"This is an ok offering, mediocre at best. I'm very disappointed. People in the recording industry still don't get it. I'm mean come on, how many times do MySpace break out artists have to show these idiots what the public wants. This CD is much more produced and glossy than CoCo. Most of the intimate, raw, acoustic pop feel of Colbie's first CD has been stripped away. We are left with polished, studio, high production, mass market rubbish that is a dime a dozen and offers little appeal. Yes, there are few good songs, but Colbies first CD was something special. I'm kicking myself for even buying this one. I've listened to it dozens of times now, thinking I need to really give it a chance and yet, still not loving it. Once this CD goes on the shelf, I doubt I will ever play it again. It's not that it's awful, it's just that it's so not special compared to her first CD. By the way, I also don't like the cover art at all. Again, it looks way to polished. Note to Colbie: If you want a major success on your next CD, do a much more stripped down, raw, acoustic set."
A good follow-up...
OC Jim | Orange County, CA | 09/01/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I don't think Breakthrough has Colbie's "soul" that Coco had. A bit pop-ish and seems more commercial, so it didn't grab me like her first album. But no doubt it's good material and a nice second album from Colbie."
Just about what you'd expect
Christopher J. Hoffman | Fairfield, OH United States | 08/26/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone who owns Colbie's 1st CD won't be disappointed or surprised in her sophomore effort. After first listen, I can see where a few singles might come from this album. It's a light, fun, easy listen. She's not reinventing herself and I'd prefer it no other way. I'll be listening to this for awhile."
Catchy but unique
Stephanie in NJ | New Jersey | 08/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was my first time experiencing Colbie other then her singles on the radio from her first CD. I didn't buy her first CD but I was itching for something new & saw this listed in the new releases so after previewing some songs I decided to buy it. So glad I did. Colbie has a wonderful voice. The songs are very catchy but just different enough to make them stand apart from everything on the radio today. It's rare I can say I enjoyed every song on a CD but in this case, I did! It's full of talent from the songwriting, the music & her lovely voice!"
This is good, but do not buy it: instead...
Library CD Borrower | Boston, MA | 01/28/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Breakthrough [Deluxe Edition]" is currently selling for the same price as this album. All the extra songs on the Deluxe edition are tacked onto the end of the album. If you are considering buying this album, you have nothing to lose from buying the Deluxe Edition instead. I have listened to both this edition first, and later listened to the Deluxe edition instead.
As for this album, well, it's slickly produced but has quite a good few songs on it. My favorites are, in order on the album, "Fallin' For You" (4), "Droplets" (6), "Fearless" (8), and "Break Through" (10). As you can see, the best songs are spaced out well in the first two-thirds of this album, which allows you to get to know the filler in between. And the filler isn't merely filler, in my opinion. So I rate this very good, although the slick production may turn off some fans. Specifically, the lullaby-quality folk-tinged songs that Colbie is best known for, such as "Bubbly," aren't apparent on this album due to the layered, slick production of these songs - except for "Breakin' At the Cracks" (12), which in my opinion is not one of the stronger songs on this album.
In fact, "Begin Again" (2) is so overproduced that it ends up sounding like a country song. All it needs is fitting hokey country lyrics and a steel guitar or banjo - then it would be a run-of-the-mill Nashville song. "Breakin' at the Cracks" (12) is the only song among these that does have an acoustic instrumental quality. For some people, there were too many cooks in the kitchen producing these songs, but I do think most of them end up sounding catchy and they do hold up to multiple listens. I'll give it a 4 out of 5.