars out of 10 saying "sonically, the album sounds great" but "struggling to find any stories worth telling save for boyfriend trouble and dead grandparents." http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/040602/33/1wp8w.html/7 Best tracks: "How Does It Feel", "Fall To Pieces", "Slipped Away"
- The New York Times gave it a mixed review saying "There's little subtlety in Under My Skin and ... absolutely no fear of cliches" (16 May 2004).
Track Listing (North America) - "Take Me Away"
- "Together"
- "Don't Tell Me"
- "He Wasn't"
- "How Does It Feel"
- "My Happy Ending"
- "Nobody's Home"
- "Forgotten"
- "Who Knows"
- "Fall to Pieces"
- "Freak Out"
- "Slipped Away"
Shopping Mall Tour Avril went on a "Live and by Surprise" 21 city mall tour in the U.S., starting on March 4, 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to promote "Under My Skin". Each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld. The venue in each city was not announced until 48 hours before the show. The set at Indianapolis included "He Wasn't", "My Happy Ending", "Don't Tell Me", "Take Me Away", "Nobody's Home", "Sk8er Boi", and "Complicated". Avril Lavigne tour dates (venues announced two days before show), according to Arista Records: 3/4 - Minneapolis, MN 3/5 - Milwaukee, WI 3/8 - Chicago, IL 3/9 - Detroit, MI 3/16 - Boston, MA 3/17 - New York, NY 3/18 - Philadelphia, PA 3/19 - Washington, DC 3/22 - Atlanta, GA 3/23 - Cincinnati, OH 3/24 - Cleveland, OH 3/25 - Indianapolis, IN 3/26 - St. Louis, MO 4/7 - Seattle, WA 4/8 - Portland, OR 4/9 - San Francisco, CA 4/12 - Los Angeles, CA 4/13 - Phoenix, AZ 4/14 - Denver, CO 4/15 - Dallas, TX 4/15 - Houston, TX External links
|
 |