• Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Oct 4, 2005
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 18
  2. Negative: 3 out of 18
  1. Foregrounding the self-doubt that was a quiet but insistent subtext on the eponymous album, producer John Shanks provides unobtrusive arrangements and lets Phair strum more electric guitar; this is a singer-songwriter record, like Exile On Guyville. It’s also warmer than its predecessor.
  2. Blender
    80
    Another brazenly varried set. [Oct 2005, p.142]
  3. On Somebody's Miracle, Phair is more confident than on her previous mass-appeal bid, 2003's Liz Phair.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    67
    Phair sounds mostly bored. [7 Oct 2005, p.76]
  5. Most tracks have a commercial sheen that makes the songs sound like they were custom-made to be played in the background of pivotal scenes on The O.C.
  6. Spin
    67
    This album is closer to 1998's whitechocolatespaceegg: mature and complicated. [Oct 2005, p.136]
  7. Los Angeles Times
    63
    [It] isn't a miracle by a long shot, but the highlights show signs of a once-valuable artist trying to reset her creative compass. [2 Oct 2005]
  8. Phair doesn't need her angry-girl persona to prove she has talent, but she may still need it to stand out from the crowd.
  9. While Somebody's Miracle marks an improvement over Liz Phair, there's still nothing revolutionary, or even memorable, happening here.
  10. Somebody’s Miracle is a collection of pleasantly catchy, if unremarkable, pop songs.
  11. Under The Radar
    50
    What's disappointing about Somebody's Miracle is not so much a matter of genre, tone or production sheen, but that Phair has made herself indistinguishable by falling in line. [#11, p.112]
  12. If she still manages to retain a major label recording contract after this bomb, that'll be the real miracle.
  13. On Somebody's Miracle, she goes for a folksy, acoustic style, but she still oversings, holding notes too long and tackling pop choruses she doesn't have half the voice for.
  14. The CD is not all bad, and it's certainly not the complete disaster some critics want it to be.
  15. Billboard
    30
    Even the few noteworthy moments are lost in the banality of the music. [15 Oct 2005]
  16. Now this is a terrible Liz Phair record.
  17. The type of banal, greeting-card rubbish that even Diane Warren would probably find trite.
User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 42
  2. Negative: 13 out of 42
  1. Aug 5, 2022
    9
    This album is so good. "Leap Of Innocence" and "Everything (Between Us) are 2 of her best songs.
  2. May 15, 2018
    0
    the only thing i can actually say about this is... this is really bad, really crap
  3. JustinN
    Jul 5, 2009
    3
    Liz Phair the self-titled album alienated most of her fans. Now she's decided to mix the quieter moments of her old album with Liz Phair the self-titled album alienated most of her fans. Now she's decided to mix the quieter moments of her old album with whitechocolatespaceegg(her third album) and Sheryl Crow and this is dull and stale. At least Table For One's lyrics are awesome. Full Review »