Gretchen Wilson has recently been topping the single and album country charts with her debut album and single.
Wilson has lived the life, and certainly understands why country music makes such perfect sense to a lot of people in middle America. She has co-written six of the songs here and they are about the life she and many others of her background can easily relate to. Add to that her strong vocal delivery and you have a very strong and seemingly irresistible package.
The single ‘Redneck Woman’ is an anthem that is immediately identifiable to a lot of women, as a call to arms, whether they would ever call themselves redneck or not. The title track takes a similar tack of uptempo empowerment. But she is also capable of quieter moments of reflection such as ‘When I Think About Cheatin’’ or ‘Holdin’ You’. In ‘Homewreck’ she evokes the spirit of Loretta Lynn or Tammy Wynette at their feisty best with lines like, “Now honey I’m Christian, but if you keep it up/I’m gonna go to kickin’ your pretty little butt.”
The production by Mark Wright and Joe Scaife is a balance of raw traditional elements and contemporary studio polish, which is why the album has found favour on both sides of the traditional versuscountry-pop divide. Also a key element here is associate producer, mentor and co-writer John Rich, himself making big waves as a part of the country/rap hybrid that is Big and Rich.