CD Review: Jennifer
Nettles – That
Girl
Nettles – That
Girl
Falling
3:23, Me Without You 3:37, Moneyball 3:13, That Girl 4:00, This Angel
3:31, Jealousy 3:51, This One’s For You 3:44, Know You Wanna Know
3:05, Thank You 4:11, Good Time To Cry 4:26, Like A Rock 4:23
3:23, Me Without You 3:37, Moneyball 3:13, That Girl 4:00, This Angel
3:31, Jealousy 3:51, This One’s For You 3:44, Know You Wanna Know
3:05, Thank You 4:11, Good Time To Cry 4:26, Like A Rock 4:23
The
singing of Jennifer Nettles on the cd That Girl is as great as ever.
All the songs are spectacular ballads, some a little more up tempo
than others. Falling tells a wistful story of a youthful summer
fling and it really hooked me. Me Without You has the singer telling
the lover who left he’d not recognize her because “your pretty bird
just flew”. You’d think the musical arrangement would have you
feeling sunshine on a cloudy day, but the arrangement is so slow and
ballady it feels like the singer preaching happiness is lying to
herself but the lyric does not support it. Moneyball has a funky fun
groove but I can’t tell if the lyric is supposed to preaching hope or
bemoaning fate. That Girl is the standout track with the singer
being the other woman very cleverly telling us about all her mixed
emotions. The first words of the first verse in This Angel ask “who
is this angel” and I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a person
or a spirit or faith. Jealousy has some cool mandolin with a cute
catchy melody. It’s a fun song, but just when I get to bopping like
Bill Haley, This One’s For You slows things down a lot and sorta puts
me in a night club sipping a martini with a lyric that sounds nice
but doesn’t seem to hook. Know You Wanna Know sounds really up beat
but the lyric sounds really preachy and did not draw me in. Thank
you is very slow and the lyric sounds like it might have been better
placed on a thank you card than as a song on this cd. Good Time To
Cry is a good country cryer but at this point I was balladed out. I
was hoping Like A Rock would sorta rock me out but it balladed me
more. Peppy hooky fun tunes like Stuck Like Glue and Who Says You
Can’t Go Home are nowhere to be found on this cd. To my ears,
Jennifer Nettles is one of the best country singers ever, and it will
be a dream come true if I ever get to sing a duet with her. 9 of the
11 songs on this cd are individually great but as a collection if
feels like a real downer. On her next cd I truly hope Jennifer
Nettles will get some radio ready hooky songs recorded because her
talent deserves to be in the top 10 right next to Carrie Underwood
and Kelsea Ballerini.
singing of Jennifer Nettles on the cd That Girl is as great as ever.
All the songs are spectacular ballads, some a little more up tempo
than others. Falling tells a wistful story of a youthful summer
fling and it really hooked me. Me Without You has the singer telling
the lover who left he’d not recognize her because “your pretty bird
just flew”. You’d think the musical arrangement would have you
feeling sunshine on a cloudy day, but the arrangement is so slow and
ballady it feels like the singer preaching happiness is lying to
herself but the lyric does not support it. Moneyball has a funky fun
groove but I can’t tell if the lyric is supposed to preaching hope or
bemoaning fate. That Girl is the standout track with the singer
being the other woman very cleverly telling us about all her mixed
emotions. The first words of the first verse in This Angel ask “who
is this angel” and I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a person
or a spirit or faith. Jealousy has some cool mandolin with a cute
catchy melody. It’s a fun song, but just when I get to bopping like
Bill Haley, This One’s For You slows things down a lot and sorta puts
me in a night club sipping a martini with a lyric that sounds nice
but doesn’t seem to hook. Know You Wanna Know sounds really up beat
but the lyric sounds really preachy and did not draw me in. Thank
you is very slow and the lyric sounds like it might have been better
placed on a thank you card than as a song on this cd. Good Time To
Cry is a good country cryer but at this point I was balladed out. I
was hoping Like A Rock would sorta rock me out but it balladed me
more. Peppy hooky fun tunes like Stuck Like Glue and Who Says You
Can’t Go Home are nowhere to be found on this cd. To my ears,
Jennifer Nettles is one of the best country singers ever, and it will
be a dream come true if I ever get to sing a duet with her. 9 of the
11 songs on this cd are individually great but as a collection if
feels like a real downer. On her next cd I truly hope Jennifer
Nettles will get some radio ready hooky songs recorded because her
talent deserves to be in the top 10 right next to Carrie Underwood
and Kelsea Ballerini.
Michael Sikorsky for Country Music News International