Gretchen WilsonOne of the Boys
To my surprise, Gretchen Wilson's new album was a full audio stream with decent quality. One of the Boys starts off on a bit of a slow note and doesn't pick up much until the title track which is a decent slice of pop country. The first two songs do show some cracks in Gretchen's singing ability. She's not the best vocalist overall and really that's fine when she's got a song that fits her honky tonk sound. But when she's trying to sing the more crossover material she doesn't have the pipes of a Martina McBride or a new comer Carrie Underwood. Although I did enjoy hearing a softer side to Wilson, displaying her vulnerability I knew had to be there.
Wilson comes alive to a degree with "You Don't Have To Go Home." The song is right in the pocket of what she does best but the overall production sheen on One of the Boys really restrains her rowdy howl. I don't like the way the producers have reined her rough edges in to make her more like the rest of the country girls. This is not what Gretchen Wilson does. She needs to be left to a rockier more open dare I say analog production.
"Heaven Help Me" has her dare to sound like Alison Krauss as this song would be a massive hit for Alison. I am not sure if the fans will buy this as earnest or honest. The vocal delivery again sounds restrained and processed. It's lacking Wilson's personality and that seems to be true for most of the album. Her spirit has been taken out of the album by the over production and efforts to make Gretchen a pop country superstar.
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if she does now, it saddens me, lol.