Well, that awkward goth phase didn't last long! With all the impatience of an ADD-riddled teen rebel, Avril Lavigne ditched the gloomy façade of her sophomore Under My Skin and dove back into the well-scrubbed mosh pit for her third album, The Best Damn Thing.
Frankly, the change in pace comes as a bit of a relief.
The serious Avril on Under My Skin never felt genuine -- the shift from the exuberance of "Sk8er Boi" to the meandering ruminations of "Don't Tell Me" and "My Happy Ending" seemed sudden and forced, a misguided attempt to prove that Lavigne was a serious songwriter -- so as soon as The Best Damn Thing opens with the bright bubblegum blast of "Girlfriend" and its cheerleader chant, everything within Avril's world seems right again.
If anything, this third album feels even more adolescent than her aggressively catchy-n-shallow debut, Let Go, perhaps because this is an album where Avril is allowed to run wild.
She can curse, spit, and strut to her heart's content, she can taunt her rivals and steal their boyfriends, then bitch out the boy for not understanding her once he belongs to her.
She impatiently rushes through the power ballads -- there are only three of them, all impeccable melodic anthems designed to keep the crossover adult audience Let Go won, all better than their equivalents on Under My Skin -- because she can't wait to get back and raise hell like the spoiled brat that she's thrilled to be.
Avril swears like she's just discovered profanity, cheerfully spitting out four-letter words (and their compounds) with glee, but everything she does here she does with unrestrained glee.
She truly believes she's the best damn thing you've ever seen, she knows it's all about her -- or, as she shouts on "I Don't Have to Try," "I wear the pants!" -- and if you don't agree, she knows you're wrong and you can go to hell (actually, she'd probably say something a lot stronger).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GirlfriendLukasz Gottwald, Avril Lavigne | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | I Can Do BetterLukasz Gottwald, Avril Lavigne | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | RunawayKara DioGuardi, Lukasz Gottwald, Avril Lavigne | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | The Best Damn ThingAvril Lavigne, Butch Walker | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | When You're GoneAvril Lavigne, Butch Walker | Avril Lavigne | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Everything Back But YouAvril Lavigne, Butch Walker | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | HotAvril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | InnocenceAvril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 9 | I Don't Have to TryLukasz Gottwald, Avril Lavigne | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | One of Those GirlsAvril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld | Avril Lavigne | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | ContagiousAvril Lavigne, Evan Taubenfeld | Avril Lavigne | Play | 02:10 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 12 | Keep Holding OnLukasz Gottwald, Avril Lavigne | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 13 | Alone | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 14 | I Will Be | Avril Lavigne | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 15 | I Can Do Better (Acoustic Version) | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 16 | Girlfriend (Mandarin Version) | Avril Lavigne | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 17 | Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix) | Avril Lavigne, Lil Mama | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 58 mins | 134 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 443 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Allardyce | Engineer |
| 2 | Keith Armstrong | Assistant |
| 3 | Kenny Aronoff | Drums |
| 4 | Travis Barker | Drums |
| 5 | Matt Beckley | Engineer |
| 6 | Paul Bushnell | Bass |
| 7 | Michael Caffery | Engineer |
| 8 | David Campbell | String Arrangements |
| 9 | Rob Cavallo | Audio Production, Producer |
| 10 | Dan Chace | Keyboards, Programming |
| 11 | Chris Chaney | Bass |
| 12 | Larry Corbett | Cello |
| 13 | Sonia d'Aloisio | Logo Design |
| 14 | Joel Derouin | Concert Master |
| 15 | Kara DioGuardi | Composer |
| 16 | Robb Dipple | Cover Art, Logo Design |
| 17 | Dr. Luke | Audio Production |
| 18 | Karl Egsieker | Engineer |
| 19 | Mike Fasano | Drum Technician |
| 20 | Josh Freese | Drums |
| 21 | Brian Gardner | Mastering |
| 22 | Serban Ghenea | Mixing |
| 23 | Aniela Gottwald | Assistant, Engineer |
| 24 | Lukasz Gottwald | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Piano |
| 25 | Tatiana Gottwald | Assistant, Engineer |
| 26 | Keith Gretlein | Engineer |
| 27 | Isobel Griffiths | Contractor |
| 28 | Scott Gutierrez | Assistant Engineer |
| 29 | Paul David Hager | Engineer |
| 30 | John Hanes | Digital Editing |
| 31 | Chris Holmes | Engineer |
| 32 | James Ingram | Assistant |
| 33 | Cheryl Jenets | Production Coordination |
| 34 | Rouble Kapoor | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 35 | Nik Karpen | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| 36 | Suzie Katayama | Contractor |
| 37 | Abe Laboriel, Jr. | Drums |
| 38 | Avril Lavigne | Audio Production, Composer, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Mark Liddell | Photography |
| 40 | Chris Lord-Alge | Mixing |
| 41 | Tom Lord-Alge | Mixing |
| 42 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 43 | Rob Mathes | Conductor, String Arrangements |
| 44 | Terry McBride | Management |
| 45 | Doug McKean | Engineer |
| 46 | Matt Mecley | Producer |
| 47 | Scott Moore | Assistant Engineer |
| 48 | Jamie Muhoberac | Keyboards, Piano |
| 49 | Leon Pendarvis | Arranger, Conductor |
| 50 | Tim Pierce | Guitar |
| 51 | Tim Roberts | Assistant |
| 52 | John Rummen | Art Direction |
| 53 | Becky Scott | Production Coordination |
| 54 | Wesley Seidman | Engineer |
| 55 | Chris Soper | Engineer |
| 56 | Stevo | Drums |
| 57 | Greg Suran | Guitar |
| 58 | Tom Syrowski | Engineer |
| 59 | Evan Taubenfeld | Composer |
| 60 | Seth Waldmann | Engineer |
| 61 | Butch Walker | Audio Production, Bass, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background) |
| 62 | Deryck Whibley | Audio Production, Bass, Cover Photo, Guitar, Mixing, Photography, Producer |
| 63 | Josh Wilbur | Engineer |
| 64 | Steven Wolf | Drums, Producer, Production Coordination |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |