Up! (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon its release, the album received very positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72/100 from Metacritic. Stephen Thomas Erlewine editor from Allmusic rated it four-and-a-half-stars out of five, prasing Twain for: "been writting well crafted songs as universal anthems, so listeners can hear themselves within these tales." Erlewine further commented that: "The album had big, polished, multipurpose hooks and big, sweeping emotions. This is Super-Size pop, as outsized and grandiose as good pop should be", he concluded. Matthew Bjorke from About.com rated it four-stars out of five and said that: "This 19 track opus is sure to please most fans of both pop and modern country." The Blender review was also positive, saying that: "Twain's songs are never deep, but they have hooks tattooed on their skin and harmonies that glow like bar lights." Also with a positive review, Billboard said that: " quintessential Shania, light as vapor, sweet as sugar, rendered with personality and undeniable charisma. Expect precious metal." Andrew Lynch from Entertainment.ie rated it three-stars out of five and said that: "The songs, themselves, meanwhile, are as bland and one-dimensional as they were on the smash hit Come On Over, sassily upbeat stuff with a dash of girl power thrown in for good measure. A high proportion of them, however, are also infuriatingly catchy - suggesting that Twain may well have another global success on her hands."

Chris Willman from Entertainment Weekly was largely positive with the album, gaving an "A" grade for the album, comparing the album to "ABBA's Gold without all the melancholy." He also complemented "the sheer exuberance and joy of craftsmanship in this double-Up!-manship don't feel like mercenary insincerity. They resemble something like actual generosity... not to put too fine a point on it." The PopMatters review was somewhat favorable, saying that the album "got everything from dance numbers to ballads, and it's vintage Shania". The review further said that: "Up! is a sense of Twain trying -- desperately trying at all levels -- to touch everyone, to express universal truths by artificial means: beats, tempos, instruments, etc." The review conclued that: "Up! is too generic and emotionless for that level of diversity, but in a very real sense, Twain has taken country music to its next level of popularity where country and pop are virtually indistinguishable." Robert Christgau on his Consumer Guide Review praised the tracks "I'm Gonna Getcha Good! " and "Ka-Ching!". The Rolling Stone review was positive, rating it four-stars out of five and saying that: "Up! would be a knockout even if it were limited to its one disc of country music.... But the second, relentlessly kinetic pop disc is a revelation." Jennifer Nine from Yahoo! Music rated it six-stars out of ten, saying that: "'Up!' is not without its little oddities and delights." And conclued that: "'Up!' takes on its all-things-to-all-wallets mission with real appetite." Alanna Nash from Amazon was largely positive and conclued that: "There's something oddly hypnotic about much of this project, and it may be simply hearing what Shania can do when she abandons the pretense of being a country singer and concentrates on music. Call this a guilty pleasure--pop, country, or somewhere in between."