Chely Wright - Single White Female
The album is a nice mixture of fast-paced songs and ballads. The singles are really well-done, and the rest of the album is not what you'd call filler. The songs have that uniqueness that is Chely, and it's easy to see why this record is her most successful to date.
Two other singles were released, "It Was" and "She Went Out For Cigarettes," but neither had the success of the title track. "She Went Out For Cigarettes" is a sorrowful story of a woman who is virtually ignored by her husband, and one day, she decides to just leave. The song has an acoustic-feel to it, that is accented by a sorrowful fiddle in spots. Although "It Was" starts out with a mandolin intro, the entire feel of the song is pure pop.
The album is filled with songs of emotion, be it happy or sad. Chely sings in "The Love We Lost" about searching for the love the couple used to have. The production is bland and pop. In "Picket Fences" she sings about a woman who is unmarried and in her prime. She yearns to be in a relationship, but makes light of it, saying, "What's so great about picket fences? Paintin' them is such a mess. And a big back yard where kids can play, I'd probably never get a moments rest." The slow tempo of the song just makes things seem to drag, and frankly, I'm not inclined to be sympathetic to the character's story.
I actually feel there is way too many slow to mid-tempo songs on the release. I'd recommend downloading the title track, which is the high point of the album.
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