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Another Earthquake!

 
Album Review: Another Earthquake!

  • Artist: Aaron Carter
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: September 03, 2002
  • Genre: Rock

Review

When the voice changes, the career changes for any preteen pop idol. For Aaron Carter, the change is particularly bad -- he acknowledges as much on "To All the Girls," the second song on his third album, Another Earthquake!, when he sings "growing up can be so strange." That's not the half of it. Not to be rude, but the voice change -- noticeable on the previous Oh Aaron but in full effect here -- has stripped him of any of his charm; he may still look cute, but he sounds like a gangly, awkward teenager. In a bizarre turn of events, this maturation coincides with a selection of ten songs utterly lacking in the unsettling sexual innuendos that plagued his earlier Jive albums. Even when the guitarist comes crashing in on the title track, it's all shiny, fizzy bubblegum, all deliberately polished surface on the numerous dance songs, as well as the adult contemporary ballads. Stranger still, the songwriting is pretty sturdy (excepting the awful "America A O," which offers unnecessary proof that teen pop should not tackle post-9-11 patriotism; "troubled times bring about troubled rhymes," indeed) and is considerably better than those on either of its predecessors, making this musically the first Aaron Carter record that's actually fun (particularly when he apes LFO on the aforementioned "To All the Girls," or when he sings "I know the Green Mile makes you sad"). But, there's the problem of that voice, which never sounds comfortable, whether it's crooning, rapping, or singing. To the producers' credit, the wash of instruments often camouflages his weaknesses, but it's still kind of painful to hear him strain so much on each track; it's hard not to feel bad for the kid after a while, even if the only reason he's been making records is that he's the cute younger brother of a Backstreet Boy. It's a real testament to the record-makers that, despite Carter's voice, Another Earthquake! remains his best album to date. It's likely not many will hear it, since it's arriving at the end of the movement, not the prime, but years from now it will stand as an overlooked hidden treasure of the teen pop movement of the early 2000s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Another Earthquake Aaron Carter (2:51)
To All the Girls (Lyrics) Rich Cronin, Ken Gioia Aaron Carter (3:25)
Summertime [Featuring Baha Men] Tony Momrelle, Martin Bushell Aaron Carter (3:49)
My First Ride (Lyrics) Aaron Carter (3:09)
Do You Remember (Lyrics) Aaron Carter (3:57)
2 Good 2 B True Phil Dane, Martin Bushell Aaron Carter (3:32)
When It Comes to You (Lyrics) Kevin Paige, Veit Renn Aaron Carter (3:38)
America a O (Lyrics) Alan Ross Aaron Carter (3:29)
Without You (There'd Be No Me) Tony Momrelle, Martin Bushell, Ben Copland Aaron Carter (2:57)
Keep Believing (Lyrics) Andy Goldmark, Mark Mueller Aaron Carter (3:15)
[Untitled Track] Aaron Carter (2:49)
[Untitled Track] Aaron Carter (4:38)

Credits

Jeff Coplan (Producer), Ken Gioia (Mixing), Sheppard (Mixing), Andy Goldmark (Piano), Tony Momrelle (Vocals (Background)), Martin Bushell (Producer), Ken Gioia (Programming), Aaron Carter (Vocals (Background)), Sheppard (Producer), Danny O'Donoghue (Vocals (Background)), Martin Bushell (Programming), Kevin Paige (Vocals (Background)), Sheppard (Engineer), Danny O'Donoghue (Producer), Alexander Greggs (Engineer), Ken Gioia (Drums), Riprock (Producer), Ken Gioia (Engineer), Marc Sheehan (Producer), Jeff Coplan (Programming), Sheppard (Programming), Nick Cook (Vocals (Background)), Kevin Paige (Producer), Rich Tapper (Assistant Engineer), Alexander Greggs (Producer), Tony Momrelle (Arranger), Nick Cook (Programming), Mick Guzauski (Mixing), Phil Dane (Programming), Andy Goldmark (Engineer), Michael Tucker (Engineer), Kevin Armstrong (Assistant Engineer), Sheppard (Guitar), Phil Dane (Arranger), Sheppard (Bass), Kevin Paige (Instrumentation), Ken Gioia (Vocals (Background)), Lucas (Producer), Nick Cook (Keyboards), Martin Bushell (Arranger), Gota Yashiki (Drum Loop), Baha Men (?), Marc Nelson (Vocals (Background)), Ken Gioia (Producer), Kevin Paige (Engineer), Martin Bushell (Keyboards), Kevin Armstrong (Guitar), Sheppard (Vocals (Background)), Phil Dane (Producer), Alexander Greggs (Mixing), Martin Bushell (Engineer), Skid Mills (Mixing), Nick Cook (Arranger), Bray Merritt (Engineer), Andy Goldmark (Producer), Tony Momrelle (Producer), Nick Cook (Producer), Jeff Coplan (Engineer), Tom Bender (Assistant), Michael Berman (Mixing Assistant), Rich Cronin (Vocals (Background)), Martin Bushell (Guitar), Chris Trevett (Mixing)
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more