It is easy to poke fun at American Idol, the massive national talent show that has become an annual ritual. However, after 4 seasons the show has given us some lasting talent, and, if this first album is any indication, Season 4 victor Carrie Underwood will soon be joining their ranks. This is one of the best albums yet from an American Idol contestant.
Pleasing Mix of Country and Pop
Some Hearts is a well balanced blend of mainstream pop and country music. The songs include work by some of country's top current songwriters (Troy Verges, Hillary Lindsey, Trey Bruce, Brett James, Rivers Rutherford) as well as 3 tunes from legendary pop songwriter Diane Warren. Carrie Underwood sounds as comfortable in both pop and country worlds as artists like Faith Hill or Shania Twain. Whether she will continue to straddle both realms in the future remains to be seen.
Stretching Boundaries
While the bulk of Some Hearts is devoted to ballads that allow Underwood's full-throated voice to shine, she does push some boundaries. She heads out to the country dance floor on "We're Young and Beautiful" and kicks up some steam. On "Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood adopts a bit of a growl as she dives into a tail of revenge on a cheating partner. She even tries out songwriting on the honky tonk styled, autobiographical "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore." When Underwood moves out of mainstream ballad territory, the results are gratifying.
Top Tracks
- Wasted
- Some Hearts
- Before He Cheats
- We're Young and Beautiful
- I Ain't in Checotah Anymore
A New Star to Watch
There's a difficult to describe personal warmth and charm for the woman from Checotah, Oklahoma that emanates from nearly every song on this album. The only place it is less in evidence is on "Inside Your Heaven," her first single, released last summer, and a song chosen by the execs at American Idol.
Carrie Underwood is clearly a star to watch. Some Hearts is very good, but she can probably do even better as she matures as a recording artist. Some credit for the quality of this album must be given to producers Dann Huff (studio musician for hundreds of recordings and producer in recent years) and Mark Bright (producer for Rascal Flatts, Jo Dee Messina, and Sara Evans). They have created solid musical environments that allow Carrie Underwood's beautiful voice to shine. This album isn't for music fans looking for the next left-field hit, but if you are a fan of quality performances of well-chosen pop and country songs, this is a collection for you.
