WTF?! I Like This?!

Author's Rating:

Pros: pleasant voice, an Idol debut with personality, better than expected

Cons: thin voice, personality may grate, the magic isn't on every track, repetitive subjects

The Bottom Line: 
Yeah, I cannot believe it, either. Kellie Pickler steps up her game and creates a very solid debut that has her in good position to have a steady country career.

Author's Review
Though it’s taken me a while, I really am proud to be from the country, especially since I’ve been doing well in college. For some reason, I feel almost like a representative of my area of the country (southeastern Kentucky), trying to show people that the citizens of the boondocks have a brain and can do things for themselves without having to be dumb rednecks. Since I’ve been at school, however, a pet peeve of mine has been exacerbated. Due to the insane laziness and complete lack of motivation of my peers from my area, I cannot stand when people act stupid or ignorant, for whatever reason they choose to do so.

When she was on American Idol, North Carolina native Kellie Pickler acted like this was the first time she had ever been let outside of her own home, pulling a Jessica Simpson and continually playing the ignorant southern girl who’s not heard of anything and can’t pronounce anything over three syllables. Consider me extremely frustrated then and, especially, now. She was immediately given much more attention on the show and that became her trademark, continuing through the release of her debut album this past fall.

Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You will make even the most critical of Pickler sit up and take notice, a sincere power ballad with a soaring hook and down-to-earth lyricism. Pickler’s voice is tender and aggressively emotional while the supple instrumentation gives the song a proper background. It throws in a non-gratuitous guitar solo for good music; insanely catchy, genuine and intense, it’s a keeper. Current single I Wonder was one of the most talked about tracks before the record’s release, as this deals with Pickler’s mother who left her at a very young age. It’s a haunting, agonizing listen, fusing Pickler’s wispy vocals with a dynamite melody. She breaks your heart, directly talking to the one who abandoned her with a lot of balance, depth and maturity. The strings may be a bit much but one listen will make you a Kellie Pickler fan. Wild Ponies keeps with the trend of the more solemn tracks being the crème de la crème. Pickler brings out her inner Dolly Parton/Pam Tillis, emphasizing the softer tones in her voice, never overdoing it and letting the story unfold. It gently waltzes, courtesy of swaying acoustics and dreamy steel guitar; one thing you will get from this song is Pickler’s ability to tell a story, a valuable asset in the songwriter-based genre of country. I’m On My Way is a lot more positive and motivating, a midtempo acoustic-led proclamation of looking forward to the future and taking things day by day. It’s a very clean listen, more vocally lenient (she sounds like a twangier Faith Hill) and a very sweet way for Pickler to drop all pretenses and show us what she can do.

First single Red High Heels caught me completely off-guard, as it’s actually, y’know, good. Ultra feminine and full of attitude, it struts and flaunts its stuff, Pickler’s with-a-wink performance of the saucy lyrics positively perfect (in context). It’s a gleeful revenge anthem that even mom and dad can enjoy, which plays right into the album’s basically universal appeal. Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind is the most addictive song on the record, a driving, somewhat edgy list of everything that a man isn’t “supposed” to be thinking, including specific, often funny mentions of Brad Pitt, curtains, football, lovemaking and “the marryin’ kind”. It’s a little short but makes up for it in style and presentation. Pickler growls coyly over the more pronounced guitars and rowdy percussion, making the song her own with little effort. Rumored third single Small Town Girl has one of the most likeable, intimate melodies that country radio has seen in many moons, capped off by a smiling hook and shimmering steel guitars. Its unmistakably country, Pickler’s performance not flashy but fitting in very well. Its self-acceptance and tenderness are quite nice, which makes me think that this could be her third top twenty single. Girls Like Me may be a bit less perky than the previous track but its still pretty effective. It’s very similar in most areas, Pickler professing her pride in being a country girl, but it’s a lot more unassuming than the previous track. The guitars are mature and inoffensive; the vocal is down a bit (it can’t hide behind other things on a track like this) but this is a solid effort.

Gotta Keep Movin’ tries for motivating, romantic and inspiration but ends up falling just a bit flat, nothing too terribly remarkable to report. It’s a decent road song but doesn’t improve until the very last bridge, where its potential for soulful, swaggering goodness. One of the Guys falls short, as well; musically, its refreshingly darker and more attitudinal but the subject matter is tiring and Pickler doesn’t control the track in the way that she could have. It has some good instrumentation but with lackluster vocals (they just kind of wander aimlessly) and lyricism that has been stated better on previous tracks, it’s not worth a listen. I feel bad for not liking My Angel, a song about her grandmother, but it’s a bit too cheesy for my taste. The production drowns her already thin voice out and doesn’t favor what vocal tones she gets out, while the lyricism just doesn’t fit the melody whatsoever. It has a good heart to it but not enough to save it from being an attempt to recreate the greatness of I Wonder.

Just in case you didn’t know, Kellie Pickler loves her family, loves being from a small town and, don’t let the appearance fool you, she’s a total tomboy who loves to get dressed up now and then, particularly in Single White Female style pumps. Okay, now that you know everything that that record’s about, I’ll let you know that this record is actually pretty okay, especially considering the source. Kellie isn’t a powerful vocalist (in any sense of the word) but knows her strengths and how to use her voice to its fullest potential, peppering the songs with a homespun girlishness that gives a lot more personality to sometimes bland arrangements. Pickler escaped the Idol machine that’s been known to take over many a debut album and its obviously been a very positive step for her career. Where she goes from here, I don’t know, but let’s all just pause and take a minute to enjoy one of the best debut albums that Idol has wrought.

Grade: B-

Great Music To Play While: laughing all the way to the bank for being stupid

Next Review: Sugarland