Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
Genre: Rock
Review
Lindsay Lohan played a rock & roller in the 2003 remake of the classic Disney identity-change flick Freaky Friday, so perhaps it wasn't a huge stretch for her to leap from acting to singing for the teen idol, yet her 2004 debut, Speak, still feels like a byproduct of an overdriven, overamplified celebrity culture. After all, with just two hit films under her belt, Lindsay wasn't exactly a huge star -- particularly one with a proven track record, one who could regularly open movies or had a fan base ready to follow her to pop music. Nevertheless, it was impossible to read gossip columns, entertainment press, and blogs without reading about Ms. Lohan, whether it was details of her feud with Hilary Duff, debates over the authenticity of her breasts, praise for her role in Tina Fey's Mean Girls, reports of her breakup from That 70s Show actor Wilmer Valderrama, and tales of her partying. This relentless flow of stories made Lindsay Lohan a star even to people who never saw her films, the way that the constant coverage of Paris Hilton turned the heiress into a star. And like that creation of celeb culture, Lohan decided it was time to turn her into a multimedia, cross-platform star, instead of simply an actress, and so Speak was recorded quickly and rushed into the stores at the end of the year. It should come as no surprise that the record sounds like a record that was created in the moment and for the moment, to be the soundtrack to Lohan's wild year. So, there are songs that allude to her partying ways -- most explicitly on the lead single, "Rumors," where Lindsay bats her eyes for the camera as she pleads to be left alone -- and the music is a blend of old-fashioned, Britney-styled dance-pop and the anthemic, arena rock sound pioneered by fellow tween stars Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson. Lohan stands apart from the pack with her party-ready attitude and her husky voice, which may be mannered but is fuller than Britney's, and it's perfectly suited for the glitzy music on Speak. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Kristian Lundin (Producer), Darrin McCann (Viola), Sarah Thornblade (Violin), John Shanks (Keyboards), Dina Lohan (Management), George Holz (Photography), Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl (Bass), Andreas Carlson (Producer), Charlie Bisharat (Violin), Eloise Bryan (A&R), Kristian Lundin (Programming), Martin Sjolie (Assistant Producer), Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl (Keyboards), Roberto Cani (Violin), Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl (Engineer), Peter Wade Keusch (Engineer), John Shanks (Guitar (Bass)), Jason Lader (Programming), David Eriksen (Keyboard Programming), Sal Guastella (A&R), Dave Audé (Engineer), Mark Valentine (Engineer), Larry Corbett (Cello), Kristian Lundin (Keyboards), David Campbell (String Arrangements), Kalle Engstrom (Producer), John Shanks (Producer), Shelly Peiken (Vocals (Background)), Genevieve Zaragoza (A&R), Pablo Munguia (Engineer), Ted Jensen (Mastering), Jamie Muhoberac (Keyboards), Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl (Drums), Joe Spix (Hand Lettering), Chris Avedon (Engineer), LL Rocks (Management), Lior Goldenberg (Mixing), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums), Kara DioGuardi (Vocals (Background)), David Eriksen (Producer), Electric Pete (Mixing), Corey Rooney (Keyboards), Charlie Bisharat (Concert Master), Charlie Falk (Guitar), Matthew Rolston (Cover Photo), David Eriksen (Engineer), Bruce Carborne (A&R), David Eriksen (Drums), Jimmy Harry (Producer), Herb Powers (Mastering), Kristian Lundin (Engineer), Jason Lader (Keyboards), John Shanks (Mixing), Corey Rooney (Producer), Barbara Wesotski (A&R), Bill Richards (Product Manager), Jeff Rothschild (Mixing), Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl (Producer), Sandy Brummels (Creative Director), Mario Diaz de Leon (Violin), Kara DioGuardi (Producer), David Eriksen (Vocals (Background)), Lars Fox (Engineer), John Shanks (Drums), Kalle Engstrom (Bass), Christopher J. Wormer (Guitar), Jeff Rothschild (Programming), Andreas Carlson (Guitar), Suzie Katayama (Cello), Andreas Carlson (Engineer), Kalle Engstrom (Keyboards), Tommy Mottola (Executive Producer), Anna Nordell (Vocals (Background)), Matthew Rolston (Photography), Kalle Engstrom (Engineer), Corey Rooney (Vocals (Background)), Berj Garabedian (Violin), Jeff Rothschild (Engineer), Kalle Engstrom (Programming), Lauren Bialek (Production Coordination), Andreas Carlson (Vocals (Background)), Martin Sjolie (Engineer), Jeff Rothschild (Drums), Börge Petersen Överlei (Guitar), Denyse Buffam (Viola), Dave Way (Mixing), Peter Wade Keusch (Producer), Alan Grunfeld (Violin), John Shanks (Guitar), Peter Kent (Violin), Armen Garabedian (Violin), Lindsay Lohan (Vocals (Background))
Speak is the debut studio album from American recording artist Lindsay Lohan. It was released in the United States by Casablanca Records on December 7, 2004. The album peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 with sales of 261,762 copies, It was certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipping 1,000,000 copies.
Speak featured the singles "Rumors" and "Over". Both received substantial radio airplay but failed on the U.S. charts.[2]. "Rumors" was certified gold by the RIAA due to strong digital downloads,
Third single "First" (also released as a single from the soundtrack to the film Herbie: Fully Loaded in which Lohan starred) was also unsuccessful on US charts, but it became a moderate hit in parts of Europe and Latin America.
"Speak" was to be released as the third single, but then "First' was chosen to help promote Herbie: Fully Loaded; "Speak" was rescheduled as the fourth single. However due to Lindsay's busy schedule, "Speak" was canceled as a single.
Reception
"When paired with the loud, relentlessly ProTooled dance-pop and hooky but unmelodic songs on Speak", wrote Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, "the whole thing is a slick, ugly nadir of 2000s pop culture -- the kind of thing that makes Blue Staters think that, gee, maybe the Red Staters were right when they said the U.S. is going to hell."[3]
