Amanda Leigh, Jeanine

According to Wikipedia, there is a 2009 studio album entitled Amanda Leigh, written and recorded by Mandy Moore, yet as of this writing, I am unable to actually find this album.  I am old and still believe in purchasing my music, and I did not want to invest in this album, so I turned to Spotify to help me with my listen. They didn’t have it. That's when I turned to Wikipedia to make sure it existed and that I was not being punked by Joe. There is a track listing, so I thought I could pull it up on iTunes and sample some of the songs. Nope. It's like the internet doesn't want me to write this review, but never fear! Armed with my tracklist from Wiki, I ventured into the world of YouTube for my listening pleasure.

And talk about pleasure. The album opens with "Merrimack River," and it's absolutely lovely. The different string instruments along with the vocal harmonies were a true delight to hear paired together. I had to put in my headphones for a better listen. The next few songs were pretty flat for me. I was hoping for more from the lead single "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week," but it felt forced, along with "Pocket Philosopher." Mandy Moore does not have the strongest voice, and I prefer when she does slower songs. The melodies on these songs are not... bad, but they also are not particularly good either.  They are not groundbreaking or different. It feels like store-brand Taylor Swift.

"Song About Home" and "Everblue" are two of the other standout songs on this album. I appreciated the deeper sound of the latter, while the "Song About Home" left me staring into space as I listened, so I was either the right amount of stoned, or really taken by the interesting flute sounds. Possibly both.

Overall, this is what I expected from a Mandy Moore album. As an "elder millennial," I was deeply invested in the pop hierarchy of the late '90s and early aughts. When it came to female white pop solo artists, Mandy was the lowest tier, and I do not mean this in any offense. Britney reigned supreme. Christina was a very close second. She can sing circles around almost every other artist, but she wasn't quite as good a dancer as Britney. I love both, but at the end of the day, Britney will always win out.  Sorry we broke you, Britney.

Then you had Jessica Simpson. Big voice, but no brains. She could really belt it out, but I guess the better songwriters were busy with Brit and Xtina, because I never really was a huge fan of hers, and her music career did not take off until her reality show. After all of them, you had little Mandy Moore. I think she was maybe fourteen when she first came out? I loved her first single, loved the video, but was disappointed in her album.

It's not that I don't think this album was good, or that Mandy Moore isn't that talented. The album is OK, and Mandy Moore can sing pretty well. I don't think the world would be a radically different place if this album was never recorded. Truth be told, it was boring to listen to because it was mediocre. I can't even force anything more to write about it because it was so bland.