Colbie Caillat - All of You

Artist: Colbie Caillat
Album: All of You
Released: July 12, 2011




I bought this album on Amazon for $4.99!  I love Amazon and their sales...

 I actually don't own either of her other albums, but do have a few songs, and really liked them.  I got to sing "Bubbly" at karaoke in Japan!  Good memories...

Anyway, while I do like this album a lot, I have to admit that some of the songs sound pretty similar and kind of meld into one.  There are two songs (Like Yesterday & Before I Let You Go) that have virtually the same chord progression (but not the same key), background rhythmic pattern, and tempo, and it always takes me until the chorus to figure out which song I'm listening to.

However, her singles off the album (I Do & Brighter Than the Sun) really do stand out as different.  I also really like Dream Life, Life.

Overall, while I like the songs, I think she could really benefit from some musical diversity on the album - especially in rhythmic patterns and chordal progressions...  I would add instrumentation, but I do feel there's some of that in the album already, and I don't think that's necessary to diversify the sound.


Now, onto the therapeutic components!

The most prominent aspect of this album that strikes me as therapeutic is....  it's so laid back and happy!  When it's relatable, I think it can be very mood-lifting.  However, I've found that often when people listen to happy music when they're feeling depressed or angry, it can actually make them feel worse.  I've definitely heard before that happy songs can bring on feelings of anger.  Thus...it's important to evaluate - is this song going to cause feelings of jealousy?  Is the song going to isolate this person in depression and anger rather than making them feel better?

Ones that I do think are positive, but not super happy like "I Do", are "Dream Life, Life", "What If", "Think Good Thoughts".  I especially think that "Dream Life, Life" & "Think Good Thoughts" could be great for therapy.  "Dream Life, Life" could encourage clients to think about the life they want, and evaluate Colbie's attitude toward not necessarily having that dream life [I'm working hard for my dream life to be my real life/And I can't be wrong/I all have is this life/So I'm making it what I want].  "Think Good Thoughts" is very direct in encouraging positive thinking...I really think the lyrics are self-explanatory: [When I'm alone in my dark, dark room/I have to tell myself to/Think good thoughts, think good thoughts/Imagine what the world would be if we just/Think good thoughts, stop the bad from feeding/I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy/Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me/That's how I want to be].

All other songs on the album are about romantic relationships, and while those are also good for expressing feelings, I'm just focusing on these 2 today!