Funhouse
10/28/2008 | La Face
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CD
$12.99FUNHOUSE (SNYS)
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CD
$35.99FUNHOUSE (JPN)
Lyrics from Funhouse
Videos from Funhouse
Funhouse Review
No matter how aggravating Pink is in her relationship with the tabloid press or how adolescent and ridiculous her lyrics are ("This used to be a funhouse/But now it's full of evil clowns"), she's always had an undeniably great voice and a strong grasp of melody, both of which are in evidence on most of her brand-new break-up album, Funhouse. A highly publicized and painful divorce has fueled her already aggressive emotions without leaving her bereft of humor, as on the opening track, "So What." That song combines a vintage video game tune with big, bold, Butch Walker-esque guitars in the service of self-aware self-affirmation.
The title song isn't quite as successful, relying on a metaphor that's neither new nor all that apt, but "Please Don't Leave Me" finds a vein of real sadness that takes full advantage of the singer's raspy roar without letting her wallow in self-pity. Mostly, the record isn't too mopey, even on the ballads, of which there are both fewer than expected and more than enough. It definitely sags more in those places though. It's not that Pink can't be quiet about her sorrow, but she doesn't seem to have found the right material yet to lend the same weight to her slower songs that her faster ones swing around like a spiky mace on a chain.
—Hillary Brown
11.14.08
All Music Guide Review
Richard Thompson compared his bumpy marriage to Linda Thompson to a roller coaster named "the Wall of Death" and Pink picks up this carnivalesque thread, calling her troubled relationship with motocross star Carey Hart a Funhouse on her own entry into a long prestigious line of autobiographical divorce albums that stretches back to Blood on the Tracks. Naturally, Funhouse doesn't have any musical similarities with either Blood or Shoot Out the Lights, but Pink's divorce album is also emotionally different than either of these classics or Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear. Dylan, Thompson, and Gaye layer their albums with self-recriminations and ruminations, niceties that Pink shrugs off in one song, the brooding "I Don't Believe You." Other songs allude to the pain of the separation but never in a way that digs deep -- the musically fine blues-rocker "Mean" trots out clichés, the delicate spooky Stevie Nicks folk of "Crystal Ball" skirts the divorce, and far from being a primal scream, "Please Don't Leave Me" surges on a Max Martin hook that pushes away the pain. But as Pink makes clear with the album-opening single "So What" -- also co-written with Martin -- she's more than ready to get out of this relationship, thrilled that she's still a rock star, still drinking in the afternoon. That her enthusiastic hedonism kind of contradicts the letter of her Britney-baiting "Stupid Girls" doesn't mean that it violates the spirit, as this is still the same Pink, the one who spits out jokes as she rumbles. This snotty stance is second nature to her, so maybe that's why Funhouse only really clicks when Pink abandons any pretense of mourning her relationship and just cuts loose with galumphing rhythms and schoolyard taunts, the kind that fuel both "So What" and "Bad Influence" and make them instantly indelible. This kind of oversized, obnoxious pop is where Pink's heart is at -- she's ready to party and as long as the tempo is high, Funhouse is a ride, empowered by her post-divorce freedom. In a way, that does make Funhouse unique among divorce albums, as it's the first to concentrate on liberation rather than loss -- but if she was going to go in this direction, Pink may have been better off not pretending that she's bothered by the breakup. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Funhouse Track Listing
Funhouse Notes
Nominee - 51st GRAMMY® Awards
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
"So What"
Pink
Track from: Funhouse
Since her debut in 2000, P!nk (Alecia Moore) has been widely hailed as a fearlessly
talented singer/songwriter and the Pennsylvania native’s genre-defying creative
risk-taking has propelled her to global stardom. To date, the chanteuse has sold 22
million albums cumulatively worldwide. Her previous albums include: her four
million-unit selling debut, Can’t Take me Home (2000); her sophomore follow-up,
M!ssundaztood (2001) which sold 11 million worldwide; and the 2.7 million
worldwide seller Try This (2003). Her most recent effort, I’m Not Dead (2006) sold
over 5 million units globally and spawned two #1 hits, “Who Knew” and “U + Ur
Hand” along with critic/fan favorites, “Stupid Girls” and “Dear Mr. President.”
P!nk comes right on time with her highly anticipated and provocatively personal
Funhouse – addressing both her public and private persona – as only P!nk can.
Teaming once again with hitmakers Max Martin, Billy Mann, and others, P!nk is
poised to leave another memorable mark worldwide!
Credits of Funhouse
- Nick Steinhardt
- Art Direction, Design
- Lisa Pinero
- Production Coordination
- Steven Manzano
- Management
- Delwyn Rees
- Management
- Michele Schweitzer
- Publicity
- DJ Willrock
- Turntables
- Chris Galland
- Guitar, Mixing Assistant, Assistant
- Kinnda Hamid
- Vocals (Background)
- Jeri Helden
- Art Direction, Design
- Robin Mortensen Lynch
- Guitar, Programming
- Lasse Mortén
- Assistant
- Amy Oresman
- Make-Up
- Shellback
- Drums, Drum Programming, Percussion, Omnichord, Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Guitar
- Trish Summerville
- Stylist
- Uli Janson
- String Conductor, String Arrangements
- Tim Roberts
- Assistant
- Mark "Spike" Stent
- Mixing
- Butch Walker
- Vocals (Background), Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Bass, Programming, Guitar
- John Yarling
- Drums
- Serban Ghenea
- Mixing
- Guy Baker
- Trumpet
- Joey Waronker
- Drums
- Billy Mann
- Guitar (Electric), Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
- Craig Logan
- A&R;
- Tom Coyne
- Mastering
- Paul Starr
- Make-Up
- Jake Davies
- Engineer, Mixing Assistant
- Femio Hernández
- Assistant
- Max Martin
- Guitar, Bass, Engineer, Producer, Keyboards
- Joe Zook
- Engineer
- Irene Taylor
- Management
- Serena Radaelli
- Hair Stylist
- Tony Kanal
- Bass, Producer
- Nancy Roof
- A&R;
- Tommy Andersson
- Assistant
- Darren Dodd
- Drums
- Michael Ilbert
- Engineer
- Eg White
- Moog Bass, Guitar, Drums, Organ (Hammond), Percussion, Engineer, Producer, Strings, Arranger
- John Hanes
- Digital Editing
- Pete Wallace
- Harmonium, Engineer, Producer, Bass, Programming, Guitar, Piano
- Matty Green
- Mixing Assistant
- Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
- Piano, Keyboards
- Peter Parente
- Guitar
- Doug Tyo
- Assistant
- Keith Gretlein
- Assistant Engineer
- Brian Gately
- Production Coordination
- Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica
- Engineer
- Niklas Olovson
- Programming, Bass
- Neil Kanal
- Assistant Engineer
- Josh Kane
- Drums
- Andrew McPherson
- Photography
- Tom Lord-Alge
- Mixing
- Deborah Anderson
- Photography
- Stevie Blacke
- Strings, Performer, String Arrangements
- Daniel Chase
- Programming
- Al Clay
- Mixing, Engineer, Producer
- Roger Davies
- Management
- Jimmy Harry
- Guitar, Engineer, Producer, Keyboards
- Henrik Janson
- String Conductor, String Arrangements
- Dag Lundquist
- Engineer