• Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Mar 8, 2011
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 291 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 18 out of 291
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Apr 20, 2011
    6
    This is just BARELY, BARELY, BARELY, a good album. The main problem with this album is that almost all of the tracks use the same note progression (Pachelbel's Canon or whatever), which makes the all sound the same. In fact, if you had an instrumental of this album, you'd feel like every song was the same one.

    But the good things about this album are that Lavigne is more introspective
    This is just BARELY, BARELY, BARELY, a good album. The main problem with this album is that almost all of the tracks use the same note progression (Pachelbel's Canon or whatever), which makes the all sound the same. In fact, if you had an instrumental of this album, you'd feel like every song was the same one.

    But the good things about this album are that Lavigne is more introspective about her life & music. "What the Hell" is like a clone of her lead single from her predecessor, but mostly the album is slow. Another highlight are the two key tracks: "Smile", & "Goodbye". "Smile" is a punky, fast, song, but it is a memorable track that is not as generic as the other melodies on this album. "Goodbye" is a huge standout, as it displays angelic vocals of Lavigne, & is arguably the most emotional song on the entire album. "Alice" whose extended version is a bonus track on this album, is also nice to listen to, as Lavigne gives an unusually powerful vocal performance during the song. But the main two tracks that make this album good are "Smile" & "Goodbye". I wish she wouldn't release the most upbeat tracks from the album as singles, because that will make many people think that the album is faster. It's not that much of a fast album. It's mostly slow.
    Expand
  2. Aug 23, 2011
    6
    Avril Lavigne has been able to successfully change her appearance as the years pass as well as project very different feels for each album released but musically and artistically she hasn't GROWN. The main concern I have is that Avril writing hasn't really gotten any better since her debut. She tried releasing her first real mature (and not the faux-mature she claimed her angst-riddenAvril Lavigne has been able to successfully change her appearance as the years pass as well as project very different feels for each album released but musically and artistically she hasn't GROWN. The main concern I have is that Avril writing hasn't really gotten any better since her debut. She tried releasing her first real mature (and not the faux-mature she claimed her angst-ridden Under My Skin was) album and it kinda didn't deliver. Under pressure from her label there was a few radio friendly pop songs thrown in which kills the over all mood Goodbye Lullaby was supposed to have. It would've been more coherent without those songs (What The Hell, and Smile) but it wouldn't have saved the album. The mediocre childish lyrics of "I Love You" and "4Real" are perfect examples on why this album didn't meet it's potential. The only moment Avril really shines is on "Not Enough." It's a pretty disappointing album from a voice that has so much potential. Expand
  3. Feb 27, 2016
    6
    6/10 - "Whether Goodbye Lullaby was all a tad over thought, or whether she's just holding back, the finished product falls significantly short of Avril Lavigne's own capabilities" - BBC Music
  4. Aug 23, 2014
    6
    Even though there are several songs that resemble her past, the whole album sounds more like an unfortunate patterned creation, rather than what would be expected from a "rock star", leading Avril to a pop-addicted marionette image.
  5. Mar 17, 2014
    6
    An okay album. Eeeeh, when Avril said before this album was released that this time it's going to be deep in contrast with TBDT (which I think, is a really terrible album), I thought she was going back to her Under My Skin days... only a lot more pop. But no. I don't think that this album came out the way she wanted it to. I have to say that the album showed only little genuine emotionsAn okay album. Eeeeh, when Avril said before this album was released that this time it's going to be deep in contrast with TBDT (which I think, is a really terrible album), I thought she was going back to her Under My Skin days... only a lot more pop. But no. I don't think that this album came out the way she wanted it to. I have to say that the album showed only little genuine emotions and sincerity no matter how "deep" it sounds. I dunno. Also the progression of the songs in the other half of the album was for me, bad. It became too dull in contrast with its fresh start. However, some songs stood out in the dullness ("Wish You Were Here", "What The Hell", "Smile"). This album's good, well, at least it is better than her fifth album though and of course, her third.. Expand
  6. Feb 16, 2014
    6
    Avril Lavigne's fourth offering, 'Goodbye Lullaby', aimed to show a more personal side to the singer, released after a four-year absence. With 'The Best Damn Thing' still fresh in people's minds, it could be forgiven that fans wanted, and expected, more of the same infectious songs that emanated from her 2007 release. I am an Avril Lavigne fan, verging on being a 'Little Black Star', and IAvril Lavigne's fourth offering, 'Goodbye Lullaby', aimed to show a more personal side to the singer, released after a four-year absence. With 'The Best Damn Thing' still fresh in people's minds, it could be forgiven that fans wanted, and expected, more of the same infectious songs that emanated from her 2007 release. I am an Avril Lavigne fan, verging on being a 'Little Black Star', and I respect and admire her music and her work. This particular album was a dramatic change from anything she had released before, stripping her songs of the production make-up, instead bringing her voice to the forefront, and here is the biggest compliment within this review: Avril Lavigne's voice is beautiful. From the very first track, 'Black Star', Avril's voice demands, and captures, your attention. The lead single, 'What the Hell', continues this trend, albeit matched with many various instruments. What is undeniable, as the chorus begins, lies in her dramatic vocal range, soaring through the octaves as if it was a simple vocal exercise. 'Wish You Were Here' too, provides the highest vocal register on the entire album, adding an exclamation mark to the fearsome wish to be with the love of her life. As we delve further into the album, 'I Love You', 'Push' and 'Goodbye' showcases the raw emotion Avril was aiming to deliver, showcasing her diversity when it comes to providing many different versions of a single theme, similar to 'Under my Skin'. But from here, things begin to stabilize. That's not to say anything she provides is terrible, or even bad, but little flaws take the shine off an otherwise great album. The lyrics for 'Stop Standing There', for example, are the weakest within the entire album, it's introduction doing little to attract the listener in, even if the chorus is satisfactory. Once again arriving at 'Black Star', it comes as a disappointment that this song was not developed beyond an introduction. To me, this song provided the most potential, yet the repetitive lyrics and it's stunted growth worked against it, even if Avril's voice complimented it's composition perfectly. 'Wish You Were Here', meanwhile, would have benefited greatly if it was arranged differently when it came to instrumentation. The lyrics and voice were exceptional, but it was what they were wrapped in that made the song a little stale. 'Goodbye' picks the album up, removing any flaws that had been previously mentioned, while 'Alice', the hidden track, shows just how temporary this album's flaws are, increasing it's standard dramatically, even if technically it belongs more within 'Almost Alice' than it does within 'Goodbye Lullaby'.

    This album, then, is far from perfect. There are problems, both in production and in lyrics, that hinder it's popularity, and yet, it's high notes just about make up for them. Avril Lavigne's most personal album yet will make a worthy addition to anyone's collection, but there are more expressive, better crafted albums out there, including Lavigne's own work, that fulfill the same brief.
    Collapse
  7. May 14, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 1.- BLACK STAR.- Aburrida, relleno. NEXT
    2.- WHAT THE HELL.- Excelente primer single! Fresco, me trae a la antigua Avril. Suena un poco como una canción sacada de TBDT lo cual no es para nada malo. TOP
    3.- PUSH.- Buen comienzo, da un aire de pop rock de los 90. Al llegar al coro se convierte algo aburrida, no esta mal pero tampoco la volvería a escuchar.
    4.- WISH YOU WERE HERE.- intenta repetir la fórmula de sus antiguas baladas y no lo hace tan mal, tiene potencial para ser single, es bastante recordable sin embargo no es mi favorita de Avril.
    5.- SMILE.- Buen comienzo, el bridge antes del coro va un poco en bajada, excelente coro. Excelente 2do single. Fresco, nos da a la antigua Avril de vuelta, DEFINITIVAMENTE TOP
    6.- STOP STANDING THERE.- Un poco aburrida, me suena un poco a las malas canciones de Kelly Clarkson. NEXT
    7.- I LOVE YOU.- Letra muy básica, totalmente relleno, nada recordable. NEXT
    8.- EVERYBODY HURTS.- Buen comienzo, buen coro, suena bastante teen pop de los 00's, linda melodía, la letra tiene un buen trasfondo pero podría haber sido mejor desarrollada. Me queda como un pop rock un poco superficial e inofensivo. No la paso pero no la volvería a escuchar.
    9.- NOT ENOUGH.- Lindo comienzo acústico, linda idea de volver a las baladas pop rock pero no es una melodía recordable, buen intento pero queda corto. Igual que la anterior canción me suenan a banda sonora de una película adolescente y ahí muere.
    10.- 4 REAL.- Un sonido bastante 90's 00's. Como melodía no da mucho para recordar. Llega a aburrirme especialmente en el bridge. NEXT
    11.- DARLIN.- Lindo comienzo. Siempre logra captar mi atención con los principios acústicos. El coro se torna debil en comparacion al principio y el bridge. No la paso pero tampoco la volveriá a escuchar.
    12.- ALICE.- Para la película esta bien pero dentro del disco suena mas a un bonus track. En cuanto a sonido suena muy distinto a lo que escuchamos antes. Personalmente no me gusta, me suena aburrida. NEXT
    13.- REMEMBER WHEN .- Lindo comienzo como balada. Al final del coro se torna un poco básica de nuevo. El segundo coro es todo lo que esperaba .Overall, de mis favoritas del album. TOP
    14.- GOODBYE.- Mal comienzo, linda producción pero la letra y la melodía de la voz rebazan los límites de simplicidad. Básica a morir. NEXT

    EN GENERAL: intenta traernos a la antigua Avril de vuelta, en algunas la tenemos pero en otras suena un poco aburrida y básica, tiene buenos sencillos pero se queda ahí. Lindas baladas pop rock pero suenan un poco de banda sonora de alguna teen movie como para no salir de ahí. En general me parece un simple intento de no ser olvidada y no un trabajo por vocación.
    Expand
  8. Jun 30, 2021
    6
    “Wish You Were Here” should be the lead of this album since it represents the vibe of it. “What the Hell” was good but would fit better right after the previous one, it took so long for this to come out and that was the main reason for the lack of success.
  9. Mar 12, 2011
    5
    Avril Lavigne is too immature to be taken seriously. She tries to sound like she is deep but the generic love lyrics here prove her to be incapable of such emotions. Even if you watch videos of her in real life you can see she is still a child. Here she sings in a very monochromatic way that makes half the songs indistinguishable from each other. The upbeat songs, particularly What theAvril Lavigne is too immature to be taken seriously. She tries to sound like she is deep but the generic love lyrics here prove her to be incapable of such emotions. Even if you watch videos of her in real life you can see she is still a child. Here she sings in a very monochromatic way that makes half the songs indistinguishable from each other. The upbeat songs, particularly What the Hell, is just a sluts anthem but she wants it to be seen as a song about personal freedom. Some of the songs are affecting but they are drowned out by the generic love pop songs and weak vocal range. Easily the weakest release of her career and until she matures I don't see her making any authentic love albums any time soon. Expand
  10. May 10, 2015
    5
    Like The Best Damn Thing (2007), Lavigne seems artistically lost again. Understandably, she was even forced by her now former record label RCA to write and record some songs that she did not even wish for. Artwork is very beautiful however, showing a more "normal" and a vogue version of Avril Lavigne. Overall, the album just feels like an try hard effort to reinvent her image from The BestLike The Best Damn Thing (2007), Lavigne seems artistically lost again. Understandably, she was even forced by her now former record label RCA to write and record some songs that she did not even wish for. Artwork is very beautiful however, showing a more "normal" and a vogue version of Avril Lavigne. Overall, the album just feels like an try hard effort to reinvent her image from The Best Damn Thing. Standout tracks on Goodbye Lullaby are "What The Hell", "Wish You Were Here" "Push", "Everybody Hurts", "I Love You" and "Remember When". "Remember When" sounds like a Secondhand Serenade inspired track. Expand
  11. Jun 22, 2011
    4
    POSITIVE - She has matured some what, her songwriting has definatly taken a more serious path. Although 'What The Hell' still has that bubblegum rock feel, which may sound odd, but it's worked for her until now. NEGATIVE - Basically i found the entire album boring. It's such a shame really, although you can see how much work she has put in the output fails to deliver. Nothing stands out,POSITIVE - She has matured some what, her songwriting has definatly taken a more serious path. Although 'What The Hell' still has that bubblegum rock feel, which may sound odd, but it's worked for her until now. NEGATIVE - Basically i found the entire album boring. It's such a shame really, although you can see how much work she has put in the output fails to deliver. Nothing stands out, other than 'What The Hell' which compared to the rest of the album feels some what out of place. To be quite honest i'm not going to sit here telling you why i think it's bad, because this review is more of a personal opinion, i can see why some people may have praised it, but sadly, it just didn't work for me.
    OVERALL - A lacking album with no umff, not bad, not good...just, well, a record.
    Expand
  12. Mar 15, 2011
    4
    Avril has always had a tough way of putting her words. Some of her songs just being fun, head-banging rock songs, while others expressed personal relationships with people and how she felt about their opinions. Her punkish style continues in "Goodbye Lullaby", but after two years of quiet I expected Avril to come out with a more mature rock style--after hearing "What the Hell" it isAvril has always had a tough way of putting her words. Some of her songs just being fun, head-banging rock songs, while others expressed personal relationships with people and how she felt about their opinions. Her punkish style continues in "Goodbye Lullaby", but after two years of quiet I expected Avril to come out with a more mature rock style--after hearing "What the Hell" it is obvious she is still a child. But that is not why her newest album has not been as enjoyable. I was saddened that her music was just like many other recent top hits--"What the Hell"reflects Ke$ha's party-tude, which is fun--but already done. I, personally, respected Avril for her original piano and beats. Has she lost her composing skills? I can just imagine the top-hit lyric and music writers advising her about what other past songs used to get high scores in music ratings. "Bad Reputation" has the same electric guitar-based alternative rock as the popular Ramones. Avril has gone from life and music-loving punk teen to every other fame-seeking celebrity. Expand
  13. Oct 27, 2011
    4
    Lavigne's biggest flaw in Goodbye Lullaby is her refusal to mature herself or her music. From its lack of cohesion - primarily due to Lavigne's indecision to make it a poppy record or an acoustic rock record - to its witless, filthy mouthed lyrics. The only redeeming quality in Goodbye Lullaby is Lavigne's doubtless vocals.
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Mar 16, 2011
    50
    If you wanna know how NOT to do it, listen to the last five tracks on Goodbye Lullaby. Avril wrote them all herself, and let's just say she's an artist who benefits from collaboration.
  2. Mar 15, 2011
    40
    Faced with competing for "pop" ambitions this "rock" wannabe never really had, she instead strides toward brunette-dom on the new, stalwartly unfun Goodbye Lullaby, which--if you couldn't tell from the piano on the cover-means Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch. This is the death of Auto-Tune, moment of silence. Except, you know, for the single.
  3. Mar 9, 2011
    60
    An effective, but ultimately generic, pop album.