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The original tumbled down the chart due to its first single, the Diane Warren-penned "Sweetest Sin." Although excellent lyrically, it was too softly cooed by Simpson and lacked a hook. The success of "Newlyweds" on MTV put her back in the public eye, though. Then, the second single, "With You," entered pop radio and became a hit. With the help of constant CD signings (and in some cases, tuna can signings), people started to buy "In This Skin" again.

Apparently, having Simpson on television, in gossip columns and on radio wasn't enough. So the decision was made to re-release "Skin" featuring two new cover songs, a rearranged tracklisting, bonus DVD and new artwork. And, it worked -- going all the way to No. 2.

The two cover songs included are Robbie Williams' "Angels," on which she gives a decent performance, and a completely hideous rendition of Berlin's classic "Take My Breath Away" from 1986's "Top Gun." Any fan of the original has been appalled by this remake, and yet the song is becoming increasingly more difficult to avoid. Why? The answer is simple: Hype gets attention, not talent.

If Simon Cowell ever said one correct thing, it was when he said Simpson's voice is not impressive. Although he is not completely correct, since "I Have Loved You" and "Underneath" are moving performances on the disc.

With the right material, Simpson can sing. However, she cannot sing or write as well as her idol, Mariah Carey, or even Christina Aguilera. Indeed, she lost out to Aguilera when auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club after getting intimidated because Christina "sounded like Mariah."

It is confusing why anyone would buy this album. The DVD does contain footage of the first season of "Newlyweds," and her wedding to Nick Lachey on the DVD -- but don't we see plenty of them on a daily basis?

Unfortunately, artists with sheer talent and integrity sell fewer records and garner less attention because they don't have the audacity to cover classic songs such as "I Got You Babe" on television specials and walk around in front of cameras for all to see.

Mark these words: Jessica Simpson, though moderately talented, is unlikely to survive much longer in this business.


Very good work.   April 3, 2004
 36 out of 50 found this review helpful

First of all I have to say that I thought that this album was going to be an album with only 2 or 3 good songs but actually it's very good.
Jessica goes from covers like Robbie Williams's hit "Angels" where Jessica gives her whole voice in a very good interpretation and also the hit from the 1986 Top Gun soundtrack "Take way breath away" which is her latest single and it's climbing the Hot 100 very fast to her own songs that are better than in the past. The album's first single was "The sweetest sin" which is a very good song but didn't make it big (I bought the CD because of that song). Then the Top 16 hit "With you" is also very good as "My way home" or "Underneath".
If you're planning to buy this album I'd tell you to get this version that contains a bonus track plus a DVD with footage of Jessica's wedding and also footage from "Newlyweds" for just $1 more.


I FEEL LIKE DANCING!   January 27, 2005
 26 out of 36 found this review helpful

The lyrics deal mostly with lost or frustrated love, bizarre relationships, and regret. Subsequently, a feeling of melancholy pervades the songs. Sparse instrumentation emphasizes this feeling: Acoustic guitars, harmonica, slight drums, hammond organ here and there, and Jessicas's vocals soaring over the mix.
Simpon's strange, compelling voice is as tuneful in this album as it had ever been when she was very young, but because she is older here, it has a kind of fatigue built into it, which gives it a depth of character that makes it more expressive and moving. This is something of a stroke of luck, because within a few years her voice became downright thin, a shell of its former self.

The songs themselves are also expressive and engagingly personal, which is unusual for Jessica, who more often goes for prophetic and inscrutable. I get the feeling that she recorded "In the skin'' at a time when the roller coaster of her life had dumped her in a very ambivalent place, leaving her full of regrets but still, upon reflection, ultimately happy about who she is. The album feels like a "taking stock," like the sound of a woman who is confessing to the world--and to the people she loves--that she is a human being, full of frailty but full of affection and wisdom. Kind of a mature theme!.
Many songs that we lovingly remember reach us in odd, numerous ways but " In the skin " tends to gently sneak up on the listener and strangely become woven in the very fabric of our lives. Becoming a part of who we are and giving each listener a much deeper understanding of how these turbulent emotions have indeed affected our lives. And though for most us these feelings are intensly personal Simpson has offered us not only a better understanding of where they still lie in us but a true perspective as well. And how alive the hurt that she feels still lives in all of us. Ultimately, the songs to be found here may be Jessicas painfully personal confessions but the emotions are universal.

You have to be a it mentally disturbed to write songs as savage as she does, but her mental instability is our gain!! Another noticable thing is her love for all things dark and satanic. And that is where the album ulltimately falls down, it just doesn't sound sincere enough, more like pastiche.



She just can't sing.   August 15, 2004
 15 out of 21 found this review helpful

She cannot carry a tune. She oversings when it is unnecessary. She took a great song and killed it--her version makes me cringe every time I hear it on the radio or wherever else is being paid to play it. If you really want to hear bad karaoke without going to a bar, I guess this would be a viable option, but I don't recommend listening for any other reason.


choking   November 22, 2004
 15 out of 19 found this review helpful

Jessica's unique vocal style makes her sound like she is gasping for breath instead of singing. Her pronunciation is terrible, on most songs, you can't decipher the words at all.