Way back in 1996, young Joanna Pacitti garnered national attention after she won -- and then lost -- the title role in Annie for its 20th anniversary tour. After performing the show on the road, Joanna was fired shortly before the opening night on Broadway because she wasn't sufficiently convincing the producers of her acting abilities. Though she took the not-so-subtle clues given to her and retired from acting, that persistent spirit remained strong in her and her former character apparently never died, and by 16 Joanna found herself nicely set up with a record deal from Geffen. The five years it took between then and the release of her debut were allotted so that Joanna could grow and develop as an artist under the tutelage of masters Linda Perry and Diane Warren, among others. Sure enough, This Crazy Life has what a post-Kelly Clarkson pop album should have: plenty of strings, haunting synth grooves, aggressive electric guitar, slick production, a romantic piano ballad, an emo cover, and warm, catchy melodies all around. The opener and the first single, "Let It Slide," starts off with a dark R&B groove that turns into a barrage of rock chords by the time the chorus arrives -- a formula that, by the time it's used on "Your Obsession," is not quite as fun anymore. "Just When You're Leaving" should be, if it's not already, incorporated heavily into one of the MTV faux-reality shows; "Tip Toe" is all organ and Wurlitzer and funk guitar; "Ultraviolet" starts with children singing -- in a very Jay-Z-"Hard Knock Life" (taken from Annie) move; and the title song, though probably the best on the record, doesn't mesh at all with the feel of the other songs (it's intense, more Evanescence than Pink, and the chorus, with the inevitable strings, sounds a lot like Sarah McLachlan's "Stupid," the chorus "You can lay down, Mama/Let me be your cover/Let me be your mother" driving it along). There's a lot going on here, and the album's a bit too much and too little at the same time, simplifying where it needs to expand and adding when it needs to stay more basic. Joanna has a good voice, that much is clear, but This Crazy Life shows a promise that's not completely realized. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi