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''The Meaning of Love'' is the only album by Scottish pop singer Michelle McManus issued by BMG. Released on February 16, 2004 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was Michelle's first album since winning the UK Talent show Pop Idol in December 2003. It yielded two Top 20 entries on the UK Singles Chart: the chart-topping "All This Time", and the title track, which stalled at #16. ''The Meaning of Love'' met with an overwhelmingly negative critical reaction and has since received various "worst album" accolades. Although it entered the UK Albums Chart at #3, the album soon cascaded into obscurity and McManus was dropped by her label. ==Reception== 〕 |rev2 = BBC |rev2score = (favourable) |rev3 = ''Daily Mail'' |rev3score = (unfavourable) |rev4 = ''Daily Mirror'' |rev4score = (unfavourable) |rev5 = entertainment.ie |rev5score = |rev6 = ''The Guardian'' |rev6score = |rev7 = ''The Herald'' |rev7score = |rev8 = ''Q'' |rev8score = 〔''Q'' review, March 2004, p.114〕 |rev9 = ''The Scotsman'' |rev9score = (unfavourable) |rev10 = ''The Telegraph'' |rev10score = (unfavourable) }} ''The Meaning of Love'' was released to near-unanimous condemnation from the music press, with McManus's vocal abilities being singled out for criticism. Lynsey Hanley in ''The Telegraph'' wrote: "This whole record smacks of boil-in-the-bag songwriting and lazy, hasty production tarted up with cheesy strings." She stated that McManus's singing "lack() any discernible 'wow' factor" and is on par with "a karaoke regular or, at best, a provincial cabaret turn."〔 ''Scotsman'' journalist Fiona Shepherd delivered a track-by-track critical assault of the record in which she described McManus as "another chicken-in-a-basket diva" with an "unremarkable" voice. Shepherd expressed a particular loathing for the cover of Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good", which according to her, had "the guts ripped out of it."〔 Beth Pearson in ''The Herald'' pointed to this track as evidence that McManus "just can't sing soulfully", which, combined with the album's "tinny production and synths imported direct from the 1980s", made for a "thoroughly boring, unambitious debut".〔 An Entertainment.ie review argued that McManus was the single worst winner of the entire ''Pop Idol'' series, and that she made fellow reality television music competition winners Will Young and Alex Parks "look like worldbeaters by comparison". The publication asserted that "the project is sunk by McManus's vocal performances, which never rise far above the level of a very average club singer."〔 In an unfavourable review, the ''Daily Mail'' called McManus a "cabaret singer rather than one with real potential".〔 Most scathing was the appraisal published in ''Q'' magazine, which described the album as "appalling" and its public release as "fiercely malicious".〔 Conversely, BBC journalist Ruth Mitchell opined that the album is "packed full of dreamy songs" and "surprisingly sounds like a very competent and unhurried effort indeed."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Meaning of Love (album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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