Welcome to my overview of women in country music, with reviews ranging from folk and bluegrass to honkytonk, rockabilly and Nashville pop. This is the second page covering the letter "W."
Jeanette Williams "Cherry Blossoms In The Springtime" (Doobie Shea, 1999)
Very lovely stuff, with some of the sweetest, most upbeat melodies bluegrass has to offer. Dan Tyminski co-produced this album, which includes contributions by many of the late '90s "usual suspects" (such as Tyminski, Rob Ickes, Ben Isaacs and Aubrie Haynie). On a few numbers this bluegrass Wrecking Crew begins, not too surprisingly, to drift into sugary Alison Krauss-ish territory, but Williams seems to have a pretty clear sense of how she wants her music to sound, and the bouncy melodic drive is seldom lost for long. Really nice record... highly recommended!
Jeanette Williams Band "Too Blue" (Bell Buckle, 2002)
Back in the old days, they used to write songs about a dearly beloved mother died and gone to heaven... Here, singer Jeanette Williams updates the old formula with a sombre, powerful song about a parent diminished by Alzheimer's disease, unable to remember her own children as they visit her in the hospital. "I Ought To Know You" opens this disc, but is only one of several striking tunes on here, all delivered in a straightforward, traditionalist bluegrass style. Joining the Williams ensemble is guest fiddler Becky Buller, moonlighting from Valerie Smith's Liberty Pike band. Good stuff -- heartfelt and definitely worth checking out!
Jeanette Williams Band "Get In The Boat" (Bell Buckle, 2003)
A nice, heartfelt bluegrass gospel album. May be too Jesus-y for more secular-minded 'grass fans, but there are several nice slow numbers that stand out, particularly "When The Harvest Has Come" and "Come Morning," which both have an old-fashioned brush arbor feel to them.
Linda & Robin Williams "Deeper Waters" (Red House, 2004)
Although I know I'm supposed to embrace their imperfections and see them as champions of the jes' plain folks, I still find this duo's approach a bit too stuffy, and Linda Williams's voice of a grating timbre. That being said, this is one of their finest sets to date, with many well-sculpted arrangements and deep, soulful lyrics. Mike Auldridge helps anchor their sound with some lovely, understated dobro work, and the Williams harmony sound has never been more velvety. If you're gonna check these two out, this is a mighty fine album to start with.
Lucinda Williams - see artist discography
Victoria Williams - see artist discography
Kelly Willis - see artist discography
Gretchen Wilson "Here For The Party" (Epic Nashville, 2004)
A huge surprise hit, Here For The Party may be one of the biggest artistic shots in the arm that commercial country has gotten in the last five years or so. Sidestepping the bland, overproduced soul-pop diva schtick of Shania Twain and Martina McBride, Ohio-based Gretchen Wilson bursts forth with a raunchy, raucous, guitar-heavy novelty song, "Here For The Party," with riffs worthy of Southern rock revivalists like Montgomery Gentry and Travis Tritt, a tune which lets us all know she can hold her own with the boys, and probably even drink half of 'em under the table. The album's second song, "Redneck Women," is an irresistible hit which shot to the top of the charts -- funny, good-natured, and catchy as all hell -- the perfect antidote to the drippy Celine Dion-isms that Nashville women have been miring themselves in for years. The whole album isn't as perfect as these two two tunes, but it's pretty damn good. She sings some ballads, and it's here that her vocal shortcomings come to the fore -- tonally, she's sort of a mix of Natalie Maines and Tanya Tucker, though she starts to frazzle a bit on the high end. But hey, with George Jones-y weepers like "When I Think About Cheatin' " and "The Bed" to back her up, and with the fact that she wrote or co-wrote most of this material, Wilson proves herself to be the real deal. The more we can hear country gals singing real country, the better off we'll all be. Highly recommended!
Gretchen Wilson "All Jacked Up" (Sony-Epic, 2005)
Gretchen Wilson "All Jacked Up" (Dualdisc) (Sony-Epic, 2005)
(Produced by John Rich, Gretchen Wilson & Mark Wright)
Well, the title track is disappointing, but the rest of the album kicks ass. What's wrong with "All Jacked Up," you ask? Well, the song's just too damn obvious, and the video really sucks, although Wilson's willingness to cast her allegiance with raspy old-timers like Hank, Jr. and Merle is quite admirable. Once she gets into the real nitty gritty, though, this gal shreds the competition. Really, hands down, this is pretty much the best "real" country album to come out of Nashville this year -- Wilson can belt out novelty songs like nobody's business, but when she sings a ballad, dancing around the sweetest pedal steel licks I've heard in years. Folks who like good, dumb novelty songs and heartwrenching, twang-filled weepers will find plenty to cheer about here. Plus, she's got a great, great voice. Wilson sings with more conviction and genuine feeling than just about anyone else in the Top 40 these days. Her redneck posturing may be kind of a marketing schtick, but frankly she does it way better than Toby Keith -- or, for that matter, Moe Bandy -- and I say more power to her. Wilson's gonna be around for years, and I plan to be there, too, cranking her records up loud and singing along. Definitely recommended! (Note: the dual disc option includes the "All Jacked Up" video, which is pretty lame, along with a few other extras, but nothing super-amazing. Some folks seem to have a hard time playing it in their computers, so unless you're sure it's compatible with your system, you might wanna stick with the regular CD version.)
Lee Ann Womack - see artist discography
Chely Wright "The Woman In The Moon" (Polygram, 1994)
Chely Wright "Let Me In" (Polygram, 1996)
Chely Wright "Let Me In" (MCA, 1997)
(Produced by Tony Brown)
Her third album, and her first for MCA... A nice mix of bouncy, upbeat numbers and slower but still quite pleasant ballads... She has a torchy feel that's kind of like Rosanne Cash, and a sentimental side that brings Don Williams to mind (particularly on songs like "Emma Jean's Guitar"). She's got a real twanginess about her, and a feel for heartsongs that's refreshing to hear. Nice version of "Feeling Single, Seeing Double," too!
Chely Wright "Single White Female" (MCA, 1999)
(Produced by Tony Brown, Buddy Cannon & Norro Wilson)
It's still mostly working for me on here; at least the title track is kinda fun Although with the tilt towards slower ballads, she is starting to sound a little Reba-ish... A pop-oriented flatness is starting to creep into her work, but I still find Wright herself to be a pretty appealing performer. Wish she'd stick more to the upbeat material.
Chely Wright "Never Love You Enough" (MCA-Nashville, 2001)
(Produced by Tony Brown, Buddy Cannon, Dan Huff & Paul Worley)
Absurdly over-the-top Nashville pop, with painfully over-obvious lyrics. Huge, oceanic sound beds drape her vocals, mercilessly herding the listeners into little sonic rodeo chutes and forcing them to coexist with shrill, tinny melodic pop riffs. I mean... her sound almost works, but it's really a bit much. Hate those too-clever drum machines riffs that are "slyly" added to the mix, just letting you know that this ain't your grandma's country music... Wright has an okay voice, but this music is far too intrusive and bossy -- it doesnÕt give you a chance to think, it just keeps trying to subdue you and get your ears to surrender. Markedly prefab and unsubtle. Yuck.
Chely Wright "Metropolitan Hotel" (Dualtone, 2005)
(Produced by Jeff Huskins, Stephony Smith & Chely Wright)
With somewhat of a hit-or-miss relationship with the Nashville charts, Chely Wright has the luxury of going in just about any musical direction she wants to... She kicks this disc off with Katrina Elam's "It's The Song," a relatively rootsy ode to the road in which she pledges allegiance to the spirit of Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton, with pedal steel and banjo galore. But right after that, Wright forsakes her twangitude in favor of more conventional, piano-heavy pop-country ballads. The album's first single, the self-penned "Bumper Of My SUV," is an Iraq War-related patriotic number which is remarkable in several ways... First off, there's the super-minimal arrangements, with Wright halfway reciting the lyrics over a simple, sparse backdrop of piano and mandolin... Other than the timeliness, it's almost amazing that it was released as a single! The lyrical content is also striking, but in a more subtle way: even though she's sticking up for the Marine Corps, Wright also leaves some room in there for us to still question authority ("And yes, I do have questions/I get to ask them because I'm free..." she sings, leaving a little more political wiggle room than on your average chest-thumping, flag-waver anthem.) In general, I like the songwriting on this album, but the production doesn't always seem like a perfect match. "I Got Him Ready For You," for example, is an outstanding subject for a chick-centric power ballad -- a woman laments all the work she put in to transform her ex-lover into an emotionally mature adult -- but structurally the song itself seems to drag on a bit; a more concise, pointed rendition of this song would have made it absolutely devastating. Probably the best song on here is "What If I Can't Say No Again," in which late-night phone calls and a knock on the door make a woman question her ability to rebuff her ex, who has since hooked up with someone else... If I was still programming a commercial country station, that'd be the song I'd pick as a dark horse favorite. Once again, Wright doesn't totally live up to her potential, but she says what she wants to and has a distinctive presence. It's worth checking out if your a commercial country listener.
Michelle Wright "Michelle Wright" (Arista, 1990)
A so-so debut by a Canadian artist who seems pulled in several directions -- soft country-pop (with a slight traditionalist/rockabilly undercurrent on a few tunes), along with bluesy-torchy vocals, ala k.d. lang... She seems like an artist who could've caught fire, given the right musical backing, but as is, this album feels a bit flat.
Tammy Wynette "Anniversary: Twenty Five Years Of Hits" (Epic, 1987)
Her tumultuous marriage to George Jones aside, Tammy Wynette is a rather remarkable figure in country music... She hit the charts pretty consistently in the 1960s and '70s, starting with her first big hit, "Apartment #9," which was originally recorded for an indie label in 1967. She was an early protege of producer Billy Sherrill, who helped shape her sound over the next two decades, and who paired her up with ole Possum for several of his biggest countrypolitan hits. But what's most remarkable about Wynette is the extent to which she specialized in sexually subservient, emotional doormat songs, in which the best way for a woman to keep her man is to keep him, um, happy. Feminists criticized her for recording "Stand By Your Man," and while you might think, "oh, that was just a one-off novelty song," indeed, the forget-his-sins, just-keep-yourself-pretty-and-available theme is actually the basis for almost all her major hits. And it really is astonishingly retrograde and demeaning...! Anyway, this CD is a strong collection of Wynette's best material, twenty tracks in all, and while hardcore fans may be left wanting more, for most country fans, this should be more than enough.
Tammy Wynette & George Jones "16 Biggest Hits" (Epic, 1999)
This CD is notable because it has several fine middle-ranked '70s hits that didn't make it onto standard-issue George Jones best-ofs, including "Take Me," "Jet Set," "Let's Build A World Together," "God's Gonna Getcha For That" and "Southern California..." These may not be the most classic works to have ever come from the Sherrill studios, but they're definitely worth tracking down. There may be slightly grey sound quality on the mastering of this disc, though.
Wynonna - see The Judds.
Hillbilly Fillies - Letters "X,Y,Z"
