Everybody

OH HELLS YES
I'm digging this cd. 'Soldier' is a great anthem, ready to rock you from the beginning, begging for attention. 'Are We There Yet' has a yearning to it in the vein of Glass on Ingrid's last album. Did I mention this album begs to be listened to again and again? Seriously, so many hot tracks to choose from. Now, to be honest I was a tad worried after that 'Be Ok' song, which I found tedious at best. But this is AWESOME, capital AWESOME. 'Chain' is great builder, with a huge climbing chorus of vocals at the finale. 'Mountatin and The Sea' is just feel good sing-along tune, but my FAVORITE has to be 'Once Was Love'....such a great album, though I had doubts after that silly, little 'Be Ok' song. I'll shut my mouth now. This is hardcore awesome, and Ingrid really nailed it here. Girls and Boys is still awesome too though. Awesome work, Ingrid!!! LOVING IT!

Excellent release
This album is so much better than Be Ok. As a whole the album is so much more unified and flows nicely as opposed to the previous release. I think I even like it better than Boys and Girls. There isn't one song that I skip. I'd definitely recommend this one.

Ingrid Michaelson Takes A Step Toward Mainstream
So far 2009 has seen a number of "sophomore" releases from artists, and Everybody from Ingrid Michaelson is one of them (I'm not counting the EP Be OK but limiting to major releases). Fans looking for Girls and Boys Part II will not find what they are looking for in Everybody. However deviating from Girls and Boys is not necessarily a bad thing. I found Everybody to be a much more focused work. It is also much more mainstream; however, some will not look on this favorably. You could almost make Instrumentally, Everybody has more depth and variety. I loved the violin and cello on "Soldier" and "Incredible Love". Michaelson also introduces Ukulele on songs such as "Everybody" and "Mountain And The Sea". It has a feel similar to Israel Kamakawiwo`Ole's rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from 50 First Dates. I also really enjoyed the subtly stated use of trumpet on "So Long". Perhaps as a way of at least loosely connecting with her past work, "Everybody" and "Mountain And The Sea" also feature the folksy hand clapping that Michaelson used on Girls and Boys. Vocally, Everybody features more of Michaelson's lower register. This comes right out of the gate on "Soldier", and it continues on other tracks such as "Sort Of", "Maybe", and "Incredible Love". That is not to say that Michaelson has switched exclusively to a dusky alto. Songs such as "Are We There Yet", "Men Of Snow", and "The Chain" have plenty of her upper register and falsetto. "The Chain" is the studio version of a song that we first heard on Be OK. It has the same vocal round at the end as the live version did, and it just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of Everybody. As a final note, Everybody has good vocal harmony. I really liked the way this came through on the chorus of "Mountain And The Sea" and "Maybe". Lyrically, Michaelson plays things much more straight up than she did on Girls and Boys. Love and relationships dominate Everybody as seen on "Soldier" - "And so it goes. The soldier knows./The battle with the heart isn't easily won." and "Maybe" - "Maybe in the future/you're gonna come back/you're gonna come back around". It is obvious from the title alone on "Incredible Love" and "Once Was Love". The one song that would fit with the more unique style of Girls and Boys is "Men Of Snow" where Michaelson tells of building a snowman that she tells her troubles to only to find him melted the next day. Even this still seems friendlier to a wider audience than most of Girls and Boys. All in all, Everybody is a major step forward for Ingrid Michaelson. While I enjoyed Girls and Boys, it almost seems esoteric compared to Everybody. Michaelson has created a sound that while featuring greater breadth in vocal range and instrumentation is at the same time more focused. Fans of KT Tunstall, Sonya Kitchell, and A Fine Frenzy should give this a try. Download this: Maybe

Everybody feels the love.
I love this album. The reasons: - These songs are the kind you can come home to and just relax to. The melodies are soothing, Ingrid's voice is a delight to listen to, her ukulele is playful. - I cannot find a weak song. Every one has its merits. My favorites (being a person who likes more upbeat, catchy, rhythmic tunes) are Soldier, Everybody, Once Was Love, Locked Up, and Maybe. - The music is evocative. I remember feelings and memories when I listen to the album. The music is worth your time and money. I bought the hard copy, which has an awesome cover, with individually handwritten lyrics and designs on it.

Ingrid strikes again!
I've been waiting for some of these songs to be released for almost two years...I knew most of the songs on Everybody, so I had a certain mental picture about how they'd all turn out. This could've been a bad thing-having such high expectations. But Ingrid (and everyone who helped make the record happen, especially Dan Romer) didn't disappoint me in the least. Every song is thoughtfully arranged and planned out, and the lyrics are anything but cutesy. Ingrid doesn't need complicated phrases and unknown words to make her point. Her songs are painfully and wonderfully relatable, while still staying fresh and new. Everybody will take you on a journey. One you'll want to repeat over and over again.