Track Listing

1. OUTTA MY HEAD (AY YA YA)
2. BOYS
3. RULE BREAKER
4. NO TIME FOR TEARS
5. LITTLE MISS OBSESSIVE
6. RAGDOLL
7. BITTERSWEET WORLD
8. WHAT I'VE BECOME
9. HOT STUFF
10. MURDER
11. NEVER DREAM ALONE

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6248 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-22
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
UK pressing of the teen queen's 2008 album featuring three bonus tracks: 'Invisible', 'Pieces Of Me' and 'Boyfriend'. Bittersweet World is the third studio album by singer Ashlee Simpson. She worked on the album with producers Timbaland, Chad Hugo, and Kenna. It has been described by Simpson as a "fun party album" with a "silly and quirky" side and some influence from 1980s music. She describes it as having a more beat-oriented sound than her first two albums, Autobiography and I Am Me, although still retaining some of those albums' guitar-based sound. Polydor.

About the Artist
Ashlee Simpson is in a good place. She has two multi-platinum records that debuted back to back at the top of the charts, and collectively sold more than four million copies in the U.S. alone. She has two sold-out tours under her belt, a tight-knit family, a loyal fan base, and a burgeoning second career as an actress. So when it came time to create her third album, she wanted the music to represent where she was at in life.

"Life is really good right now. I'm young. I love my life and I enjoy my time off too. I wanted to celebrate all that on my next record," says Ashlee, who has been tinkering with BITTERSWEET WORLD on and off since summer 2007. "I wanted to make music people could shake their booties to and use beats for the first time. I wanted to sing fun songs. Basically, I wanted to make a party record."

And when an artist wants to get the party started, who better to call than Timbaland? The producing powerhouse, who helped shape recent smash hits by Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, toiled on half of the tracks (including "Murder," "Out of My Head (Ay Ya Ya)," "Ragdoll," and "Rule Breaker") while the rest were guided by the Neptunes' Chad Hugo and critically acclaimed Ethiopian synth-hop savant Kenna.

"The room was so blessed with talent. I was very lucky to work with people who are at the top of their game. I was nervous the first time I walked into their studios, but they quickly became like protective big brothers to me and encouraged me to just go with the flow and do whatever my heart felt was right in the booth. They'd come up with beats and I'd come up with a melody. Everyone worked together and if you had an idea, you would just spit it out and see if it stuck. I knew they wouldn't let me sound stupid and that made me go for it even more. They create an easygoing, fun vibe everywhere they go."

She quickly learned that hip-hop heroes move at a different pace than pop stars. "I have never worked until 4 a.m. before. I wouldn't go in until late in the afternoon and then we'd work until the wee hours of morning if we had it in us. I started bringing a blanket with me. I got a little loopy and punchy late at night, which affected some of the songs. It was so cool for me to be able to step outside of the way I had always done it before and try new things."

The album's lead single, "Little Miss Obsessive," returns the artist to her pop/rock roots and features guest vocals from the Plain White T's Tom Higgenson. With another track on the album, "Murder," don't let the somber title fool you. The 23-year-old has not gone gangsta.

"No, it isn't serious, based on a true story or a threat," she explains laughing. "It's a metaphor about a girl who can get away with murder because of who she is. The lyrics should be followed by an exaggerated evil laugh." She also touches on the cattiness of girls on "Hot Stuff," a coquette-ish sassiness on "Boys" and how fun it is to sometimes do the wrong thing on "Rule Breaker." She was trying "to capture that badass feeling you get sometimes after watching a movie like True Romance. You think you can take on the world and you want to color outside the lines and get a tattoo or mouth off to someone way bigger than you."

Her personal favorite is the slow jam "Never Dream Alone," because "it is a sweet emotional song that has been stripped down to piano, strings and vocals."

The old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same," also applies despite the fresh techniques and talent. For instance, she still lights tons of candles and brings in a few dolls to make the space more comfortable. She also wrote or co-wrote every track and the final product is a mix of ballads, radio-friendly anthems and dance floor ditties per usual.

"I never want to be handed a song to sing. I don't work that way. This is my art and it's personal. If someone else writes the song without my input, it doesn't feel honest."

Ashlee continues to cull from her own experiences or things she witnesses those around her weathering for lyrical subject matter, but says most verses aren't as literal as they have been on past singles. "Lyrically this album is a bit more abstract and quirky than my past stuff was although I'm still singing about things I've gone through or friends went through. The topics are diverse and universal so I think people will be able to fit the songs into their own lives too."

Her favorite collaborative partner is still her childhood friend/band guitarist Ray Brady. "I trust him completely. He plays on every track and is my sounding board. We sit in a corner writing and working out alternative versions to play live. He's always introducing me to new music that helps me evolve as an artist."

One such act Brady brought into her life was Missing Persons and Ashlee's never been the same. "I love those strong women from the late `70s and `80s. They are strong and vulnerable simultaneously, yet they still make you want to dance. Women like Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry and Pat Benatar have really inspired my music for the last two years and you will definitely be reminded of that era when you listen to the new album."

The veteran of two sold-out tours can't wait to get back on the road again. "That's my favorite part of the job. I love playing live and seeing up close and personal how your music affects other people. I love seeing the reactions on fan faces and hearing them sing along. I want them to go on this journey with me."

Now with accolades such as Billboard Artist of the Year (2004), two Teen Choice Awards, countless magazine covers and appearances and performances on shows as varied as MTV Video Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and the American Music Awards to her credit, and an exciting new album to look forward to, no doubt the future will continue to be bright for Ashlee Simpson. "The most important thing is that this is something I really enjoy doing," she says. "I love creating and participating in projects people can connect to."

Customer Reviews

A great effort from Ashlee
I got this album when it came out, and I still love it. The songs are catchy and fun, and Ashlee's vocals sound good. She has become someone who is easy to make fun of by the public, which is understandable because of a few bad performances and a lackluster 2nd album, BUT, she bounces back fully with this album. It's just a shame that it will go rather unnoticed because she made a few bad career moves. It may also suffer from the switching of the first single, which was not necessary. This album is mostly upbeat and fun, while sounding more mature than her previous material. My only complaint is the album cover-but that doesn't take away from the music! Standout tracks are:

Boys
Rule Breaker
No Time For Tears
Outta My Head

I also recommend tracking down bonus track Can't Have It All. It's a great tune and should have made the album. Follow You Wherever You Go is another good song about stalking a guy with funny lyrics.

Ashlee Simpson - Bittersweet World 3.5/10
Finally, Ashlee has decided to stop pretending that she is a punk rocker. With Bittersweet World, the younger, more tone-deaf Simpson sibling has wholeheartedly embraced the `80s, beat-tastic sound that has been gaining speed in the pop world over the years. With Timbaland and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes producing the majority of the record, it comes as no surprise that her latest is a far cry from the faux-rock that characterized her last two albums.

The result is a mixed bag. Luckily, the emphasis on heavy production and synthed-up beats tend to bury Ashlee's vocals in the mix, and her voice sounds almost as doctored as Paris Hilton's did. Lead single "Outta My Head" is built on a nagging guitar beat and a simple drum machine, but sadly the lyrics are ridiculously inane ("what you lookin' at me for huh? / show me respect or I will show you the door"), and Ashlee fails miserably at sounding sassy.

The album isn't totally worthless, however. For every cringe-inducing break-up song ("Little Miss Obsessive") and pointless bad-girl posturing ("Rule Breaker"), there are a couple bright spots: the dark pulse of "Murder" and the whirling guitar pop of "Ragdoll," and no one can ever accuse Ashlee of lacking energy. All in all, Bittersweet World is more of a party than her earlier efforts, but still a plastic, manufactured one at that.

Boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of my favorite track off the album, Boys possesses this crazy, crazy (good) island feel assisted with simple guitar licks, which we've come to expect from Ash.
10/10
The previous track, Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya) isn't as good, but you could still dance a bit to it. It was the album's first single.
7.5/10
After Boys, Rule Breaker comes in. If you want to dance to pop music, then get this CD. Rule Breaker is very dance-able. Go, Ash!
8/10
No Time For Tears is up next. It's not very dance-y, but it's amazing for an Ashlee Simpson song.
10/10
Little Miss Obsessive was the first track off the album to grab me big time. I love the lyrics and the wo oah's.
8/10
Ragdoll You can prance around to it but it's kinda boring sometimes.
8/10
The next track is Bittersweet World and...it's better than quite a few of these tracks. The lyrics are good for pop music and the production will make you sway a bit, if not dance.
8/10
What I've Become is another good track. The guitar work although simple is pretty good and the lyrics, nice.
9/10
Hot Stuff is almost filler. Sometimes it's silly, sometimes it's funny. It's the arrangement that is lacking. The main redeeming factors are the "starry" production and the lines: "Feels Like I'm in Candyland/I'm going down the chute again/With unicorns and fairy rooms/I think I've had too much to drink..." part.
6.5/10
"Murder She Wrote, Murder She Wrote". hehe. Remember that 90's song with that Jamaican guy singing that? Anyway, Murder is pleasantly-surprising. Its beat is hot like fire! Timbaland shows up as a guest here.
9/10
Never Dream Alone is a ballad that has minimal distracting production only including vocals from Ashlee, violins and a very simple piano arrangement. It pretty much makes up for the lack of good songs in a row. This track is so intimate and you can get lost in it if you let it take you there.
10/10

94/11 = 8.5454545

8.5454545 = 8.55

4.275

4.27 stars.

end note: Ash took voice lessons and on top of that, doesn't go out of her range too often here and that is the magic that works.

Download No Time For Tears, Boys, Never Dream Alone, What I've Become and Murder.

8/30/08 ~ Since the first day I posted this, a lot of the song scores went up so I changed this CD from a 3 star rating to a 4.