The Truth About Love by P!nk

                  In the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, there is a scene where Richard Dreyfuss as Mr. Holland talks about a John Coltrane album.  He says at first he hated the album.  Then he played it again.  And again.  Over and over he played the album until he could not stop playing it.  That is how I felt about The Truth About Love by P!nk.  I did not hate the album by any means.  It just did not appeal to me.  There were some songs I liked, but most did not grab my attention.  I was disappointed since I really like P!nk.

                Fortunately I have a somewhat strict rule that I listen to a CD at least three times before I truly decide if it is not for me.  I do not do this for every album, some I know right away will not be my type of thing, but most I try to listen to three times.  This is what I did for The Truth About Love.  I am so glad I did.  The second time I listened to it, I found another song I liked.  Then I played it again and found another aspect of the album I enjoyed.  I continued to play the CD until I became like Mr. Holland and I could not stop playing it. 

                There are so many great songs on this album, but I have a clear favorite.  I have woken up with it playing in my head and I always anticipate it when I play the CD.  “Just Give Me a Reason” is the song and it features Nate Ruess from the band Fun.  He and P!nk both have unique voices and putting the two singers together has a great effect. It makes the song different from what else is out there.  Then there are the good lyrics about a relationship being bent but not broken during hard times.  How true that can be.  To top off the great song, the music accompanying the lyrics is simple.  It does not overtake the song and I am able to truly hear the lyrics and the singers.  All these well done elements are why the song sticks in my head.
               Other songs I really like are “Try” (which has an interesting music video), “True Love”, and “How Come You’re Not Here”.  Each song throughout the album has a different sound.  All too often albums are created where most, if not all, of the songs sound similar.  This drives me crazy.  That is why I appreciate that every song on this album seems to have a different influence and inspiration.                 
              When I first played the album, I could not quite say why I did not like it. Thinking about it now, I think my problem was expectations. I had set in my head what a P!nk album was supposed to sound like. When I did not hear that, I was disappointed. Listening to the album more than once I realized how much it did sound like a P!nk album, just different. Previously P!nk’s music had a lot harder edge to it. This album does not. Some of the songs do, but must are softer than what she did previously. Once I got over my expectations, I discovered how fantastic this new, softer P!nk is. She is still very honest and the lyrics are not all cheery, but there is a new tenderness she does really well while keeping to who she is. This is a really good change. I am curious to see what P!nk will do on her next album.