Lily Allen

It's Not Me, It's Doctor Rosen Rosen

Record Review by Kevan Peterson

It’s Not Me, It’s Dr. Rosen Rosen is a complete remix of Lily Allen’s album It’s Not Me, It’s You by-- I’ll give you one guess who: Dr. Rosen Rosen.  Each song was stripped bare of all musical instruments, leaving only Allen’s vocal track.  Dr. Rosen Rosen, who became a fan of Lily Allen’s after her debut album, Alright, Still, then composed entirely new musical arrangements to each and every song.

It’s important to note that this undertaking was not done for profit, but out of a true appreciation for the music, perhaps mixed with a bit of unadulterated super-fandom.  Allen made all tracks and compositions available for remix and Dr. Rosen Rosen seemingly couldn’t decide which track he liked best, so he did them all, a feat that must have taken a certain amount of fanatical devotion.  The album is available for free to the public via doctorrosenrosen.com.  Rosen has taken a darker approach to each track then its previously released incarnation, particularly on “Never Gonna’ Happen” with its reverberating, haunting echoes of “I don’t love you” closing out the track.  If you are a fan of Allen’s bright pop sensibilities, then you may be disappointed by certain tracks, although the album plays strong enough to benefit from its new beginnings on many levels.

Allen’s brutal honesty and humorous lyrics are the draw for most of her fans and those remain firmly intact as she spouts off things most women only dream of saying to the ones who have hurt them.  Much of the delight of a Lily Allen album is the shock ‘em sonnets and implausible poems, some of which could be set to an out of tune accordion and still bring a smile.  Dr. Rosen Rosen brings a great re-imagining to a previously strong album, but it’s Allen who still shines as the brightest star.