If you fell in love with Evans back in 1997 I'm not sure what you'd think of where she is now with Stronger 14 years later. She hit the scene as a student of the classic country sound, and now she's coming back, after six years out of the studio, and giving in very much to a more modern sound. That doesn't mean she's completely abandoned that old sound, but it now plays as background to the more polished and produced sound of modern adult contemporary country. The good thing if you are an Evans fan is that her voice is stronger than ever and in many ways she's a better singer. Despite a few throw away songs I think this album works very well as an adult contemporary album country or no country, mostly because Evans is invested in every song.
If you're in the mood for some contemporary adult music then I would recommend this to fit the bill.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
I love how all of the country music singers want to be actors.
ReplyDeleteI'm also fascinated by how the improved standard of living in the South is reflected in contemporary country music. Brad Paisley is always singing about computers, smart phones, fishing boats, and other middle-class technology markets. And now we have Sarah Evans in her high-end apartment on her fancy laptop.
She also has a really interesting personal life, even by the standards of country music. In 2007, her fourteen-year marriage blew up in spectacular fashion, with all sorts of charges and counter-charges about affairs and such. And in June 2008, she married Jay Barker, who quarterbacked Alabama to the national championship in 1992. Now they live in Mountain Brook.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, it's funny to me to think of Jay Barker in that context. It would be as if years from now, Taylor Swift ended up married to Josh Harrellson.
In my first comment, I meant to say "middle-class technology markers," not markets.
ReplyDeleteYeah this is definitely one of those cases where I much prefer the song to the video.
ReplyDeleteGoHeath, who's your source on the "Jorts"-Swift bulletin? This obviously has to be the lead of today's "at-HeathPost.com" Tweet!
ReplyDelete