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Miranda Lambert
- Crazy Ex-Gilrfriend
Album Review by Pepper
Grayson CSO Staff Journalist
 If
you’re looking for members of the next generation of Country
Outlaws, look (or listen) no further than Miranda Lambert and
her latest release, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Crowned
ACM’s Top New Female Vocalist, this 23 year old rebel
delivers in ways reminiscent of Willie, Waylon and the lot!
Many remember
Lambert as the last surviving female finalist, taking third
during the 2003 Nashville Star competition. Her
debut album, Kerosene, hit the charts and went
platinum. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend definitely promises
to follow suit.
What struck me
most about this album was the diversity, plain and simple. Lambert
wrote/co-wrote eight of the eleven tracks, which include tunes
ranging from cowboy rock to old-time 2-steppin’ to modern
country and much in between. Without spoiling all the fun
for your first listen, here’s my take on a couple of my
favorites.
Pepper’s
Brass Tacks Breakdown:
Kicking off Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend, Lambert pounds out a memorable lick on the
guitar (after a poor sap moaning) in "Gunpowder &
Lead". This track lays out the story of a gal fed up with
a no-good abusive loser, who quickly has the tables turned on
him; and deservingly so. The ruff-n-tuff attitude behind
the sound in this one lends to that rebel in Lambert, we love
to hear.
[DISCLAIMER: While
yours truly does not necessarily condone waiting at the door
with a shotgun to blow a loser (as depicted in said tune)
away… chalk one up for the lady on this one!]
Growing up in a
dry county back in Tennessee, this one brought back many a
memories, which only added to the grin on my face and personal
endearment as I listened and tapped my toes to "Dry
Town", a/k/a Track 2. The chorus had a smooth blend
of harmonies and with the evocative Loretta Lynn/George Strait
ring to it, if this one doesn’t get you 2-steppin’, I
think you’re doomed to bland.
If you caught
this year’s ACM’s and Lambert’s performance, you’re
familiar with "Famous In a Small Town". I can
just picture the innocence of two girlfriends realizing
they’ve got it good where they are and that the attention
from ‘their faces in a magazine’ may not quite measure up
to their secured notoriety in the local paper.
If there were
such a thing as southern banjo-rock, the title track, "Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend", would be the banner song. This
nitty-gritty jealous rage song gets the guys shaking their
heads and the gals howling out a rebel call! Simply
sassy!
Didn’t I tell
you this album was diverse? "Love Letters"
offers a sad country waltz, filled with heartbreak, but a
great tune to spin around the dance floor with the one you
love, or that one you hope to be loved by. The only
complaint I have for this one is that it might end before you
have time to get my number. (Laymen’s terms: It
was a wee bit short and I want you to ask for my number!).
Hillbilly
country bad-girl style is handed up in Lambert’s
"Down", "Guilty
In Here" and "Getting Ready" (LOVE the mouth
harp and hard beat in "Getting Ready"). Yet another
example of great rebel gal tunes that deliver some
in-your-face lyrics. Boys, beware!
Lambert’s
strike is hot in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend! Her
diversity on this album, along with her unique no-holds-bared
lyrics leaves me the great pleasure of bestowing five out of
five “Boot Kicks”!
Click on the CD cover to order yours!
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Related
Links:
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