Album- Four the
Record
Artist- Miranda
Lambert
After coming into the spotlight as a finalist on the 2003
season of Nashville Star, Miranda Lambert has steadily risen in the charts and
has now become a staple figure in the country music scene, with her music
having an infectious energy that has seen her become critically successful to
the point where an awards show is not complete without her. Lamberts brings us
more music in the form of Four the Record, her fourth studio album (the clues
in the title), but has she still got the goods to keep her longevity really
going.
Track 1- All Kinds of
Kinds
The opening track is a mid tempo, breezy offering that acts
as a nice celebration of diversity. Lyrically Lambert provides us with an array
of imagery of various individuals, emphasises there uniqueness and centring the
song on the hook of how it takes all this individualism and uniqueness to keep
the world going. It’s a really nice sentiment that works well as the opening
track through the way Lambert keeps things vocally on a really warm, simple
level that doesn’t need a lot of power to get the message across, as that would
be unnecessary. The production just adds to the warmth and simplicity with the
simple slinky guitars and fuzzy back beat that makes for a cool sound, with the
final instrumental section having that nice kick with the use of drums to get
you in an almost euphoric state of happiness that will have you thinking about
your own individuality.
3.5/5
Track 2- Fine Tune
Lambert brings us that kind of old school country flavouring
with this track, coupled with a nice rock edge. The song is lyrically a
sensual, lustful piece all about how this man knows exactly how to make Lambert
feel so good. The lyrics are strong and have that punchy, sing along kind of
quality within the chorus, but whilst the lyrically content may intrigue you,
what is more attention grabbing about the song is the vocals which are fuzzed
out in a way that makes this song sound like she is singing it over an old
fashioned radio. Sometimes that can be annoying, but for this song it really
works, giving us this gritty quality to balance the smooth sensuality of the
subject matter. Production keeps things at a rough but chilled, toe tapping
pace with the simple back beat and forceful guitar riffs that make the song a
little more powerful.
3.5/5
Track 3- Fastest Girl
in Town
As the title would suggest, Lambert ups the tempo a little
for this song, but doesn’t necessarily go full throttle. Rather than being an
actually exclamation of her speed, the song is lyrically all about the rough
and dangerous relationship that Lambert has with this male character, giving us
the sense of them being two rebels on the run. The structure is cool with the
four verses and the way that we don’t have a bridge, giving it an
unconventional edge that works well with the rebellious ideology. The
production is really cool with the clattering drum beats and guitar riffs that
speed us along with Lambert, whilst the rock guitar instrumentals really give a
kick to the middle section and end, although the production is perhaps a little
stereotypical for this type of country tune. However, whilst stereotypical,
there is still enough zest in this song for an enjoyable time, with Lambert
creating a controlled vocal performance that is loaded with edgy personality.
3.5/5
Track 4- Safe
Safe is a catchy mid tempo track that transitions us into a
more chilled taste from the previous track and is also less edgy, having that
idea of love as steady and smooth. This comes out within the lyrical quality of
the track, as Lambert focuses upon how her partner is so great and makes her
feel so good in the way that she knows nothing will happen to her when she is
with him. She also focuses on how she will do the same for him in making sure
nothing bad happens. It’s a sweet message that is a little clichéd in the
verses but is saved by the simplicity of the chorus with its one line repeated
statement that is great in that that is all she really needs to say. Lambert
has a smooth tone that brings a sense of warmth to the track, with a lightness
that is cool and a power in the chorus that layers the song with that essence
of sincerity. Production on this track is also in keeping with the light and
pleasant ideology, with a simple back beat and nice guitar riffs that are
mellower than the previous offerings and keeps you excited when listening to
this record as it’s not too familiar.
3.5/5
Track 5- Mama’s
Broken Heart
Lambert seems to produce a song that has a little more of a
youthful flavouring, as this moderate up tempo tune has that kind of crazed, so
in love teenage heartbreak quality. Lyrically the track is all about Lambert
struggling after a break up, with her heartache causing her to act erratically,
which people begin to notice. The chorus then centres on how her mother is not
happy about this and tells her to regain her composure, but Lambert can’t make
her understand, with the second verse suggesting that she will seek revenge
rather than act as if nothing happen like she would if she was part of her
mother’s generation. Lyrically the track is really great in terms of how if you
were just kind of listening to the track in the background you can just kind of
rock along to it, but when you really listen to the lyrics they actually have
quite a deep quality behind the simple nature. Vocally Lambert is excellent
here, seemingly entering into silly in love one moment and then going full on
aggressive and slightly unhinged in no time at all, making for a song that
works great in keeping you on your toes. And this keeping you on your toes is
also really complimented by the production, which is engaging in terms of how
it is quite minimal but keeps the suspense going, with the chorus being so
catchy with the punchy, more rock influenced sensibility.
4/5
Track 6- Dear Diamond
The second of two tunes Lambert wrote entirely by herself
(the first being Safe) the sixth track is another sweet mid tempo offering that
perfectly contrasts with the velocity of the previous number and has much more
of a sweet quality. With the lyrics you can’t help but feel this is quite a
personal tune, as the motif of the song is all about Lambert singing to this
Dear Diamond, and how she will be tied to her man and will love him for life,
but there is also this secret that she can’t say. It’s a very deep tune that
asks you to really question what she is singing, like if dear diamond is this
metaphorical object or a reference to her husband, and what she means when she
sings of such things as lies. Yet whilst it may be deep, that is half the fun
of the song, and there is a real warmth to the track with Lamberts smooth vocal
tone that gives the song this essence of it almost being like a page from her
diary. The country production is a bit more traditional and rustic, with slinky
guitar riffs that layer together to form a cool, swaying kind of rhythm.
3.5/5
Track 7- Same Old You
Things are kept in a more rustic and mid tempo state with
this song, but the lyrical concept completely changes, as this has much more of
a straightforward quality that is all about Lambert complaining about the
various things that her man does and how he will never change, so she has
decided to leave, and how his mother will be upset, but nothing can keep her
from going. The disappointment of the track is a bit too simple but is given
more power by the rough and cool vocal performance that Lambert gives, with the
chorus having a bit of a kick through the vocal layering that gives a cool,
echoing quality. Production wise the track has much more of an old school
country flavour with that acoustic guitar riff as the base and stirring strings
that are complimented by slinky guitar melodies that punctuate the track very
nicely.
3/5
Track 8- Baggage
Claim
Described as “an exercise in attitude done right”, this is
definitely a song where Lambert brings a really strong persona and shows that
she isn’t one for messing around, with the background vocals by Josh Kelley
complimenting her smooth feminine vocals in the chorus very nicely. The track is
a play on the idea of the emotional baggage, comparing them to the idea of a
man who is unfaithful picking up baggage at the airport, with Lambert basically
focusing on how she isn’t going to take that and is just going to go off with
her own troubles. The concept could have been focused upon a bit more smoothly
as the track isn’t as catchy as it could be, but the vocals do have that catchy
attitude, with the production giving us another nice toe tapping melody and a
cool middle section with the use of an organ.
3.5/5
Track 9- Easy Living
A bit of a left turn is taken here with this breezy back
porch swinging number in which Lamberts Nashville roots are really shown in her
vocal that has that definitive country edge, and has a smooth quality that
permeates the track. The concept of the song lyrically focuses on how life is
going by and some bad things like the weather will occur, but Lambert finds it
easy to go through life because she has her man by her side. The track is short
and sweet, with a whistling melody in the middle section that is catchy and
something you quickly learn to go along with. But what is interesting with this
track is the way that the production doesn’t necessarily have that breezy tone:
the laidback vibe is still there, coming through with the whistling, but as a
whole the track features a prominent back beat that is really forceful sound,
and so this is a really intriguing song that you can enjoy in a variety of
ways.
3.5/5
Track 10- Over You
From the idea of easy living we come to a much more potent
and emotional level with this song that was co-written by Lambert’s husband,
country star Blake Shelton, and in many ways this is Shelton’s song rather than
Lamberts. This is because the track (which is lyrically about missing someone
and the pain that goes with that) was based on a personal experience of
Shelton’s as a teenager after losing his brother in a car accident, and was
recorded by Lambert as Shelton felt to strongly about the track to perform it
and . But Lambert does a stirring job in bringing true emotion and passion to
the song, with a smooth tone that works really well in feeling contained but
having that slight edge of she is almost about to break. The only real issue
with the track is that it has that touch of cliché that drags a song down, with
the lyrics having a small amount of this, but prominently coming out in the
production with the clunky guitar riff and stereotypical country ballad sound.
So whilst this is a pure and nice track, certain factors mean that it lacks the
potential brilliance that it holds.
3.5/5
Track 11- Look at
Miss Ohio
Originally recorded by the songs co-writer Gillian Welch in
2003, Look at Miss Ohio is a slow burning country tune that is all about the
sound rather than the message and has a potent, heavy quality. The lyrics show
Miranda looking at this girl, Miss Ohio, and focusing on how she is a little
messed up and can’t seem to get on the right track. The chorus has a really
nice up and down, lilting quality that is catchy, and the song’s lyrics are
strong in that this is one of those songs that can easily have different
meanings for different people. Lambert vocally keeps things on a simple level,
lowering the key at the ends of lines to give a chilled atmosphere that just
combines with the steady, back beat driven production to create a simple yet
appealing song.
3.5/5
Track 12- Better in
the Long Run (with Blake Shelton)
A duet with her husband was probably inevitable in the case
of these two artists was probably inevitable, and so Lambert now provides us
with that musical offering. The song is all about the couple’s relationship and
how it is wrong now, they have gone all the way that they could, and so they
have to end it, but they still love each other despite this and can’t help
feeling hurt even if though will be better after a while. The message is nice,
if clichéd, and this is also a probably with the production with its clattering
drumbeats and sweet piano melody that invoke some essence of passion within the
track but yet feels a bit too stereotypical of this kind of song. This is
nothing more than a sad and at the same time soppy love/heartbreak song that
can easily be enjoyed or easily skip, and whilst it doesn’t break any new
ground or excites you the way it should, both artists still give a lot vocally
and so give the song a slight gloss of emotion.
3.5/5
Track 13- Nobody’s
Fool
Beginning with this laid back guitar strumming that lulls
you into this false sense of security where you think this is a chilled out
country affair, this song is in fact a stomping tune that is probably the most
rock influenced track on the record. The thumping drumbeats gives you a whip
your hair back and forth rhythm that culminates in a great guitar solo in the
middle 8 where you can just go a bit crazy. However, whilst the production is
very powerful and enticing, vocally Lambert doesn’t convey this intense sense
of passion that the song needs, and feels like a singer just going through the
emotions, whilst the lyrical content of Lambert being a smart, independent
woman lacks the fun bit that should be here, and it kind of feels like this
song needs to take some tips from track 4.
2.5/5
Track 14- Oklahoma
Sky
The final track is a beautiful down tempo record that makes
up for the lack of passion that was missing from the previous track, as vocally
from the beginning and throughout Lambert exudes this sense of deep love and
fragility, with background vocals creating some great harmonies that give the
track an added sense of poignancy, and the vocals are also great in the way
that her voice rises and falls, giving things a bit more power. Lyrically the
track is about finding love after a long time and just holding on, with Lambert
asking her beau to meet her under the Oklahoma sky. There is a poetic quality
to the lyrics that is really appealing, and this appeal is also really helped
by the simplicity of the production with the light guitar strumming
intermingled with some potent strings and subtle drums, as well as some softer
guitar and piano melodys. It’s a sound that you can really just get absorbed in
and feel the love that is embedded within the song, and so this is definitely a
lovely note to finish the record on.
3.5/5
Final Review
This is a good fourth album for Miranda Lambert, where she
has found a style and really cultivated it, and so the songs a filled with
personality. This album feels a little bit more polished than her previous
records, but the bite of her music still remains. I think my only real issue
with this record is that there is this lack of really great songs, and although
as a whole it’s a cohesive album with good songs, something of a wow factor is
missing that would elevate the record to a higher level of greatness.
7/10
Best Track- Mama’s
Broken Heart
Worst Track- Nobody’s
Fool
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