Pros: Her personality shines through, the songs are enjoyable and sicere
Cons: Her voice isn't perfect, a couple of songs are generic.
The Bottom Line: Kellie Pickler has heart and her music shows it. If you are looking for a Martina McBride keep going. If you are looking for a little fun Pickler's your pick.
Monnie1976's Full Review: Small Town Girl by Kellie Pickler
There’s a lot to be said for personality. Kellie Pickler, although not having a voice that can belt pitch perfect or a range that rivals modern day divas, has buckets and buckets full of personality. Naïve and unsophisticated, yet oddly appealing for it she manages to capture hearts with her southern girl routine that amazingly isn’t a routine. This is all important because it adds an air of believability and charm that makes Small Town Girl a delight. If you don’t know who Kellie Pickler is I’ll just catch you up on pop culture real quick; she placed sixth on the fifth season of American Idol. Although she was voted out long before the big finale she managed to be one of the more memorable moments on the final show dining with Wolfgang Puck giving a good ole grimace to such refined cuisine as calamari. Now here she is, releasing the first album from her peer group of finalists. So can a small town girl like Kellie hang with the big stars out there. I definitely think she has a chance.
The album definitely is autobiographical in numerous places. Kellie Pickler was born in Louisiana but was raised by her grandparents in North Carolina. Her father is doing time for assault, her mom left her behind and despite her losses she’s managed to make good. Whether it be the obvious description of “Small Town Girl’, the hurt feelings on display about her AWOL mom in “I Wonder” or the tear provoking tribute to her grandma on “My Angel” you really get a sense of who Kelly is.
I’ll be straight with you. I wasn’t a fan of Pickler during the actual show. I thought she seemed sweet but after she completely countrified a version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” I was definitely ready to write her off. Granted Queen is hard to pull off, especially if your from a place that gets Foxworthy’s “you might be a redneck jokes”, but covering Bohemian Rhapsody is pretty much blasphemy. Yet, she’s managed to find her niche and does a great job with her song choices post American Idol.
The first single is the perky taunt of “Red High Heels”. Although the sentiment of the song is that she is moving on and her ex is going to watch as she paints the town its all done with a wink and a smile. She’s not really angry, she’s going to make him squirm for a bit and enjoy every minute. It’s a fun, cute song that is pretty irresistible. This is a good thing because the whole vibe of the song fits her to a tee. The performance has such a great, twangy delivery. I saw her perform this on Jay Leno and my whole take on it was confirmed by the playful demeanor she displays. It’s oddly satisfying to listen to her chiding the boy with a wagging finger as she goads “I bet you want me back now don’t you, don’t you”. It’s probably going to be a huge success and rightly so.
Of course, this is an album full of potential singles. “Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind” finds Pickler channeling her inner Pam Tillis with a whole lot of sassy, brassy twang and funny lines about things men wouldn’t think about. The production isn’t anything innovative and has been heard before but Pickler sure sounds like she’s have a fun time. Therefore, you have a good time as well.
“That joke is too dirty, that steak is to thick
Ain’t no way in the world I’ll ever finish it
That car is too fast, this beer is too cold
And watching all this football is sure getting old
Wish I was working this weekend
Not on the lake wetting my line
Things that never cross a man’s mind”
One of my favorite songs on the album is “Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You” which rings with a sincerity and almost innocence you don’t hear very often. I think this is one of the best examples why Pickler is so winning as a singer. You can feel her as she’s singing the lyrics. The production is competent, the lyrics are well written but the heart of the song really comes from her. Nobody can ever accuse her of phoning it in. This one is a slower ballad with lots of guitar and some light piano.
There are two sentimental ballads on the album. The first is where Pickler sadly sends a message to her mother. It’s pretty clear there is a sense of emptiness around this relationship as Pickler laments about her mother’s absence in her life. The ballad is sweeping with dramatic strings, a somber piano and once again a sincere vocal from Pickler. She doesn’t try to get grandiose with the vocals (because she probably can’t). She just sings it straight and that works very well. “My Angel” is a tribute to her grandmother who raised her. Considering I was very close with my grandmother, (she didn’t raise me but she was a critical force in my life) it’s a song I can completely relate to and actually brought up a lot of emotion for me.
“Small Town Girl” is her obligatory “getting back to my small town girl roots” song. This song wasn’t really necessary because the whole album is completely, uncompromisingly from Kellie’s perspective. You know for a fact she’s a small town girl from the first note of the first song. Yet the song is mildly catch as Pickler sings on the bridge “I’d rather ride in a Chevy truck than a Ferrari, give me a cheeseburger, I ain’t eatin’ no calamari” with this utterly resolute drawl like a kid who isn’t going to eat their peas. It’s funny.
“Gotta Keep Moving” is a track that grows on you as well as Kelly talks about returning home and being with a special someone. The verses aren’t anything super special with its hybrid rock/country sound but I love how her voice just bursts out like a ray of sunshine on the chorus. It’s not one of the best songs on the album but its above the status of filler. “I’m On My Way” is as close to filler as the album gets with a fairly ordinary melody and featuring Pickler’s least enthusiastic vocal on the album. “Wild Ponies” is a song similar to Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing” as sung by Pam Tillis. It’s a good little ballad with domestic abuse as the subject matter. I don’t think it’s that heavy-handed and is sung nicely by Kellie.
Overall, this is a surprisingly solid debut. I think it’s great when a singer’s personality shines through the material and you feel like what you are hearing is something they’ve really experienced. Pickler and her team have made sure that this is Kellie’s record. She doesn’t have the best voice of country music but she’s a bit like the little engine that could. Despite all the odds, she’s managed to make it and still have a bit of her soul intact. I definitely think if you are a country music fan, this is a very enjoyable effort.
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