But before I explain the subtitle (or whatever the thing under the rating would be called), a quote from TheGregWitful from Uberforums:

"You may enjoy the album, but I think even you will agree that the production is overkill and several songs are repetitious..."

Is Greg ever wrong about anything? Probably, but not here. Even I, a fairly hardcore Michelle Branch fan has to agree… there are A LOT of things wrong with this album. Most of them stem from one: the production sucks. There, I said it. I don't think I've ever used that word to describe the production on any full album before (no, not even Stripped, which had an army of producers working on it…).

Fact is, there is a plethora of good songs here, but most are cluttered with unnecessary arrangements. Witness: "Desperately." Around the internet, some beautiful acoustic live versions are floating around. Here, it's cluttered with three or four layers (if not more) of guitar, an unhealthy number of drums for such a slow songs, some piano, what sounds like a pipe organ (separate from the piano), some chimes, bells, some whistles, zebra stripes and a new car smell… Well, okay, strike the last four of those. The point remains, though: while Michelle's voice is never drowned out, her guitars (ironically, too: the fact that she played one was played up as a "big deal" when she first popped up on the scene, if you recall) are, and the extra mess is totally unnecessary.

Another clear problem spot is "One of These Days." While the song could have been a nice piano ballad, some techno "flourishes" were added in… possibly in some kind of conspiracy to turn me off to a song that, otherwise, is perfectly alright.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself: Let's go song by song…

"Are You Happy Now?" is the kickoff single, and it rocks hard then anything even hinted at in The Spirit Room. It is possibly the only song that is not overproduced in the 47 minutes of the album. Well, unless you count the "Intro." "Find Your Way Back" is a great good old-fashioned power ballad with overwrought production, but it mostly overcomes this problem. The biggest enemy of "Empty Handed" isn't the production. Alas, while the production is overstuffed like (I'm thinking of writing "Ass in a prison movie," but I'll move on…), but Michelle's over-singing (if that would be the word for it). The extra "woah woah's" and whatever are overdone and the "La di da di da di da" (or however that would be spelled) parts are nothing short of insipid.

"Tuesday Morning" is one of the first really great songs on the album. It's another power ballad (because, hey, who can have enough of those?), and it works, again, despite production. "Love Me Like That" (now with extra Sheryl Crow!) is a good rocker with some barroom stomp to it that's hard to find these days. By the way, what I said in the parentheses is a lie; Sheryl's barely noticeable. Doesn't hurt the song, though.

"Breathe" is the next single, (apparently) and the catchiest of all the songs. See, it's a pop anthem… John Shanks is good at producing those, and it's another place where the layers upon layers of vocals and guitars and what have you makes sense.

From here, the album gets quieter and more bearable (hm, a back-packed album? No one ever does those…). "Where Are You Now" is sweet with a little bit of heavy mixed in for fun. "Hotel Paper" is the best song on the album, bar none, and here is where I get to tear into Rolling Stone (w00t and a half, if I do say so myself)… "Hotel Paper" is not a road song. It starts out like one, but then again, it quickly reverts into sort of a love song. Oh, and by the way (still talking to Rolling Stone, as if they'd pay attention to me): Michelle didn't write "Game of Love." Do your research, you tasteless monkeys.

Anyway, "Til I Get Over You" is another song in power ballad form (or maybe I don't know what a power ballad is… no… wait… yeah, this album is a bit repetitive), but it's another decent song that would be saved if it wasn't preceded by so many like it. "It's You" ends the album on a quiet note.

All in all, anyone looking for a mediocre pop album (remember: There's nothing wrong with pop unless you want something to be) shouldn't be disappointed. Hotel Paper is heavy on power ballads and extra crap that is not needed, but for the most part, Michelle grew as an artist. Her voice is stronger, the songs are more mature and for her part, most of it is well-performed.

Part of growing up is making mistakes… another part of growing up is firing John Shanks.