ALBUM REVIEW: Hilary Duff – Dignity
I think my strange obsession with Hilary Duff confuses some of you guys, so since it’s such a slow day today I thought I’d post her pop masterpiece Dignity for everyone, accompanied by my review.
Released in 2007 after her split with Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden, Dignity see’s the then 19-year-old Hilary Duff stepping away from the teen pop-rock of her earlier albums for a more mature electronica driven dance-pop sound, with a few vague urban influences throw in for good measure.
She also adds the title of songwriter to her resume, penning thirteen of the albums fourteen tracks with the help of Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. The result is a pop album that has just as much substance as it does style, which is often a rarity in the genre.
Things kick off with the autobiographical opener “Stranger”, which see’s Duff warning us that behind-closed-doors not all relationships are as perfect as they might seem on the outside. “There’s no kindness in your eyes, The way you look at me it’s just not right. There’s a stranger in my life” she sings over a dark and eerie Bollywood inspired beat. The song cleverly explores the pain and despair of a broken relationship, making it a depressingly perfect way to open the album.
Next up is the title track “Dignity”, in which Duff tries to set herself apart from her Hollywood contemporaries – and succeeds. “Where’s your, where’s your, where’s your dignity?” She chants on the hook “I think you left it in the Hollywood Hills”. Duff certainly has a smug attitude with her on this, sneering at the Lindsay Lohan’s and Nicole Richies as she quips “It’s not news when you got a new bag” before demanding them to “pick up the bill” because it’s “all you got”. The production is just as fiery and cracking as the lyrics, making “Dignity” one of the albums standout tracks.
“With Love”, which was released as the lead single, is a happy electro pop-rock thumper with Hilary declaring that she can handle anything harsh that her boyfriend may need to tell her, just as long as he does it “with love”. This is the kind of song that Kylie Minogue would kill to get on one of her albums.
The album continues with the hypnotic “Danger”, which seems like just another fun dance-pop song, but a closer listen to the lyrics reveals that Duff is actually singing about her attraction to a dangerous older man. “You intrigue me like no one before, It may be wrong to get to know you more” . With it’s cutting edge production and strong lyrical content, “Danger” really cements my previous claim of Dignity having an equally strong mix of both style and substance.
The next track “Gypsy Woman” is a fan favourite and it’s easy to see why. Duff shows off her spiteful side as she sings about the ‘other woman’ who was instrumental in tearing her parents marriage apart, and she does it over a futuristic beat that mixes together grinding electro with warped chants and key blips that come together to create a song that’s clearly in a league of it’s own. In fact if it wasn’t for the deeply personal lyrics “Gypsy Woman” could’ve easily ended up on Britney Spears Blackout.
After exploring the darker side of pop, Duff returns to the light with “Never Stop”, which is about nothing more than celebrating your love for someone. The song travels at a million miles a minute over an uptempo beat that sounds like it was dragged directly out of the 80′s, and feels like it was constructed specifically to bring on the feelings of fun and joy that come along with being in love.
The next song is often overlooked by many, but remains one of my personal favourites on the album. “No Work All Play” has a summery, almost island sound to it, and lyrically takes another turn as Hilary encourages everyone to embrace the pain and negatives of life in order to grow as a person. It’s another example of Hilary attempting to come off as a grown-up, which is both charming and sincere at the same time.
“Between You and Me” is an insanely catchy and boppy track in which Hilary tells a lovesick boy to leave her alone and go focus on a girl who is actually interested in him instead. A closer listen to the lyrics reveal that she’s grown tired of being hit on all the time by people who don’t know her beyond her celebrity status, showing a loneliness and frustration that is explored more thoroughly later on in the album.
The next track “Dreamer” is a quirky tongue-in-cheek look at a real life incident she had with a stalker, which required Duff to eventually get a restraining order. With sarcastic lyrics like “I go to bed and I wake up, isn’t that interesting?” the song could also double as a diss to the paparazzi.
Next up is “Happy”, which is the closest we get to the ‘old’ Hilary. The song wouldn’t sound out-of-place on one of her previous albums, and the lyrical content isn’t as original as some of the other songs on Dignity. It’s the only song that I could’ve done without on the album.
Now we finally get the closest thing to a ballad on the album, “Burned”. The production is minimal in comparison with the rest of the record, choosing to focus more on the lyrics. Duff’s fragile and girlish voice adds a vulnerability to the track, which reminds us that she’s not quite an adult just yet.
“Outside of You” is next and is actually leftover from one of Pink’s albums, which explains it’s rocky anthemic hook. Hilary musters up all of her courage over a powerful 80′s pop-rock beat and begs a scared and lonely crush to open up and let her in. Despite not writing the lyrics, the song comes across as surprisingly genuine when Duff tries to belt out lines like “See the funny thing is, you’re just as useless as me, I can make you better, if you would just let me in”.
“I Wish” continues both the pop/rock sound and the lyrical content of the previous track, though Hilary seems to switch roles and take the place of her self-destructive crush from “Outside of You”. “I wish that I could be like I was before. I was ridin high but now I’m feelin so low.” It’s another interesting track which fits in with the whole theme of the album.
Hilary ends things on a positive note on “Play With Fire”, defiantly flipping off the turmoil of previous relationships in favour of a new man who “keeps me safe, takes your place”. will.i.am surprisingly co-wrote the song, which was initially released as a buzz single in 2006 to signify Hilary’s new musical direction. Although the Richard Vission remix is far superior, this is still a great song and a good way to close the album.
Dignity reflects the sound of a young woman clumsily stepping into adulthood, which results in a fun, personal, endearing, and overall superb pop album. Dignity see’s Hilary setting herself up to be the next Kylie Minogue, and a much more interesting one at that. Hil was playing with the electro-pop sound well before Lady GaGa came onto the scene, and she manages to outdo GaGa’s The Fame in every way by adding depth, sincerity, and charm to her music.
With it’s innovation, forward thinking sound and sincere self-reflection, Dignity is like the electro little sister to Justin Timberlake’s Justified and Christina Aguilera’s Stripped, joining the pair as one of the best pop albums of the 2000′s.
Tags: Hilary Duff
Amazing review, I’ve been a fan of hil since way back when i was in 4th grade and she was lizzie mcguire. Diginity is still one of my favorie albums today i wish she would do more music i was happy when the best of album had Reach Out and Holiday but i need more!!
So glad you posted this review. The album is amazing and I still listen to it like it was released yesterday. So many people look down on Hilary because of her having that one-time Disney label, but if they give a chance, they may actually find that her music has substance and heart to it. Hopefully, her next album does better on the charts, but Hilary isn’t killing to sell one million records like others.
I agree Avery. She’s obviously not that interested in selling records or having massive hits because she chooses to do smaller films and chose to release songs like “Any Other Day” which aren’t commercial at all.
It’s great to see her doing what she wants and not caring about sales. Thats something that sets her apart from the others and adds real quality to her newer music.
Wow looks like someone had a redbull. But I’m gon give it a listen. I also agree with justin and christina but I’ll also add GGGB, Blackout and Goodies
Honorable mention: Pink Cant take me home and Nelly Fortado Loose
I definitely would not add GGGB or Goodies to the list LOL.
They don’t have the soul of Justified or Stripped.
Blackout definitely deserves to be there though. It doesn’t have any soul but that’s kind of the point of the record.
Nelly Furtado Loose could be in there, but I actually think her debut is her best, even though both albums are brilliant.
Craig David Born To Do It is another one that deserves to be there.
ON A DAY LIKE ANY OTHER DAY. SKY SO BLUE IT CAN TAKE YOUR BREATHE WAY. BUT WHAT COULD EVER FALL APART.
i never really listened to her till that song and it pretty good. good job prophet.
So as soon as I read the first line I put on the album. Totally missed the ending to the movie I was watching. Anyway, I am SO HAPPY, LIKE SUPER HAPPY THAT U DID THIS. Hilary Duff was one of the ones, if not THE one that got me into music. Starting with “So Yesterday” and “Girl Can Rock.” I still remember seeing TRL and watching Hilary premiere “PLay With Fire” I was so surprised by her new style of music and video, but I loved it. She opened the door for me to fall in love with electro-pop music. Dignity is by far her best cd to date. I will never get tired of hearing it. And I feel like i can connect so much to like the second half of the CD. “Burned” has always been one of my favs from the cd. YOUR REVIEW is hands on explains the awesomeness of the cd. LOVED IT. She really can be the next Kylie Minouge, as for Lady Gaga I don’t see why you had to compare them, but it is true what you say. But I still love The Fame lol. Anyway, THANKS SO MUCH for posting a good review of an AWESOME ALBUM!!!. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW HOW AWESOME THIS ALBUM IS AND HOW AWESOME HD IS.
p.s This is a side note, I love “Play With Fire” but did u ever get the feeling it like sort of didn’t go with the rest of cd. Idk how to explain it, but I always felt like it was just thrown in there. But still an awesome song
. I guess its because it was done before the rest if cd was done.
Alright Proph, since you seem so passionate about this album i’ll download it and give it a spin.
BTW i’ve loved “With Love” since the first time I heard it.♥
Oh and I DEFINITELY this Goodies and Blackout are two of the best pop albums of the 2000′s
Even GGGB could be on the list. I wouldn’t cry if it wasn’t though. lol
I agree with the Xtina Stripped part. <<<<<<<<<<<<3
I cannot believe you put this album up with Justified and Stripped. I’ll reserve my judgement until after I actually hear it, but to say that it’s one of the best pop albums of the 00′s is HUGE. Personally, I wouldn’t put Justified up there as one of the best of the 00s. My top (as of now) would be Stripped, Good Girl Gone Bad, Invincible (MJ) and Blackout.
[...] the rest here: ALBUM REVIEW: Hilary Duff – Dignity Posted in Celebrity News | Tags: all-the, celebrity, closer-listen, grown-tired, lyrics, [...]
@ Max
You wouldn’t put Justified, but you would put Good Girl Gone Bad? SMH
Absolutely. Justified is a great album, but GGGB was one of the most successful albums this decade. Spawned 7 top 100 singles and spent more than 2 years inside the billboard 200 albums? That’s amazing.
Also, I don’t know if I actually consider Stripped a pop album. It’s kinda R&B to me….
the review pretty much said it all. This album is amazing and I’m constantly playing it. I deleted “Play With Fire” in favour of its remix, which is way better (the original is a bit boring, from what I remember). I recommend “Gypsy Woman”, “With Love”, “Dignity”, “Stranger”, “Never Stop”, “Between You And Me”, “Burned”……pretty much the whole album. It’s amazing the whole way through.
Oh, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do more posts like this. New music and news is good and all, but going back and revisiting old music is fantastic too. It allows us to go back and discover new treasures that we missed when they came out. I owe “Kaleidoscope” to you and I’m so glad that you recommended it to me.
Next up, you HAVE to post Jazmine Sullivan’s “Fearless”. I recently discovered that one and it’s AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Max
Who cares about how successful an album is? We should love albums based on quality not commercial success. That’s one of the many reasons the industry is in the shitter. People focus too much on commercial success and not quality. SMH
i always liked her
LMFAO @ GGGB BEING BETTER THAN JUSTIFIED!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMAO!
I can’t breathe. I don’t think that Dignity is AS good as Justified, Stripped, Born To Do It, and a few others, but if you had to group together a bunch of the best pop albums I think it’s up there. It’s extremely underrated.
GGGB is a hot album, but it doesn’t have the depth that’s needed, and it’s not as edgy or innovative as Blackout.
Justified on the other hand is AMAZING. I don’t understand how people can like FSLS better. To me Justified is perfect.
And I agree that Play With Fire and Happy are a bit out of place.
And yes Holara, Fearless and Kaleidoscope are amazing.
Oh, Kaleidoscope is one of the best pop albums of the 2000′s to.
When I say POP I just mean popular albums that were meant to sell.
Prophet: When we get news on Hilary’s new music projects you have to support (I know you will!) because your site is so popular. Glad to see that people are loving the album STILL.
Gyspy Woman should have been a single. They were also going to release Danger in the UK.
Of course i’ll support her music! I even support her movies and pap shots here when she hasn’t done music for ages and this is a music blog lol!
I’m glad they managed to release Stranger as a single because it’s probably the best song on the album…
The majority of the album was single worthy, minus about 4 or 5 tracks. If the album had taken off she would’ve had trouble choosing singles coz theres so many worthy ones.
I know right, the album could have been so big. It’s like a little gem that many people don’t know about. But, this was her first flop album. But, it still managed to go Gold and score two #1 dance singles. Plus, With Love is her biggest hit here in the US, so that’s okay.
Hilary Duff rules our world.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mario, Roger MacRae and Jayleen Hartman, The HilaryDuff Bunch. The HilaryDuff Bunch said: RT @TheProphetBlog New post: ALBUM REVIEW: Hilary Duff – Dignity (http://cli.gs/nTTNQ) <=Check out this review! [...]
im big duffs fan since lizzie !!!!
and i luv all her albums!!!
Dignity is more better than The Fame (sex,money,fame,wtf)XXX lyrics with electro beats…
dignity is sooo 80′s electro beat
and proph do more album reviews ;D
Okay I listened to this album and I defiantly like it! I’m gonna have to REALLY listen again to get in to the lyrics though.
I was so surprised when i saw this post lol
But Both Dignity and Blackout are my 2 favorite albums of all time.
Hil needs to make another record before she’s forgoten as a “recording artist”
Yeah Lashae it took me a while to get into as well but I’m glad ur liking it!
And yes, blackout and dignity both amazing pop records.
LMFAO!
the album is good, but it’s nowhere near JT’s Justified or Xtina’s Stripped. Way off dude!
And the gaga comment..really? haha. Hm..i guess you forgot that GaGa has been an underground artist for a while now, and a talented musician at that (actual vocal ability, writes, plays, produces etc) And hate her for her personality but you can’t deny her talent – Hilary will never be in her league musically.
So glad you posted this. “Dignity” is a masterpiece!
I don’t think that Dignity is AS good as Justified and Stripped, but I think it’s up there with some of the best pop albums of the 2000′s.
And yeah maybe GaGa is a “real” artist but she sold out and made a shallow album. Dignity is much better, it has interesting lyrics and subject matter.
It’s not just mindless rubbish about clubbing and riding disco sticks.
I’ve never denied GaGa’s talent, I think she’s super talented, way more than Hilary, but Dignity murders The Fame on every level.
umm no, not as good as The Fame. Since we’re coming to an end of this decade, it’ll be cool if like around the end of the year you post your fav albums of this decade. but in my opinion the best pop albums of this decade are:
1. My December/Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson)
3. The Fame (Lady Gaga)
4. Good Girl Gone Bad (Rihanna)
omg no no no no no, sorry, this is too hard, just by looking at these lets me know that imma be cutting out a lot of the earlier 2000s music. i have to really think about this. I don’t think those are gonna be that far up when i really give this some thought because i forgot about 3LW and all the music i used to listen to back in the day! that’ll be a fun post! but I honestly think The Fame is up there. I’m not saying that because i’m a Lady Gaga fan, but because i’ve never listened to an album this much for this long and havent grown tired of it.
You should do a post on the worst pop albums of this decade just to name a few BDay, Ciara – Evolution, Welcome To the dollhouse, Simply Deep & Ms Kelly, My December.
ps Prophet why when people leave comments some people names are white and some including yours are blue? Am i missing out on some type of VIP deal???
LOL @ Da Vinci, My December is amazing, one of the best pop albums of this decade!
I like all the albums u mentioned! Except BDay which is a hot mess but I don’t rate it the worst.
I’d put Xtinas back to basics as one of the worst though.
The Fame is not better than this. It’s so shallow. It’s a good pop album but not as good as Dignity, Justified, My December, and a bunch of others.
And GGGB is def not up there! It has hits for days but it’s nothing new or innovative or deep.
Lord. I am not about to listen to a Hilary Duff album…..eh. doing homework. here goes nothing..
por dios santo! como pueden decir que The Fame, letras que solo hablan de sexo, y como cogerse a la tipa es mejor que Dignity! que les pasa! estan fuera de si?
por cierto, My december es un gran album! no tanto como Dignity y si existiera una lista de los mejores albums de los 00′ Dignity se encontraria muy facil en el top 10!
yeahh i think gaga is good i like gaga because she wrotes her own lyrics and etc im gaga fan
and i know tht gaga can make a decent record without XXXlyrics etc etc…
like dignity
like bad romance….good lyrics about romanticism
I tried this album and just didn’t like it. Her voice is just so robotic, I really don’t think she can sing. Though I can get into some non singers I just think of Disney when I hear her voice and I despise Disney.
I don’t like Disney either. They let her have creative control on this but then pulled all the promo as soon as it didn’t take off, similar to Kelly Clarksons my December with Clive Davis.
She left the label after this though, and the music she released since like “any other day” was released independently
The Fame is an amazing album i it’s all the way up there with some of the best albums of the new millennium for me. Back To Basics was an awesome album! i love Xtina’s range on that record! i love Understand! that is my SONG! lol. And i love B’Day!!!! The worst albums would be FSLS by JT, and Jordin Spark’s second album just to name a few! I think i good pop record should have you danicng along and singing along to the music. There should be songs that you can relate to and feel, some that may make you cry. The Fame has all of that. The humorous undertones of The Fame are just taken to seriously, like Beautiful Dirty Rich and The Fame (the song/title track). Brown Eyes is so sweet and the words are very powerful if you think about it.
this is so off topic, but i just heard the words to No by Shakira today and i have to say that those are some of the best lyrics EVER!!!
I agree you should do more of these
I am surprised at how good the album is. I have never really paid much attention to Hilary Duff. I hated all those Lizzy Disney Channel music she made, like why not and all those other horrible songs. But she sounds mature and sexy in these songs. I love Danger and Play with fire. This sound suits her!
Um FSLS is amazing and was critically acclaimed.
The Fame is just shallow trash. It’s good for the dancefloor and nothing more.
awesome review my stand in this album are outside of you, stranger, gypsy woman, dignity and i wish, but now you make me want to listen all the album again jejeje, I just want to see what you see in the rest of the songs, i would love to see a rock album review please, whatever album you will like to do a review or your favorite.
Damn, this is getting so many comments.
Just got The Fame Thursday for my birthday and I like it a lot. It’s a really good album, and I want to see Gaga and Hilary work together on a track.
The Fame is much more than shallow dancefloor trash. The album does have depth but your gaga hating got you confused. But this is your opinion.
Back to Hilary, I actually think her best album is her self-titled sophomore effort. Although, a few of the cuts were a hot mess the rest of the album is a solid and emotional pop rock rollercoaster – easily the baby of Clarkson’s ‘Breakway.’
Although, ‘Dignity’ was also overlooked, Hilary Duff was too, and it was a shame because Hilary definitely took a big step away from her debut and the album worked for her younger fans, but was the right step in the mature direction. If the label was behind her and the album didn’t flop and she stayed in the pop/rock genre for the next effort I think she would have released an even bigger album.
Ok well I did an indepth review about why Dignity is good.
Could you please explain to me where the depth in the fame is? I have the album downloaded and have listened to it many times. What am I missing?
I can’t stress enough how much I love this cd. Like I can seriously listen to this cd all the way through and not skip one song. I honestly thought I would never say that about an Hilary Duff cd but it’s really that good. She seriously went in a whole different direction with this. My favorite song seriously has to be a toss up between I Wish and Dignity. I really like the beat on I wish. It kinda took me by surprise the first time I heard it. Because the beat made me want to listen to what she was going to say next. It had me intrigued and that was a first for me because I’m a hard core fan of r&b and if the lyrics arin’t interesting then I don’t want to hear it. But she really grabbed my attention. This is A+ right here.
hey! thanks for all the positive comments about hilary
[...] this day and it’s one of my favorite pop albums ever (just check out my gushing review here). Hil then knocked my socks off again with the release of “Any Other Day”, so I’m positive [...]
[...] this day and it’s one of my favorite pop albums ever (just check out my gushing review here). Hil then knocked my socks off again with the release of “Any Other Day”, so I’m positive [...]
This album is incredible, the way she moves from happy beats to dark and deep lyrics it’s just awsome, a true masterpiece, that i’m actually glad its kind of unknown ’cause i hate when everybody listens the same as i do. along with mgmt’s oracular spectacular, dignity is one of my favorite albums of all time. and yes, any other day is superb, and i’m so glad she left hollywood records, now she can focus on her own music and hopefully bring us more of this mature electro style that suits her perfectly.
Excelent review, don’t know about the weird comparission at the end though.