Play It As It Lays
by Patti Scialfa
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Sep 4, 2007
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. AllMusic
    90
    Play It as It Lays is, without doubt, the record where Scialfa gives us the full fruit of her exceptional gift as a writer, a singer, as an artist.
  2. Amazon.com
    90
    The sharpest, most assured, and best record of her solo career.
  3. Billboard
    80
    Scialfa's third and most accomplished solo album.
  5. Blender
    70
    Sultry suits her fine, but when she reaches for the sadness in these self-written songs, she can’t summon the sense of conflict that was embedded in ’50s pop.
  6. Hartford Courant
    80
    Play It As It Lays is a satisfying, engaging album that deserves to stand apart from the Boss-related madness that's sure to overtake it.
  7. Mojo
    80
    Scialfa's writing wipes away any celeb-gossip patina through the universality of convincing detail. [Oct 2007, p.92]
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  8. Q Magazine
    40
    Scialfa has surrendered and retreated into singer-songwriter orthodoxy, despite the appealing doo-wop backing vocals of 'Like Any Woman Would' and the lyrical twists of 'Black Ladder.' [Oct 2007, p.105]
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  9. Rolling Stone
    70
    What makes her third album, Play It As It Lays, much more than another Springsteen-wanna-be project is the insightful female perspective she brings to these ten songs.
  10. The Guardian
    60
    Patti Scialfa's new album is characterised by an effective combination of earthiness and poise.
  11. The A.V. Club
    50
    On Play It As It Lays, Patti "Mrs. Bruce Springsteen" Scialfa sounds like the typical wife of a captain-of-industry type from New Jersey: vaguely bored and unfulfilled.
  12. Uncut
    60
    Scialfa's third is the most complete and satisfying of her career, the lyrical candor matched by the open-ended optimism of the band which weaves doo wop, gospel and rockabilly influences into a convincing whole. [Oct 2007, p.102]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. Xbluannax
    Nov 21, 2021
    8
    Good rock album by Bruce Springsteen’s wife highly recommended feel like you’re on a ranch.
  2. PeterM.
    Dec 4, 2007
    9
    Complex and sophisticated lyrically, interesting arrangements covering a wider range of styles than most singers dare, and catchy tunes. This Complex and sophisticated lyrically, interesting arrangements covering a wider range of styles than most singers dare, and catchy tunes. This is an album that will grow on you… Full Review »
  3. ZachH
    Nov 19, 2007
    1
    Absolutely horrible. How Patti got her own solo career or why Bruce even lets her sing on stage is way beyond me. The critics are full of it.
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