Jennifer Nettles - "Playing With Fire"

[tryexp]

Unlove You still stands out, but I like this album in general. I love Drunk In Heels and Salvation Works. The rest is good but not the kind I'll have on repeat.

[avalyn]

Scott Borchetta did an interview on HankFm in Indiana. He mentioned that Hey Heartbreak will be a single at some point. So it is on his radar that it needs to be put out even if he didn't say when. I'd think maybe August/September with how slow Unlove You is moving. Fans have basically bombarded Jen and Scott on twitter since it was released on iTunes last month that it needs to be put out as a single.

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Songs I'd like to see as singles. I included Unlove You as #1 because to me Sugar was never officially released. I doubt we'd get four singles but if we did, I'd go for these. I'll say 3 and 4 could be switched, maybe.
1. Unlove You
2. Hey Heartbreak
3. Stupid Girl / Three Days in Bed - I know both are kind of risky choices.
4. Drunk in Heels / Chaser

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Song rankings + mini-review:

1. Stupid Girl; Super relatable to me just like Little Miss was. I feel like every time I listen to it I discover new lyrics and meanings. I know she's called it her confessional song and it's one when I hear it feels like I'm peeking into her journal.

2. Hey Heartbreak; I love the sass of this song. It's one of two outside cuts on the album. It's one I thought would be a heartbreaking ballad or something when I saw the title. But it's not that, it's fun and it's sassy. It's hard to believe she didn't have a hand in writing it.

3. Chaser; this one has grown on me a lot since October. I hated the sound of it live and didn't care for the test version of it when it was tested as a single. But now with the full production and what not, I love it and find myself humming it randomly.

4. Unlove You; This song will always slay me. No matter how many times I hear it, I still love it. Like Jen says, it breaks me in the most beautiful way even though I've never been through what the song is about.

5. Three Days in Bed; I have been a fan of this song since Holly Williams released it. I won't lie, it's probably one of my favorites of hers with how amazingly it's written and the fact it's a true story makes it an interesting song to me. With saying that and saying how much I love Jen, I was a little worried about this song and what would be done with it. But I wasn't disappointed at all with the arrangement. It's simple and sparse just how it should be. I love the phrasing on several of the lyrics.

6. Drunk in Heels; This. This one is the song I had hoped would have been the first single when it was tested. It was fun, sassy and tongue in cheek. It tested well with radio stations she visited and it seems to be one of her favorites on the album. I can see why. On another note, I played this song for my mom today and she got a good laugh over it becasue she lives that song minus a husband. ha.

7. Way Back Home; This song is one that I thought was pretty when I heard it on youtube last fall but I didn't fall in love with it until I heard the studio version. Plus it's one that she said was inspired by Magnus. Listen to the second verse, that's the one she singled out was about him. I just find it sweet!

8. Playing With Fire; It was so hard putting this one so low on the list, I swear I love it. I love the tongue in cheek lyrics and the sass that is brought with it. One thing that always makes me laugh a little is the line, which I looked in the cd booklet, about 'if his service don't bring smiles, you know I ain't going to fake it.' Plus I love the play on one of my favorite quotes "Good girls rarely make history."

9. Salvation Works: It's a beautiful song, it's just not one that connects with me a lot? It's kind of like Temporary Home by Carrie, that while I can appreciate it I don't love it or connect. I swear I have a heart even though I had a few people question that when I say what I just did about the Carrie song. ha. Anyway, I don't find myself going back and listening to it a good bit like a lot of the other songs. I could easily see this being released possibly to christian radio, possibly, if they want to go that round.

10. My House: Catchy, fun and a great message. I guess I was expecting more especially when it was teased it'd have spanish in it and thought she'd do some spanish with JLo. I do appreciate the little ;) ;) lyric to Trump. It's not secret that Jen is a big Hillary supporter and registered democrat.

11. Starting Over; While it's beautiful and great, it's just not one that I find myself repeating. You can definitely tell it's a Lori McKenna co-write which I do love and appreciate!

12. Sugar; It's fun and catchy, very tongue in cheek but it's probably the weakest track to me on the album.

[sabre14]

Lol. Jenn told Al Skop on The Highway (during her album premiere show) that she didn't remember which song blocked "Baby Girl" from #1 on R&R and Billboard.

I'm calling bull. ;)

[.indulgecountry]

#Late to the party but I'm just now listening to this album and holy hell it's fantastic. I'm like 3/4 of the way through it and I've loved every song. The production job and vocal performances on this record is nothing short of stellar. The uptempos are fun and lively and so catchy and the ballads are beautifully delivered. Lovely album. I need to buy this.