The first clue to the sound of Avril Lavigne's third CD, The Best Damn Thing, comes in the form of her kickoff single, "Girlfriend," which is filled with singing, clapping, and cheerleader-style chanting. The song is quite a sonic contrast to her previous disc, Under My Skin, which was considered to be Lavigne's more mature follow-up to her 16 million-selling debut CD, Let Go. Like that debut, The Best Damn Thing will be largely and deeply embraced by teenage girls, and is packed with songs that will create enthusiastic sing-alongs in concert. There are a handful of numbers that will appeal to a wider audience; "Innocence" and disc closer "Keep Holding On" would both fit perfectly in a Gray's Anatomy episode, while the sultry message and solid harmonies in "Hot" will appease ears of many ages. Lavigne's husband, Sum 41 frontman Deryk Whibley makes an appearance as producer and instrumentalist on a handful of tracks; their union, however, seems to have bred more than love. "I Don't Have to Try" and "Everything Back But You" both have a frenetic pace and chorus that is so eerily Sum-like that if they weren't married, a copyright lawsuit might ensue. That aside, the record oscillates between lyrically acerbic fare ("One of Those Girls," "I Can Do Better") and fluffy sugar-pop melodies ("Contagious," "The Best Damn Thing") delivering far more spunk rock than punk rock. --Denise Sheppard

Limited Edition CD/DVD (NTSC/Region 0) pressing includes a bonus DVD plus five bonus audio tracks: 'Alone', 'I Will Be', 'I Can Do Better' (Acoustic Version), 'Girlfriend' (Mandarin Version) and 'Girlfriend' (Submarines Remix). The bonus DVD features four songs filmed live at the Orange Lounge ('Everything Back But You', 'Girlfriend', 'Hot' and ' When You're Gone') plus three music videos ('Girlfriend', 'When You're Gone' and 'Hot'. Sony/BMG. 2007.

I like this cd. Reminds me of Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" - punky, bratty, fun, if perhaps a bit over-produced. Not crazy about the new band; I liked the younger guys better than these older "pros". To my ears, they gave her work a bit more energy; my only complaint on "Best Damn Thing" is that the music sounds somewhat forced, a bit too pristine. Not the greatest album ever, maybe not as good as her monumental first release, but a fun, enjoyable collection of well-crafted punky pop with strong hooks.

I thought this album was fun! Definatly a different side of Avril but a very upbeat CD. It makes you wanna dance and sing along. Don't be too harsh on her. It's not her BEST CD, but it is a good one. It gets you in a very energetic mood. The songs are:
Girlfriend, I Can Do Better, Runaway, The Best Damn Thing, When You're Gone, Everything Back But You, Hot,Innocence, I don't Have To Try,One Of Those Girls, Contagious, and Keep Holding On.

As you may know, Avril also released a clean version too (as well as an explcit.) She also has a DVD of her live in concert. (A pretty cool dvd!!!!!!)

Avril is pretty talented- so many hit songs: Sk8er Boi, Complicated, I'm With You, My Happy Ending, When You're Gone, Girlfriend, Innocence, as well as so many other great songs.

By the way, although Amazon marks this edittion explicit, it's not. I rate this CD a 4 out of 5 stars.

This album quite wasn't what I was expecting. It seems Avril has gone fast from direction of her "Let Go" and "Under My Skin" days. She's bleached her hair, added pink streaks, and most importantly, reinvented herself.

The CD starts off with the all too popular "Girlfriend." It's an energetic, and girly kick-butt pop anthem paramounting Avril's confident streak. She sings about how she can do a better job as girlfriend then the current one that someone is with. I'll admit I did like the song and the beat was catchy, but the video was all way too highschool for me. It seems it was more or less targeted at her teenage audience. Avril, you do have other fans!

Songs like "I Can Do Better," "Everything Back But You, and "I Don't Have To Try" color in on her punk-pop, or as they've been more accuratley calling spunk pop side. Like the other reviews said, it sounds more in the lines of sum41, and her husband of the band Derek did help her out on this album. They aren't my favorite.

Echoing more of the alternative pop side she's more well known for are "Runaway," "Innocence," and "Keep Holding On" which are some of the best tracks on the album. "Run away" fits more into the attitude we all know and love about her ability to be free and not care what people think. "Innocence" is the magical tune of this CD. Avril sings about treasuring the brand new good feeling a relationship brings. It's a soft piano rock ballad that is intense and beautiful. "Keep Holding On" is one we've all heard before and would be a real put up your lighters and sway to the music type song, great for concerts and a powerful song at that.

"The Best Damn Thing" is a spunky pop song where Avril advertises and gives credit to having a dramatic attitude and being difficult. Good song. "When You're Gone" made a great single and was a beautiful love song. "Contagious" is a very catchy fun little tune. "Hot" was just fun, and "One of Those girls" wasn't too bad eitheir.

Overall, the songs are listenable, catchy, spunky, and energetic. Great to listen to if you are in the type of mood. However, I know Avril Lavigne can do a lot more, and frankly I miss the great lyrics of "Let Go" and the depths that she reached on "Under My Skin." I would say this is more of her pop punk have fun album that she threw together at the studio. Avril can do better, but, don't miss out on songs like "Innocence," in my opinion, probably one of the best songs she's written.

"The best damn thing," mega popular singer Avril Lavigne's third album is packed with fun songs and heartful ballads that will appeal to any teen girl.
The smash single "Girlfriend" is the first song, and invites you into this album as an energetic and powerful song. "Runaway" is milder in terms of energy and topic, but is fabulous to listen to anyway.
"The best damn thing" is remniscient of cheerleaders, and is just as fun as "Girlfriend."
"When you're gone" is one of the first slow, meaningful and almost-sad songs that are included. "Innocence" and "Keep holding on" are similarily categorized, but each unique and show case Lavigne's talent.
"One of those girls" and "Contagious" as well as "Hot" are like "Runaway"- catchy and addictive and perfect for preteens and early teenagers that do not like songs that are overly hyper. I love them all.
And then we have "I can do better," "Everything back but you" and "I don't have to try." A bit frantic sounding, but are still a good, quick listen.

Out of all of the songs by Avril Lavigne, the most that I like are definitely in this album, as I like every single one. My favorite songs by her is "Girlfriend," "Runaway," "Contagious" and "Keep Holding on." More favorites include "My Happy Ending" and "Complicated," which I believe to be the best songs on her previous albums.

Here are my ratings and short descriptions.

1) Girlfriend (10/10)
Extremely fun and catchy and great as a ringtone
2) I can do better (7/10)
Not bad, but not a favorite. This is one of those songs where I like the verses better than the chorus, partly because of the lyrics, and partly because of its similarity to some other songs.
3) Runaway (10/10)
Love this song! Catchy and sticks in your mind long after listening.
4) The best damn thing (9/10)
Energetic and fun
5) When you're gone (10/10)
A song that is relatable and shows true vocal talent.
6) Everything back but you (8/10)
A bit frantic paced, but not bad at all. I don't think it really sounds like her, though.
7) Hot (9/10)
A lovely song that is both slow and fast and shows her versatility.
8) Innocence (10/10)
Touching and serious and melodious.
9) I don't have to try (8.5/10)
Interesting and different, which I like. Just a bit wild for my taste.
10) One of those girls (9/10)
Perfect for many different audiences and has a great chorus and is surprisingly easy to listen to.
11) Contagious (10/10)
Another fabulous song that I couldn't get enough of.
12) Keep holding on (9/10)
Featured in the Eragon movie, this is a great and heart felt song. It feels like Avril Lavigne is really sincere and believes her words strongly. It almost made me cry.

Avril Lavigne shows versatility and a wide vocal range and talent in this album. Perfect for most teenage girls ("Girlfriend," "The Best Damn thing," "One of those girls," "I can do better"), some preteens ("Hot," "When you're gone," "Runaway," "Contagious") and some young adults ("Innocence" and "Keep Holding on"
Many of these songs are appropriate for other audiences.
One more note: I've noticed that most reviews that are negative are not written by the target audience

Beware - Even though Amazon.com lists this CD as the EXPLICIT version, it is not!!! It is the very censored version. My first clue should have been the lack of the Parental Advisory label on the front of the CD. The UPC code matches what Amazon lists online for the EXPLICIT version. I purposely ordered the EXPLICIT version because the MP3 version is not available for download on Rhapsody or Yahoo Music. If I wanted the censored version, I would have saved myself a few dollars.

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