What's Left of Me (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Nick Lachey (background vocals); Chuck Butler (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Greg Johnston (guitar, electric guitar); Xandy Barry (guitar, piano, background vocals); Corky James, David Martin , Wally Gogel, Sebastian Nylund (guitar); Emanuel Kiriakou (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, drum programming, background vocals); Dan Muckala (piano, keyboards, background vocals); Rob Wells (piano, programming); Peter Ljung, Jess Cates, Jamie Cullum (piano); Joey Waronker (drums, percussion); Greg Wells, Dan Needham (drums); Jimi Englund (percussion); Jeff Bova (programming); Luke Brown (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Chris Lord-Alge.

Recording information: Bliss Recordings, Hollywood, CA; Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Dark Horse Studios, Franklin, TN; Definitive Sound, Toronto, Canada; Deibel Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Glomo Studios, Nashville, TN; Little Nicky's Studio, Calabasas, CA; Murlyn Studios; Peermusic, Toronto, Canada; Rocket Carousel Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Sage And Sound, Los Angeles, CA; Sony Studios, New York, NY; Studio E At Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Warner-Chappell Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Audio, Hollywood, CA.

Editors: Chris Anderson ; Lee Bridges; Michael J. Head.

Photographer: Olaf Heine.

Arrangers: Emanuel Kiriakou; Anders "Bag" Bagge; Andreas Carlsson; Peer Astrom.

It's hard being an ex-boy band member and an ex-husband, and Nick Lachey (formerly of 98 Degrees and Jessica Simpson, respectively) tells the world all about it on WHAT'S LEFT OF ME. Not surprisingly, Lachey makes no radical stylistic departures on his sophomore release, sticking with his easy-on-the-ears blend of adult-contemporary commercial pop.

There's not a trace of uptempo dance here, and only a few moments with any requisite rock crunch. Instead, Lachey leans heavily on ballads, pouring his heart out in narratives of emotional desolation and anguish. It is Lachey's bare-it-all expressiveness that makes WHAT'S LEFT OF ME stick, however, as he explores the ins and outs of pop music's oldest and most enduring theme: heartbreak.

Gossip hounds hoping that Nick Lachey's first post-divorce album would be laden with songs about his doomed marriage to Jessica Simpson will be pleased -- scratch that, delighted -- with What's Left of Me. If the album title doesn't clue you in to what it's all about, a glance at the song titles tip off its content: "I Can't Hate You Anymore," "On Your Own," "Outside Looking In," "Everywhere But Here," "Ghosts," "You're Not Alone," "Resolution" -- it's a virtual greatest-hits of brokenhearted laments, all sequenced as if it were a concept album about a man coming to terms with a painful divorce. To top it off, the centerfold photo finds Lachey sprawled out on a mattress in a grungy trailer, a stack of worn books, a TV with rabbit ears, and an empty beer bottle within reach, all bearing the unmistakable subtext that this is what the separation from Jessica has left him with (he also offers the following thanks: "most importantly, Miller Brewing...thank you!" -- but don't get ahead of yourself and think that this is a nod of gratitude to the beverages that got him through this difficult time; it's part of an extended thank you to "all of my friends who help to satisfy my sports addiction," which takes up as much space as his business, family, and fans thanks).

So, this second album from the former 98° star provides plenty of voyeuristic satisfaction, as each song -- whether it's written by Lachey or not (and chances are, it is, since he has writing credits on eight of the 12 songs) -- plays into the theme, which makes it kind of like the boy band Blood on the Tracks. And it's hard not to have sympathy for a guy whose sexpot ex allegedly cuckolded him through her affairs with Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera (it's possible to imagine a more humiliating list of lovers for Lachey, but even if you added anyone from Wilmer Valderhama to Artie Lange to that list, it wouldn't seem as bullying, as violent as that pair; it's practically a Jackass stunt). Lachey also deserves credit for not patterning his record after Jon Secada's early work, which the Backstreet Boys inexplicably did. He tries hard to sound modern, incorporating elements of anything from Ashlee-styled modern pop (ironic, isn't it?) to Coldplay, whose spacy surfaces are heard throughout (most notably on "Beautiful," whose echoing piano riff can't help but recall "Clocks"). This gives What's Left of Me a relatively fresh feel, although the songs slavishly follow the boy band formula for the turn of the century. That doesn't mean What's Left of Me isn't interesting -- Lachey's valiant twin struggles to modernize his sound and get past his impending divorce certainly make this album interesting. It's memorably odd, and even if it suggests that Lachey may have a rough time growing old with his signature sound, it still is hard not to finish the album and have a twinge of sympathy for the guy. Plus, he'll likely have the last laugh: he and Jessica had no prenup, so half of that marriage is his, so even if What's Left of Me fails to kick-start his career, he's probably not gonna wind up struggling to get by in that trailer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Gossip hounds hoping that Nick Lachey's first post-divorce album would be laden with songs about his doomed marriage to Jessica Simpson will be pleased -- scratch that, delighted -- with What's Left of Me. If the album title doesn't clue you in to what it's all about, a glance at the song titles tip off its content: "I Can't Hate You Anymore," "On Your Own," "Outside Looking In," "Everywhere But Here," "Ghosts," "You're Not Alone," "Resolution" -- it's a virtual greatest-hits of brokenhearted laments, all sequenced as if it were a concept album about a man coming to terms with a painful divorce. To top it off, the centerfold photo finds Lachey sprawled out on a mattress in a grungy trailer, a stack of worn books, a TV with rabbit ears, and an empty beer bottle within reach, all bearing the unmistakable subtext that this is what the separation from Jessica has left him with (he also offers the following thanks: "most importantly, Miller Brewing...thank you!" -- but don't get ahead of yourself and think that this is a nod of gratitude to the beverages that got him through this difficult time; it's part of an extended thank you to "all of my friends who help to satisfy my sports addiction," which takes up as much space as his business, family, and fans thanks). So, this second album from the former 98° star provides plenty of voyeuristic satisfaction, as each song -- whether it's written by Lachey or not (and chances are, it is, since he has writing credits on eight of the 12 songs) -- plays into the theme, which makes it kind of like the boy band Blood on the Tracks. And while it's hard not to have sympathy for a guy whose sexpot ex allegedly cuckolded him through her affairs with Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera (it's possible to imagine a more humiliating list of lovers for Lachey, but even if you added anyone from Wilmer Valderhama to Artie Lange to that list, it wouldn't seem as bullying, as violent as that pair; it's practically a Jackass stunt), it's sure hard not to wish What's Left of Me was a whole lot better.

The problem with this record, as with the Backstreet Boys comeback of 2005, is that the boy band sound, particularly the singing style, does not lend itself to maturity. Give Lachey credit for not patterning his record after Jon Secada's early work, which BSB inexplicably did. He tries hard to sound modern, incorporating elements of anything from Ashlee-styled modern pop (ironic, isn't it?) to Coldplay, whose spacy surfaces are heard throughout (most notably on "Beautiful," whose echoing piano riff can't help but recall "Clocks"). This gives What's Left of Me a relatively fresh feel, at least superficially, but the songs slavishly follow the boy band formula for the turn of the century -- which is a setback in itself, but their lack of memorable melody hurts it even more. Then there's the problem of Lachey's breathy, simpering vocals, which may work fairly well when surrounded by other breathy, simpering singers, but when they're pushed out front to stand on their own, they have no presence -- they fade away into the production. And when that's married to melodies without melody, the whole album becomes one long, glossy song. But that doesn't mean What's Left of Me isn't interesting -- Lachey's valiant twin struggles to modernize his sound and get past his impending divorce certainly make this album interesting. It's not good, but it is interesting, and it is memorably odd, and even if it suggests that Lachey may have a rough time growing old with his signature sound, it still is hard not to finish the album and have a twinge of sympathy for the guy. Plus, he'll likely have the last laugh: he and Jessica had no prenup, so half of that marriage is his, so even if What's Left of Me fails to kick-start his career, he's probably not gonna wind up struggling to get by in that trailer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize