Crazy Ex-Girlfriend by Miranda Lambert.
Review By Ty Randall
I just picked up Miranda Lambert's new CD,
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and listened
to it on my way home. I've got to tell you, it made me forget all about
the crazy New Jersey traffic that was slowing me down so much. For country
music, this CD rocks! I had the thing cranked way the hell up and enjoyed
it tremendously. I think this is Miranda's second CD, but I believe the
first time I've heard her. Sorry to all you Country fans who heard or maybe
bought her first CD or watched her on Nashville Star or have caught one of
her many other TV appearances that I haven't. My TV doesn't pick up that
country station where I live. Heck, I can't even pick up any country music
radio stations. If anyone from Texas reads this (where Miranda is from),
they might have a hard time believing such a thing. I don't know how
Country music survives up here in the
New York metro area. I guess it does thanks to artists like Miranda.
My first impression after listening to
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is that this
chick has staying power. I think we're going to be hearing from her for
a long time to come, especially after she starts cleaning up on all the
award shows. She may not have started out with the same bang that Carrie
Underwood did, but I think she might last longer (at least in Country
music after Carrie crosses over). I would guess she might slow down
and mellow out a little more on some songs when she gets older, but I
like her young, loud, fast, crazy style just the way it is for right now.
I thought some of the lyrics were very clever and well-written on most
songs. I don't know if Miranda was totally or partial responsible for
that, but she does have songwriting credits on 8 of the 11 songs on the
CD, impressing me even more and proving that she's more than just a good
singer. She did have a few hard-luck, tough girl stories to tell
(Ex-Girlfriend, Gunpowder & Lead), but I got the over-all feeling that
life hasn't been that awfully tough in her first quarter century. I think
if she's going to
continue writing and singing country songs, she might have to live through
a little more heartache than breaking up with one stupid guy, waiting for
the phone to ring, or being stuck in a dry town for one night. Is it wrong
to wish hardship on someone so they can improve their craft? I think not.
I just checked the credits and am impressed once again, and also understand
why the music is so good. I had no idea she recorded it with some
powerhouse musicians such as Waddy Wachtel, Buddy Miller, Randy Scruggs,
Mike Wrucke, Chuck Leavell, and others. My biggest criticism about this
CD is the same as most country music CDs- the length of it. Although most
songs were good, I thought they seemed kind of short when listening to it.
It's sometimes hard to judge whether that's because they are so good that
I wanted them to last longer or if it's because I usually listen to Jazz
or long songs by jam bands.
I am at the point now where I know you can cram at least 80 minutes of music
onto a CD and when I pay good money and only get 37 minutes and 30 seconds
of music, I feel kind of ripped off - no matter who the music is from. My
guess is that's a record company decision and if so, Miranda, her agent,
manager, or somebody needs to fight for better quality for her fans. I
mean really! Only two songs on the CD are longer than 4 minutes. Come
on! Cut Waddy loose on the guitar for a while or something, stretch them
out a little.
The way I see it, you have three options, either stretch the songs out and
make them longer, add more songs onto a CD - even if that means holding
off release dates, or as a final option, don't whine when you don't sell
as many CD's as you used to. I'm not asking for 79 minutes of music with
every CD, but at least in the 50's or 60's would be nice. With thousands
of CDs, I can't afford the shelf space for a 37 minute CD. I'll probably
just burn it onto one CD with a 41-minute Gretchen Wilson and toss or
resell the originals.
Ty rating: 3.5 out of 5 - Musically a 4, but the (short) length dragged it
down some.
