Best of 2000s: Other albums 2003-2005

Because I couldn't narrow it down to just 10, here are 12 other notable albums from 2003 through 2005:

Evanescence - Fallen
With its dark, but accessible tones, the gothic yet top 40 friendly Evanescence struck a chord in 2003 with its hit single "Bring Me to Life." Better yet was their gorgeous third single "My Immortal." I remember particularly enjoying this album walking around the city on cold but sunny winter days that year. Essential: My Immortal

Innocent Eyes - Delta Goodrem
Australian Delta Goodrem's debut showcased the pop singer as a classy act, as adept in front of the piano as she was in front of the microphone. Sadly, her tabloid romance with former Westlifer Brian McKnight seems to have completely eclipsed her musical career, but back in 2003, she looked on course to become the next Celine Dion. Essential: Lost Without You

Dido - Life for Rent
Dido's second album was almost as good as her first, continuing in the electronic adult pop vein with songs like "White Flag" and "Don't Leave Home"--the latter of which was about drug abuse but mistakenly assumed to be a love song and played at weddings (according to Dido, who told this story during her 2004 concert tour). Essential: White Flag

Sugababes - Three
Three was the Sugababes last great album. Although it lacked singles as good as its predecessor, the other tracks were more consistently good, such as the slamming "Whatever Makes You Happy" and cool "Conversations Over." It was with this album that the group tried but failed to break into the US market. Essential: Hole in the Head

Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys' albums haven't quite lived up to their hype, but this, her second, was the best of the trio. I love its old school flair, and there are a lot of great moments here (like the spoken word confession of the diner waitress on "You Don't Know My Name"). Essential: If I Ain't Got You

Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Avril Lavigne's second album largely avoided the punky/pop sound she cultivated on debut Let Go. Pity it didn't work out for her, for I actually think this is by far her best album, with darker more mature themes. Essential: Together

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
As a stepping stone between their indie roots and their recent, more mainstream Under the Blacklight (which I'll be featuring later), More Adventurous effectively shows off both sides of the band. Essential: I Never

Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby
Breaking from No Doubt in the mid 2000s, Gwen Stefani released two stylized dance pop albums. This, the first and better received of the two, showcased the singer's taste for fashion, dance, hip-hop and '80s synths. Essential: Cool

Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
After seeing the quality of her albums decline from Daydream through Rainbow (and hitting rock bottom with Glitter and Charmbracelet), Mariah Carey reinvented herself with The Emancipation of Mimi, a winning set of modern R&B with a retro sensibility. Essential: We Belong Together

Gorillaz - Demon Days
With Demon Days, Gorillaz, the cartoon band side-project from Blur's Damon Albarn stepped off the page to become a legitimate musical act ("Feel Good Inc." was a much bigger hit than anything Blur's released in years). Essential: Feel Good Inc.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
The playful debut from the Kaiser Chiefs was upbeat and fun, with nods to punk and '80s new wave similar to that of the Killers (who broke out at about the same time). Essential: I Predict a Riot

James Blunt - Back to Bedlam
Earnest, acoustic male pop singers proliferated this decade (see John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Daniel Powter, etc.). While I'm generally not into this kind of thing, I rather liked James Blunt's 2005 debut. Essential: You're Beautiful

Album Review: Delta Goodrem - Delta (4/5)

Few Americans have heard of her, but in Australia, Delta Goodrem is a chart powerhouse. There she's scored eight #1 hits this decade--more than any other artist. She's also had a few top 5 hits in the UK. Like many Australian pop singers, she got her start on soap opera Neighbours, although few others own lives mirrored a television melodrama the way Delta's has. Following the successful release of her 2003 debut album, Innocent Eyes, Delta, at only 18, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer, putting on hold efforts for a further global launch. She recovered quickly though, releasing her second album, Mistaken Identity, a year later, only to then become embroiled in a tabloid backlash for her relationship with former Westlife singer Brian McFadden, who, at the time was married to former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona.

Four years later now, Delta has put those demons behind her (we hope), and has readied a remarkable new album, her best yet. Delta opens with one of my favorite songs to come along this year. "Believe Again" is a beautifully crafted power pop ballad in the grand tradition of songs like Robbie Williams' "Angels" or Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." The dramatic single opens quietly with a full orchestra overture, building gradually to the first chorus with Delta's breathy vocals, piano, percussion, guitar, woodwinds, and drums. And it only gets bigger from there (a male chorale backs her during the bridge). Delta showed a willingness to do singles like this with 2004's Guy Chambers-penned "Out of the Blue"--another personal favorite--and this is a worthy successor. Check out the silly video too, where Delta rises from the primordial soup while geometric stone forms rotate above the ground (dramatic pop songs deserve ridiculous videos, it just has to be that way).

First single "In This Life" has a more traditional format and nicely showcases Delta's powerful pipes, holding her own against the wall of sound created by the layers of piano, electric guitar, and drums. Full on drama isn't her only mode of operation though. Sweet "Possessionless" thins out the accompanyment a bit, although Delta's signature piano remains among the mix of acoustic instruments. "Born to Try," her first single from 2003 makes a cameo here on the U.S. version, bumping "The Guardian" from the set. This is a regrettable omission, one I hope is corrected with the forthcoming UK release, as "The Guardian" is a fantastic song--one of the album's best (and who needs to hear "Born to Try" again?).

"Bare Hands" has a vaguely R&B arrangement, with pumped up bass and synths added to the piano and guitar mix. Despite that, this is actually the most traditionally Delta Goodrem sounding song so far. Piano and guitar ballad "God Laughs" follows, and then "You Will Only Break My Heart," a real treat. It's much more upbeat than we're used to hearing from Delta, backed with a bit of reggae sway. With this, and tracks like the country-influenced "Woman," Delta shows she has more range than your average singer. "Brave Face" sounds at first like it isn't going to be very remarkable until you the great chorus, which completely makes the song.

Ballad "I Can't Break It to My Heart" is another great vocal showcase for Delta's voice. She has a great deal of control, singing effectively when she's quiet and belting out the chorus. And refreshingly, she stays away from the melismatic acrobatics that so many of her contemporaries mistake for "good" singing. "One Day," one of the six tracks co-written by boyfriend McFadden, is another standout--a laid back, guitar-driven piece of modern pop. "Angels in the Room" quietly closes the album.

If there was any doubt, the dramatic orchestra- and piano- backed power pop of Delta cements Goodrem as the new Celine Dion. She even has Celine's penchant for odd lyrics: "All the things that I've collected, stones and shells, every word in every book upon my shelf, only form a brief description of myself; but they don't define who I am, I don't think anything can" she sings in "Possessionless," where she declares that her "naked body" is all she has for her man. Racy? A bit. Ridiculous? For sure, but power pop has never been known for its lyrical meaning. Delta is blessed with a creative team of producers and songwriters that have created a diverse collection of pop songs that aptly showcase her as a singer that deserves the attention she gets (and hopes to get finally in the U.S.).

Best: Believe Again, In This Life, You Will Only Break My Heart, Woman, God Laughs

"Believe Again" Delta Goodrem

I may lose any shred of credibility here, but I love Delta Goodrem's "Believe Again," the second single from her third album, Delta, which is supposed to get a U.S. release soon. What can I say? I've always been a sucker for pop singles with a big sense of drama, and this certainly qualifies. If Celine Dion ever does a song featuring cannons...I'm there (actually there may be cannons in the "It's All Coming Back to Me single mix). The best part is the opening, which gets truncated in the video, so here's the full album version:



And the totally over the top video:



Other Delta must haves are her post-cancer survivor epic "Out of the Blue," which was written by Guy Chambers, who is the current king of dramatic pop music (best known for Robbie's "Angels"), and "Lost Without You," the second single from her first album.