I'm Not Dead [PA] [DualDisc] by Pink (CD, Apr-2006, LaFace USA)

Without a doubt, Pink has come a long way since we first met her in 2000. She started out as an R&B princess with fuschia hair, but she soon discovered that the hip-hop beats and schmaltzy ballads didn't really suit her. So she morphed into a ballsy chick with a rockier sound on Missundaztood. Later, in 2003, she teamed up with Rancid's Tim Armstrong and became a semi-punk b***h. Now, after a 3-year hiatus during which she got married to motocross star Carey Hart, Pink may have come to terms with many of her inner demons, but that doesn't mean that she's going to shut up and that marriage has tamed her. She's still an in-your-face kind of chick with lots of attitude, and that's how we love her. With her new effort I'm Not Dead, she continues to experiment new styles, which has kind of become her trademark over the years : Pink won't be categorized. This time, she tries her hand at folk, but that doesn't mean that she does it successfully. "The One that Got Away" is just plain boring, and her collaboration with the Indigo Girls, "Dear Mr. President", is not heartfelt enough to be convincing, not to mention that it's a tad unoriginal (anti-Bush songs are plentiful nowadays, and there's only so much you can do when taking jabs at the president). Pink is at her best when playing the vindicative b***h that doesn't take herself seriously like on the extremely fun track "Cuz I can". The mid-tempo, R&B-tinged ballad "I Got Money Now", where she denounces materialism, is equally satisfying. Overall, I'm Not Dead is a fun but flawed album, like Pink herself. Still, there is no one quite like her, and that's all part of her appeal. After 3 albums, it seems that has found a style all her own, but don't expect her to stop changing and experimenting.