CASPER
New member
Gretchen Wilson, "I Got Your Country Right Here" (Redneck Records)
The title of Gretchen Wilson's new album, "I Got Your Country Right Here," issues both an angry, defiant taunt and a personal manifesto. Facing a turning point in her career, the self-described "Redneck Woman" makes it clear she's ready to fight in order to make music her way.
Wilson exploded onto the country scene in 2004 with the self-defining No. 1 hit, "Redneck Woman." Her instant success earned her not only the Country Music Association's Best New Artist award, but also the CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year — a first for a newcomer.
But her fortunes slipped from there. Record company changes and country radio's lack of support led to Wilson leaving Columbia Records to start an independent label, Redneck Records. Her first album for her own company ratchets up everything she's accentuated from the start: Blustery southern rock touting a hard-partying, one-of-the-boys attitude and an in-your-face allegiance to blue-collar ideals.
There's nothing subtle, but plenty colorful, about Wilson's stomping tunes, from "Work Hard, Play Harder" and the ready-to-rumble "Earrings Song," both previously recorded at Columbia, to "Outlaws and Renegades" and the title song, which pay homage to the rebellious elements of country music's past.
The title of Gretchen Wilson's new album, "I Got Your Country Right Here," issues both an angry, defiant taunt and a personal manifesto. Facing a turning point in her career, the self-described "Redneck Woman" makes it clear she's ready to fight in order to make music her way.
Wilson exploded onto the country scene in 2004 with the self-defining No. 1 hit, "Redneck Woman." Her instant success earned her not only the Country Music Association's Best New Artist award, but also the CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year — a first for a newcomer.
But her fortunes slipped from there. Record company changes and country radio's lack of support led to Wilson leaving Columbia Records to start an independent label, Redneck Records. Her first album for her own company ratchets up everything she's accentuated from the start: Blustery southern rock touting a hard-partying, one-of-the-boys attitude and an in-your-face allegiance to blue-collar ideals.
There's nothing subtle, but plenty colorful, about Wilson's stomping tunes, from "Work Hard, Play Harder" and the ready-to-rumble "Earrings Song," both previously recorded at Columbia, to "Outlaws and Renegades" and the title song, which pay homage to the rebellious elements of country music's past.
