Piece by Piece [Deluxe Edition]

by Kelly Clarkson

Overview

Recording has rarely come easy for Kelly Clarkson. The classic example of this trouble is My December, the album where she attempted to break away from her American Idol benefactors to find her own way, but 2015's Piece by Piece bears signs of a potentially rocky creation. At the very least, its gleaming surface is evidence that during the four-year hiatus between 2011's Stronger and this 2015 release, she and 19/BMG spent considerable time figuring out which direction she should pursue as she entered the second phase of her career. Instead of consolidating the assured mature pop of Stronger, Piece by Piece refurbishes Kelly, piling on EDM affectations and finding her singing cuts co-written by such successful contemporary pop hitmakers as Sia ("Invincible"), Matthew Koma ("Someone"), and MoZella ("Take You High") on an album largely produced by Greg Kurstin, who has had hits with Sia, Tegan and Sara, Ellie Goulding, and Lily Allen. Previously, Kurstin proved to be a good fit for Kelly -- he produced three cuts on Stronger, including its title track -- but Piece by Piece often makes the cardinal mistake of so many botched albums by pop divas: it places the emphasis on sound, not song. This decision tends to submerge Clarkson, who performs as powerfully as ever but is nevertheless overwhelmed by skittish beats, fragmented samples, and electronic sheen. Her receding presence unfortunately is mirrored by the lack of songwriting credits -- she has just three on the standard edition of the album, half of what she had last time around -- and it's also not true that only the tunes she had a hand with are the ones that work: Sia's "Let Your Tears Fall" has an appealing nocturnal pulse, "Good Goes the Bye" floats upon its percolating beats, and "Nostalgic" is a nifty piece of neo-new wave. These cuts, along with the title track, manage to strike the right balance of Kelly's indomitable character and fresh electronic beats but overall Piece by Piece sounds a shade too desperate, which means it winds up having the opposite effect than intended: instead of sounding like a new start, Clarkson sounds a little bit behind the times. [A Deluxe Edition added three bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/03/2015
Label:	19 / Rca
UPC:	0888750708625

Tracks

1. Heartbeat Song
2. Invincible
3. Someone
4. Take You High
5. Piece by Piece
6. Run Run Run
7. I Had a Dream
8. Let Your Tears Fall
9. Tightrope
10. War Paint
11. Dance With Me
12. Nostalgic
13. Good Goes the Bye
14. Bad Reputation
15. In the Blue
16. Second Wind

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kelly Clarkson   Primary Artist
Oliver Kraus   Cello,Viola,Violin
Shane McAnally   Vocals (Background)
Jason Halbert   Bass,Keyboards
Jennifer Brown   Vocals (Background)
Maren Morris   Vocals (Background)
Todd Tidwell   Endingidi
David LaBruyere   Bass
Tony Lucido   Bass
Greg Kurstin   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Mellotron,Chamberlin
John Legend   Featured Artist
The Levite Camp   Vocals (Background)
Nicole Hurst   Vocals (Background)
Fred Martin   Vocals (Background)
Eric Olson   Bass,Keyboards
Chris DeStefano   Bass,Pedal Steel,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Jesse Shatkin   Bass,Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Miles McPherson   Drums
Erick Serna   Bass,Guitar
The Regiment Horns   Horn Section
Joseph Trapanese   Conductor
Indyah Davis   Vocals (Background)
Lester Estelle   Drums
Cheche Alara   Keyboards
Su'esu'e Seanoa   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Natalie Hemby   Composer
Chris Dye   Vocal Engineer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
Dan Keyes   Composer
Oliver Kraus   String Arrangements
Shane McAnally   Composer
Jason Halbert   Engineer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Producer
John Hanes   Mixing Engineer
Maren Morris   Composer
Matt Stanfield   Programming
Steve Mostyn   Additional Production
Kara DioGuardi   Composer
Todd Tidwell   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Oak   Additional Production
Ry Cuming   Composer
Antonina Armato   Composer
Tim James   Composer
Ryland Blackinton   Composer
Sia Furler   Composer
Mitch Allan   Composer
Bonnie McKee   Composer
Greg Kurstin   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Justin Tranter   Composer
Dan Rockett   Composer
Warren Felder   Composer
Lani Crump   Production Coordination
Jason Evigan   Composer
Erwin Gorostiza   Creative Director
Joleen Belle   Composer
Gina Zimmitti   Orchestra Contractor
Keith Naftaly   A&R
Jason Angel   Vocal Engineer
Dave Steunebrink   Production Coordination
John Denosky   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Maureen McDonald   Composer
Eric Olson   Programming
Robert Venable   Engineer
Joacim Persson   Composer
Chris DeStefano   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Ryan Gore   Engineer
Jesse Shatkin   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming
David Jost   Composer
Jimmy Robbins   Composer
Anjulie Persaud   Composer
Meghan Foley   Design,Art Direction
Jeremy Cowart   Photography
Booker White   Music Preparation
Audra Mae   Composer
Kelly Sheehan   Composer
Julia Michaels   Composer
Shawn Daugherty   Assistant Engineer
Satoshi Noguchi   Engineer
Justin Womble   Programming
Kenta Yonesaka   Assistant Vocal Engineer
Julian Berg   Engineer
Joseph Trapanese   Arranger,Composer,Programming,Orchestral Arrangements
Jeremy Miller   Assistant Engineer
Matthew Koma   Composer
Vaughn Oliver   Composer
Nolan Lambroza   Composer
Christopher Dye   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Fransisca Hall   Composer
Julian Burg   Engineer
Stephen Mostyn   Composer
Jason Lazurus   Arranger
Kelly Clarkson   Composer
Alex Pasco   Engineer
Rachel Orscher   Programming