Pink
“Funhouse”
RATING: 3 EXCLAMATION POINTS
Pink seemingly did the impossible when she turned her divorce from Carey Hart into the chart-topping romp “So What,” transforming her pain into good-time defiance.
Could she keep up that level of highwire-walking throughout her new album, “Funhouse”? Well, no. Given Pink’s past for speaking her mind — from esteem issues (“Don’t Let Me Get Me”) to celebrity culture (“Stupid Girls”) — it’s no surprise her divorce weighs heavily on the album.
But the midtempo “Sober” traces familiar territory, only with more self-pity. The ballad “I Don’t Believe You” is even more heavy-handed — so bummed-out that the pretty, light orchestration can’t lift it, but not as authentic as brokenhearted ballad “Glitter in the Air.”
Pink is at her best when she’s either getting parties started or revealing intimate pieces of her life in great detail. And there’s not a lot of either on “Funhouse.” She tries hard for the former with the scratch-guitar groove of the title track, but has better luck with the latter — in two sad-sack cousins to her marvelous “Who Knew” single, the wrenching sing-a-long “Please Don’t Leave Me” and the regretful dance number “It’s All Your Fault,” which both deserve to be hits.
“Funhouse” isn’t a lot of fun, but for talented, confessional-type singer-songwriters such as Pink, these sort of breakup albums almost become necessary evils, needed steps in an oh-so-public recovery. Pink will bounce back. She’s still a rock star. She’s got her rock moves. She just needed to get this out of her system.
— GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY
SNAP JUDGMENT
More Top Picks Midea 3 In 1
John Legend
“Evolver”
RATING: 3 EXCLAMATION POINTS
John Legend took Andre 3000’s advice from OutKast’s up-tempo, Euro-soul collabo, “Green Light,” to heart: “Even Stevie Wonder got down sometimes.” Throughout “Evolver” Legend shifts toward current R&B and dance sounds instead of the retro-soul ballads that launched his Grammy-winning career. It works so well early in the album — playing around with pal Kanye West on the groove-heavy “It’s Over” and Brandy on the ’80s-pop-tinged “Quickly” — that when he goes back to the ballads, they sound a little dated. “If You’re Out There,” his inspirational ballad for Barack Obama’s campaign, is the exception, showing that Legend’s evolution can bridge the timely and the timeless.
— GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY
SINGLED OUT
50 Cent
“Get Up”
Being the underdog suits 50 Cent. It’s not that he ever lets down the relentless persona on “Get Up,” but the new single does show what he can accomplish when he wants something badly enough. “Get Up” is danceable — like “In Da Club” and nearly as catchy — with a big groove and a memorable hook. That all gives Fiddy his strongest single in years.
— GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY
CD RACK
Also in stores Tuesday
* Bloc Party, “Intimacy”
* Cradle of Filth, “Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder”
* The Cure, “4:13 Dream”
* Kaiser Chiefs, “Off With Their Heads”
* Snow Patrol, “A Hundred Million Suns”
* Susan Tedeschi, “Back to the River”
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