Single Review: Sunny Sweeney, “From A Table Away”
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Due to lack of mainstream attention, not enough people know about Sunny Sweeney’s debut album, Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame, which was nothing short of a pure honky tonk delight. Her crisp nasal voice sounds as if it’s only meant to sing country music, which is probably, somehow, underselling her range of talent, but good for the prospect of permanence in the genre nonetheless.
For better or for worse, the first single from her sophomore album, this time produced by Brett Beavers (Dierks Bentley), has a slicker sound than that of her first album. As one can expect from a big name producer, the record is tighter both in instrumentation and vocal performance. Of course, these factors are hardly criticisms, but merely something to become accustomed to as someone who thoroughly enjoyed the looser nature of her more relaxed independent project.
“From A Table Away” is a perfect and interesting concept for a country song. It is from the perspective of “the other woman” who is forced to acknowledge that her lover is still in love with his wife. Gone is the naive fantasy that he will leave his wife as he had been leading her to believe he would. Instead, the scene that she witnesses, from a table away, portrays a loving relationship that she is unable to deny.
As an obvious attempt to aim for mainstream approval, this song is well positioned to reach that goal. It is traditional in sound while still being progressive enough to not completely stick out like a sore thumb on mainstream radio’s playlist. Moreover, Sweeney’s raw performance turns a decent song into something quite good.
Even with some of the compromises, it would be nice to hear a talent like the traditional leaning Sweeney on the radio. What’s more, with a song like this, we likely will.
Written by Bob DiPiero, Karyn Rochelle & Sunny Sweeney
Grade: B+
Listen: From a Table Away
Category Single Reviews
Tags: Brett Beavers, Sunny Sweeney
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