Joanna's This Crazy Life

History has proven that being a child actor can prove to be quite the stigmatic experience. You have your fears of being typecast, the pressure of growing up in the critical and unforgiving media spotlight, and the arduous, post-adolescent task of being taken seriously as an adult (insert random Hollywood career here). Suffice it to say, few child actors make it out of Hollywood alive (just a metaphorical figure of speech, folks) and the ones that do have more than their fair share of battle scars and horror stories to tell.

22-year old Philly native Joanna Pacitti is no different. At the tender age of 11, Joanna landed the dream lead role of Annie in the musical's 20th Anniversary revival. And for the solid part of a year, she toured the country as the red-haired orphan to thousands of fans and rave reviews. All seemed well until two weeks before the Broadway premiere when Joanna fell ill with bronchitis.

By premiere night, it was revealed that she had been permanently replaced by her understudy and by week's end, it was front page Hollywood news. Media had a field day with it coming to light that producers replaced Pacitti after developing uncertainty about her subpar acting skills. To add insult to injury, many industry publications also made glaring note of Joanna's "screeching vocal ability". After a multi-million dollar lawsuit on Joanna's behalf was filed and settled out of court, the media wellspring drew up and interest in Joanna, along with her career, quickly faded to black.

Things looked up when she signed a record deal with Ron Fair at A&M records at 16 but for 6 long years, she bided her time on the label's back-burner while female artists of a similar ilk - Christina Aguilera, Vanessa Carton, Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne - experienced breakout success. But finally, after over 11 years, and with the child actor debacle erased from the mainstream's short-term memory, Joanna finally gets her 2nd chance at stardom with her debut album, This Crazy Life.

Now the critics who once derided Joanna for her "screechy vocals" weren't completely off-base. While many of the melodic and clean pop/rock arrangements on the album showcase how strong and well-trained Joanna's soprano has become, there are still apparent moments of "screechiness" when the vocals and the production rub each other the wrong way.

Which is why it was a major mistake on Geffen's part to release album opener, Let It Slide, as the single to re-introduce Joanna to the mainstream. The crunching guitars and thrashing drums may work for more adept pop/rock singers but here, they blur the melody and overpower Joanna's wispy vocal, causing her to oversing out of the necessity to simply be heard. All of it adds up to a convoluted mess and leaves a bad, and unmemorable, taste in the mouth.

A track like Ultraviolet proves all Joanna really needs is some better coaching in the studio. The arrangement is a bit more clean and mellow - with a detectable melody and crisp hook - but overall still suffers from Joanna's need to opt for a more embellished vocal when a simple and clear delivery would suffice.

But Joanna's vocals aren't the only thing that could benefit from some coaching. The subject matter of the album gives off a world-weary vibe. While Joanna may be 22 with some valid stories to tell, tracks like Ultraviolet and This Crazy Life suffer from her cryptic lyricism going for the whole "tortured soul, deep and wise beyond years" motif and wind up reading like bad high school poetry (even if the latter does have the album's best arrangement; dark, ominous guitars and drums edged in a slight glimmer of hope thanks to a wistful piano line).

So with rather misguided vocals and sometimes muddled lyricism, are there any bright spots to be found? Surprisingly, yes. The album's brightest moments come when Joanna stops trying and just lets the music flow naturally. Broken, Just When You're Leaving, and Your Obsession are pop/rock gems just aching to be eaten up by top-40 playlists all across the country. The classic mellow verse/blaring hook pattern is in top shape as is Joanna's straightforward vocals and clear-eyed lyricism; the former and middle boast rather clean guitar/drum arrangements while the latter has a more ethereal quality to it that only heightens its mysterious mood.

A cover of Dashboard Confessional's smash hit Screaming Infidelities may seem premature but Joanna manages to put her own graceful touch to the record; using her wispy falsetto to enhance the vulnerability of the record and drawing out the emotion without it coming off as forced.

And both 4th of July and Tip Toe work best as they ditch the pop/rock format and expand the album's genre line to leave Joanna the option of branching out further with her sound in the future. "July" works extremely well as Joanna's earnest vocal turns the piano-based record into a understated R&B ballad despite the rather dramatic and saccharine lyric. "Tip Toe" is at the opposite end and plays out like a late-night, loose-limbed funk jam session with Joanna playing the coffee house waitress who moonlights as the lead singer and shows out with a clear-cut vocal and lyric to a hesitant lover.

Joanna showcases some sheer talent and untapped potential that could flourish into a very fruitful career for her dependent on the guidance she receives from here on out. As is, This Crazy Life is solid and catchy enough In spite of the screechy vocal here and sophomoric lyric there. Meaning it'd be alright to let her gaffes slide this time.