Leslie Satcher
Single Review: Kellie Pickler, “100 Proof”
Here’s a kooky little love song. It lilts by so sweetly that you kind of miss the verse lyrics at first. After another listen, you realize that the night of marital bliss in the chorus apparently stems from that couple feeling smug compared to another, less successful couple from earlier that night. And the other couple are their friends! You’re cold, Kellie and Kyle.
Album Review: Kellie Pickler, 100 Proof
Kellie Pickler
100 Proof
From early on, it was announced that Pickler’s third album would more closely reflect the sound of the traditional country music that is closest to her heart, with Pickler claiming to have made the album “as country as I was allowed to make it.” The bouncy steel guitars chords of opening track “Where’s Tammy Wynette,” and opening lyrics “While I’m torn between killin’ him and lovin’ him/ He stays torn between neon lights and home” quickly announce that Pickler is not kidding.
Does that mean that the album is a retro effort? Not necessarily. Rather, Pickler and her producers Frank Liddell and Luke Wooten effectively craft a sound that gives a respectful nod to country music’s past while simultaneously making tasteful use of modern sounds. Thus, the album carries a strong traditionalist bent, but sounds vintage without sounding dated, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to create a fresh and modern contemporary country album while still maintaining a strong connection to the traditions of the past.
5 Five-Second Single Reviews: Laura Alaina, Rodney Atkins, Sara Evans, Joe Nichols, Kellie Pickler
Lauren Alaina, “Like My Mother Does” (Listen)
Written by Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose and Nicole Williams
Not bad, but not nearly enough to acquit her from those pending desecration charges.
