Less Short, Still Sweet: A Review of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Deluxe Tracks

By Kayla Harper

Sabrina Carpenter announced the extended version of her breakthrough Grammy-winning album, Short n’ Sweet, on February 4, shortly after the awards ceremony to thank fans for their support. It contains five additional tracks to the albums original 12-song track list, with a feature from Dolly Parton.

15 Minutes
I was hooked from the moment I pressed play on this one’s instrumental track. The electric guitars sore throughout the whole track making it reminiscent of the original albums tracks, “Juno” and “Taste”. It belongs with the rest of the album thematically and sonically. Highlighting Carpenter’s vocals and unhinged lyrics over top of the upbeat, electric track, it picks up right where Short n’ Sweet left off.

Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton)
I’ll admit I definitely prefer the original version of this track, but I love that Carpenter collaborated with Dolly Parton as she has been one of her biggest inspirations and role models—which is especially evident throughout this album on songs like “Slim Pickins”. In fact this version of “Please Please Please” resembles “Slim Pickins” more closely in its instrumental as they added a more prominent finger-style acoustic guitar.

I have to mention I love that they replaced “motherfucker” with “like the others” instead of “little sucker” like the original clean version of the song. If the motherfucker line has to go, “like the others” is the best replacement.

Couldn’t Make It Harder
This one sounds a little bit too relatable as someone who has a tendency to push people away (I can hear the Taurus in Carpenter shining through haha).  The melody, instrumental and key all seem reminiscent of the Grease soundtracks iconic “Hopelessly Devoted”, it must have been sampled…or maybe that’s just me.  However, Carpenter’s cover of “Hopelessly Devoted” is one of the best of all time, so of course her vocals shine on this track.

Busy Woman
I have loved this track since Carpenter first released it back in September…I didn’t want to pay for the track so I downloaded a version of it online. Of course I overplayed it a bit so I can’t enjoy it as much now, but I still love this track. It’s classic Sabrina with her silly innuendos, sass and indifference contrasted with desperation and affection. All while her vocals soar over the bouncy drums and synth-esque guitars. It’s a Short n’ Sweet track through and through.

Bad Review
I really don’t want to give this one a bad review… (haha), but personally I prefer Carpenter’s upbeat tracks. It’s not that her slower songs aren’t good; a lot of them are and they showcase her outstanding vocals well. However, when I’m listening to slower songs, it becomes about the lyrics and Carpenter’s lyrics shine most on her upbeat tracks where she utilized her humour and wit.

That being said, “Bad Review” is a good album closer, thematically resembling “Lie To Girls” and “Please Please Please” in lyrics like “if I close an eye it’s almost like all your red flags are blue”, but sonically the acoustic guitar and fiddle-led track best resembles “Slim Pickins” from the rest of album.

All in all, Short n’ Sweet (deluxe), is exactly what we expected and hoped for when it was announced.  The additional tracks fit well with the rest of the record, although they don’t introduce anything new, we didn’t really need anything new.  They satisfy the desire for more Short n’ Sweet -esque songs without getting old or boring.  The cover is also a stunning photo from the same shoot as the original cover, but different enough to feel fresh and exciting to look at.  My only criticism is that she should have titled it Short n’ Sweeter instead of Short n’ Sweet (deluxe) and why wasn’t “Needless To Say” included?  I’m not a huge fan of that song personally, but it still would’ve been nice to have it on streaming with rest as well as have all the songs in one place in regards to physical formats.