Lindsay Lohan’s Speak: Should Lindsay Lohan Speak or Shut Up?

It was only a matter of time before Lindsay Lohan made the crossover from the world of acting into the land of pop stardom. But with this land being over-populated by a multitude of young female actresses-turned-singers, what would make or makes Lindsay different from the rest of them? Does she actually possess any talent or is she doing this simply because she can? One listen to her 2004 debut album, Speak, answers both those questions.

And the answer is; it’ s a little of both. She does delve deep into the world of catchy pop/rock and comes out with 12 tunes that hold true to its formula; she doesn’ t get too deep but she wants to prove she has some substance. And vocally, while she’ s far from being the next Mariah, she actually does possess an amount of vocal talent that might surprise many. But the title question posed still has to be answered; is this the beginning of something great or should she quit while she’ s ahead?

Things kick off with a bang in the form of the opener, the fierce, aptly titled rocker First. John Shanks (who helms ? the project) creates a very spunky and energetic atmosphere that’ s perfect for Lohan’ s attitude-filled vocals as she clearly informs her beau that she’ ll come second-place to no one. A tad disposable but still a big burst of energy that seems to be a sign of good things to come from the album.

And it does get better with Nobody Til’ You. The synth-keyboard line mixes well underneath the shuffling guitars and percussion and Lindsay’ s raspy tone really rides the catchy melody of the song well as she proclaims how she’ s finally found true love. The right amount of energy and attitude makes this worth keeping.

Same goes for the split, mellow rocker called Symptoms of You. The piano-laced verses create a mellow, ballad feel which Lindsay sounds quite nice over but the slightly sped-up hooks are more akin to Lindsay’ s vocal style and it helps create a surprisingly good love song.

Then things are kicked up another notch with the synth-rock/pop drive of Speak. The lyricism is a bit stunted but still quite catchy and the vocals carry the right amount of attitude to accompany the beat. But the stars are the skittering drumpads and distorted guitar riffs which create an energetic, slight-nostalgic 80s vibe with a refreshing modern twist.

And then album ascends even further to its climax with the closest thing to a ballad and second single, Over. Lyrically, vocally, sonically; this is as good as the album gets. The industrial drum kick, somber piano licks, and melancholic guitar strums and riffs create such an atmospheric vibe of angst and heartbreak, the perfect backdrop for Lindsay’ s vocals as she proves that her voice is perfectly suited for rock/pop.

She utilizes a great vocal tone and her surprising ability to find the right notes and hold them makes the song just that much more painful. And the lyrics, while not being terribly deep, do have an understated amount of depth and intensity to them that’ s not found too often in the more disposable/generic side of pop/rock. This song definitely gives Lindsay an edge over her competition.

The following mid-tempo rocker, Something I Never Had, tries to go for a melancholic vibe like its predecessor, but does so in a more understated fashion. All the elements seemed to be toned down a little, and it tries to be subtly more mellow, with some well-placed strings, along with the concept and lyricism trying to be the aftermath of its predecessor, with Lindsay holding out for something that she knows will never come. It’ s a great tune but it just lacks the power of its predecessor. But it’ s a definitely worthy attempt.

Anything But Me is the first track on the album that I feel I could do with or do without. The production is the ordinary pop/rock sounds done in a predictable fashion and while the concept is commendable, with Lindsay lamenting over how she’ s tired of trying to fit a particular image and just wants to be herself, but the overall execution is a bit boring and ordinary.

But that brief moment of weakness is compensated for by the exceptional Disconnected. Beginning with a folk-rock, acoustic guitar strum and some muted, warbling synths, the song has a kind of empty, hollow sound to it that fits well with the song’ s concept of incoherence. The lyricism is quite clever and makes great use of oxymorons while Lindsay’ s raspy vocals carry just enough bite to give the song that frustrated feeling. Redemption sounds quite nice.

Then we are treated to the album’ s second brightest moment; the dusky new-wave/synth-pop/rocker that is To Know Your Name. The synth-drenched instrumentation has a dusky and seductive vibe to it that creates an air of mystery and intrigue. The perfect atmosphere for the song as it talks about the paparazzi and public eye in general poking and prodding in Lindsay’s affairs, intrigued by and trying their best to unravel the mystery of the identity of the man whom Lindsay loves; a man whose name she keeps under wraps. Such an effective arrangement with the production and concept, not to mention that intriguing air is what makes this song work as well as it does.

Back to mellow pop/rock land we now go with Very Last Moment In Time. The mellow verses/blaring hooks formula has been used a million times before, so the sound is nothing terribly original but yet again, it’ s the somewhat generic yet still wholehearted and catchy lyrics and Lindsay’ s emphatic vocals desiring to make every moment with her true love feel like it’ s the last that makes this song a winner. Sadly, that’ s the album’ s last true moment of greatness.

The 2 tracks closing the project are probably the two most disposable. Magnet tries to be a catchy pop/rocker but utilizes some annoying synth-pop sound effects during the verses and the overall melody and sound is a bit too bland and unoriginal to be a standout.

However, the album’ s biggest failure and the moment when Lindsay truly falls flat on her face is ironically the lead single, Rumors. Why is it such a dismal and utter failure? Because Lindsay abandons her rock sound, which is what her voice is perfectly suited for, and goes excessively mainstream. She tries to do a pop song. She tries to do a club song. She tries to be Britney Spears and makes a complete fool out of herself.

The production is too tacky and generic, the lyrics are so dull and redundant, Lindsay’ s vocals sound devoid of any talent and emotion, and let’ s not forget her embarrassing dance routine in the video. This doubles as one of the most misleading singles of the year since “Rumors” is the only one of its kind on the record and thankfully, it’ s placed right at the end so that a) it doesn’ t disturb the flow of the record and b) you can stop the record before you’ re subjected to its horror. A best-forgotten end to a overall decent record.

The most surprising thing about Speak is how good it is. Lindsay may have simply made the foray into pop music because she could but the fact that she actually possesses vocal and lyrical talent is what’ s impressive. The album was rush-recorded over a 3-month period and it tells, as most of the material is your average pop-rock songs but the true moments of brilliance hint at something better to come from Ms. Lohan.

I feel, given enough time to properly record a record, Lindsay could really cull an album with substance and depth and an album that really showcases her vocals, because her voice and pop/rock are definitely a match. If it’ s just a marketing ploy utilized to capitalize on Lohan’ s popularity, then she should best quit while she’ s ahead. But if not, Speak is still a really decent project that actually puts Lohan ahead of her young actress/singer competition and if she’ s in this music biz for the long run, a sign of great things to comeâÂ?¦no, seriously.