^NETY and Who Are You are the only 2 songs that I skip over. Neither of them do anything for me, but NETY was better live for me than I expected.
Also, I think lots of us here have expressed a desire to see OWT released next summer, but I'm shocked at what a beating it's taking in the reviews and it also doesn't seem to be selling well as a stand alone from the Album compared to others. That said, it's still in my three favorites.
She sounds extra nasal on "One Way Ticket," which is why I don't enjoy it much. I prefer the purity, power, and control in her voice, which aren't really evident on this track. And the public probably doesn't see this type of song as authentic to Carrie's previously known public persona. Maybe if she wore a bikini in the music video like Jennifer Nettles in "All I Want to Do" (also a song I do not enjoy), more people would suddenly buy into it.
Agree with those who say "Cupid" is much better live, it's too busy in the studio version. Carrie said in the Letterman stream thing that she's doing these fun songs to celebrate the album coming out, so songs like "Blown Away" and "Two Black Cadillacs" probably don't fit that mood. Plus they might be still working out the live arrangements on BA and "See You Again" since Carrie's singing backup for herself on those songs in the studio versions and they have especially crazy vocals.
Can't wait to hear the rest of the tracks in iTunes quality. The rips I found on the internet all had low audio levels for some reason so I would have to turn up the volume to listen, and then get blasted when "Good Girl," which was set at a normal audio level, came on.
iTunes LP is awesome, you can look at the pictures without the lettering on the CD booklet covering them. :)
Last Edit: Apr 30, 2012 22:21:26 GMT -5 by lyrichord
I have a question regarding OWT. This is not one of my favorites but I support it being a single b/c country radio seems to eat up these types of songs. However, I got to thinking that these types of songs are primarily (or possibly solely) put out by male artists and I wondered if radio would respond differently to a woman singing this type of song. Any thoughts?
The female country/pop "party" song that popped into my mind while listening to "One Way Ticket" just now was Faith Hill's "Sunshine and Summertime," which peaked at #7 on the Billboard chart in 2006.
The "you shine like a diamond, glitter like gold" line in "Nobody Ever Told You" reminds me so much of Taylor Swift's lyrics, except Taylor's would be addressed to a boy. And the ending violin chorus reminds me of Shania's stuff from the Up/Come on Over eras. [/random thoughts]
Do You Think About Me is such a smash... it can get overlooked, but I think it would do so well on country radio.
Agree! This might actually be my favorite. It's so charming and insanely catchy. And as much as I'm in awe of the capabilities of Carrie's voice, sometimes it's nice to have a song where I can actually sing along.
Last Edit: Apr 24, 2012 17:54:50 GMT -5 by lyrichord
The new clips helped "Forever Changed," "Good in Goodbye," and "Wine After Whiskey" the most for me. Previously I thought they were kind of boring. Still not feeling "Who Are You" though, think I'd prefer to pay one less dollar for the album than to have that song. I'm really liking the increased emphasis on storytelling on many of the songs, which hasn't really been a big strength of the previous albums (especially Carnival Ride, which I find to be the most declarative and least narrative of her albums).
Last Edit: Apr 23, 2012 16:21:58 GMT -5 by lyrichord
Oooh I really like "See You Again" at first listen, it's a bit gospel-ish. Nice mix of stuff overall. Not sure what I make of the way her voice sounds on "Blown Away" though--seems like it's been processed in some weird way.
I'm pretty sure I have the Billboard magazine from Carnival Ride. There was an ad in it from 19 congratulating her on the success of Some Hearts. So, third cover.
She definitely looks like a pop diva on the cover. The makeup is not my favorite (prefer fresh-faced, peaches and cream Carrie) but they seem to be angling away from the girl next door image.
I love All American Girl and would say that is one of Carrie's better co-writes. It has been a very popular song - a lot of sales and is one of her higher spun songs. I think AAG is a song-writing success for Carrie. However, I completely agree that she should choose the best songs for the album even if that means she did not write them. In fact, I fully support this idea. I hope that she can try to be impartial when looking at her options and really try to choose the best quality songs even though I know she must be invested in the songs she writes.
Structurally AAG and MS have the same problem, they both use handwaving adjectives to tell a story instead of show it, and they both don't really focus on the the subject of the song, and jump entirely away from the premise with a weak echo in the last verse. However, AAG is catchy, uptempo, fun, and relatable to all ages, and MS isn't any of those, which is why I loved AAG and hated MS. For an example of songwriting that actually uses imagery to paint a picture, Trisha Yearwood's "American Girl (XXX's and OOO's)" covers a similar subject in much better depth than AAG.
LOL at Mama's Song getting a nomination, but obviously it's is for vocal performance, not quality of songwriting, and her vocals were lovely. Happy she's more popular than Miranda Lambert with the Grammy voters and Music Row politics can't influence the outcome. On the flip side, Brad isn't popular with the Grammy voters either like he is at the country music associations so that's probably why RM didn't get a nomination.
Last Edit: Dec 1, 2011 1:14:27 GMT -5 by lyrichord
From Carrie's reply, it sounds like the # of songs on the album is the label's decision, but considering that Carrie is a bigger seller than Miranda and Brad (combined, probably), I don't see why she can't get a 15-song album, but others on Sony/Arista can.
With Revolution, I believe Miranda had to agree to take less in songwriting royalties compared to the standard cut to get 15 songs on the album, so I'd assume that's also true for the other albums as well. Either Carrie doesn't write enough songs per album to make that call, or maybe her management doesn't want her to give up the royalty checks, who knows.
Honestly Arista Nashville is pretty cheap. After she sold all those millions of Some Hearts, they still gave her those flimsy crappy single-sheet album booklets instead of the glossy multipage ones that someone of her stature should be getting.
Post by lyrichord on Sept 21, 2011 23:50:19 GMT -5
I love Carrie with sleek straight hair, I was disappointed that they didn't go with that look for the last era despite the straight hair on the PO album cover. She looks more adult/sophisticated this way.
Hmm listened twice through the album leak and nothing much jumps out at me so far. I loved "Just a Kiss" and have enjoyed "Dancing with My Heart" since the live performances but everything else is kind of blah right now. Maybe the album will grow on me.
The lyrics are very aggressive while the beat is mellow and laidback - almost sweet-sounding. It just doesn't all come together for me.
This. They should have gone with lyrics that are some variant of happy/fun/lovey/inspirational for this type of sound instead of the usual "he done me wrong" stuff. Sonically I prefer the pure, airy sound of "Already Gone" to the rougher, denser vocal here.
CBS's fireworks coverage played "There's a Place for Us" during the show. :)
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