Miranda Lambert's 2011 CD, Four The Record. Photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

There’s always a bit of added pressure when an artist follows up a critically acclaimed record that achieved successes like the Academy of Country Music’s Album of the Year award. However, what sort of pressure exists when an artist’s last two albums won that illustrious prize, as Miranda Lambert’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (ACM Album of the Year Winner 2008) and Revolution (Winner 2010) both did?

Working again with Producer Frank Liddell, and welcoming Chuck Ainlay and Glenn Worf into the studio, award-winning singer/songwriter Miranda delivers controlled chaos on her new album Four the Record. The project, due in stores next week, toes the line between traditional country and Americana with loose arrangements and well-placed modern rock distortion.

Songs like “Mama’s Broken Heart,” with creative percussion and vintage guitar sounds, builds through the verse before becoming unhinged in the chorus. Can’t get revenge and keep a spotless reputation, Miranda sings with calculated anger about the song’s pregnant teenage subject being abandoned by her boyfriend. On “Fastest Girl In Town,” Miranda’s rebellious nature is front and center. You got the bullets, I got the gun/ I got a hankerin’ for getting into something, she sings seductively.

With each album, Miranda continues to evolve her sound, and Four The Record is no exception. Tracks like “Fine Tune” illustrate that the 27-year old Texan is more than willing to take risks. Miranda uses a sexy R&B groove, fuzzy slide guitar and distorted vocals to push through the metaphor of getting a love tune-up. She sings of her engine of a heart that would not start before a big hook noting symptoms like, my pulse was nearly gone/ I was almost in need of a defibrillator. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Miranda Lambert at the No. 1 party for her song, "The House That Built Me," on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, in Nashville.

When Miranda Lambert won Album of the Year from the Country Music Association last week, it represented a huge amount of support within the industry for the creative results in Revolution.

But her creative success is also a result of the changes she made in her approach to the work. Miranda had plenty of time to cut her first album, but when it came time to do her second, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, her life had become a bit of a blur. She had to fit the recording sessions in between a bunch of tour dates, and the whole process was completely stressful.

Continue Reading

ShareThis

Eli Young Band photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

In an era when Kid Rock and Bon Jovi have found success in country music, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to hear Tom Petty’s name being thrown around.

The Eli Young Band has been covering the rocker’s “American Girl” frequently in concert, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are something of a muse for the Texas foursome as it develops a follow-up to the 2008 album Jet Black & Jealous.

Continue Reading

ShareThis

Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure. So they say. And “White Liar” figured prominently in the annual Nashville Scene country music critics poll, taking the scribes’ honor as the top single of 2009. It’s one of three categories Miranda Lambert dominated in a vote that does its best to tab quality over sheer sales volume.

Miranda’s Revolution, the disc that spawned “Liar,” was cited as the Top Album in the poll, compiled from rankings supplied by 77 country journalists. Accordingly, Miranda earned Top Female Vocalist in the process.

Continue Reading

ShareThis

Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert releases her third album on Tuesday, and it’s a sign that she’s transitioning in her life.

She titled the CD Revolution, signalling outwardly the inward changes she’s chronicled in the album’s 15 songs.

“When I hear the word revolution, it means things are happening, change is coming,” she told The San Antonio Express-News. “And this record opens the door to new things for me. I was a crazy, wild-eyed kid when I was writing Kerosene, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was kind of the same. Now that I’m 25 years old, have a really steady relationship and a great career going, I’m settling into life a little bit. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert is barely two weeks away from releasing her third album, Revolution, and she’s packed it with music — 15 tracks in all.

It’s more material than artists usually put on their CDs, and she had to make some financial concessions with her record label to make it happen. But Miranda was willing to do that because she believes so strongly in the music she’s made — and that it belongs together.

“We made this record as a whole album,” she told Billboard. “If we took even one song off, it wouldn’t be complete.” Continue Reading

ShareThis