Carrie Underwood CD Review: Back to What She Does Best

You guys have been around me long enough by now to know that I am not a country fan. So when it comes time to review a country CD from an “Idol” artist, it’s pretty hard for me.

And it’s even harder for the artist because the CD really has to be good to impress me. After a couple of listens to Carrie Underwood’s “Play On,” I’m not completely impressed, but I’m getting closer…

You might remember that I was pretty hard on Carrie’s last effort, “Carnival Ride,” because I felt like she was trying too hard to prove that she’s a country artist. And after two songs I started to think I might have the same problem this time. But “Play” manages to totally outdo “Ride” by combining just the right combination of uptempo tracks and power ballads that concentrate more on the songs than what genre they are.

But make no mistake this is not Taylor Swift we’re dealing with here. These are all country songs. They may have some pop embellishments that could lend themselves to the pop charts, but Carrie is not deserting her roots anytime soon…

Carrie does work with a lot of songwriters known for their pop hits and some of them really work (the Kara DioGuardi co-written “Undo It”) and some of them don’t (Kelly Clarkson hitmaker Max Martin’s “Quitter”). But you’ve also got all the usual stuff you get with a Carrie CD. You’ve got your “So Small” sweeping anthems (“Change,” “Play On”) and your gritty “Before He Cheats” girl anthems (“Cowboy Casanova,” “Songs Like This”). Plus you’ve got your sensitive “Just a Dream” power ballads (“Mama’s Song,” “Temporary Home”).

But the best tracks on the CD are not the usual Carrie stuff. “Unapologize,” which was co-written by Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida (who co-wrote “Permanent” with David Cook), has a great sound and a super catchy chorus. It reminds me of some of my favorites from Carrie’s first album.

And the CD’s best track is a beautiful haunting duet co-written by Carrie, David Hodges (Evanescence) and Steve McEwan (“Just a Dream” and the under appreciated David Archuleta track “Touch My Hand”) called “What Can I Say.” But the song is almost ruined by Carrie’s choice of duet partners, Ashley Clark of Sons of Sylvia (We know them better as The Clark Brothers who won “The Next Great American Band.”). Ashley’s voice is just not strong enough to compete with Carrie’s and it almost brings the entire song down. Fortunately Carrie’s gorgeous vocals are enough to carry it for both of them. I think it could be one of Carrie’s best songs yet…

With “Play On,” Carrie takes good songs and gives them a country touch instead of trying to find blatantly country songs. And no doubt she’ll get some flack from critics who think she’s trying to compete with Taylor Swift. But personally I think she’s just doing what she does best. Which after the disappointment of “Carnival Ride” is great to hear…

Play on, Carrie. Play on…

“Play On” is available now…

Please Note: This review was based on an Internet stream of the CD and not the actual CD.

Photo Credit: Arista Nashville