Monday, January 30, 2012

100 Proof of Kellie

From the moment your ears take in those first couple chords, you think Country. It’s with the opening line; I stay torn between lovin’ him and killin’ him, that you know you’re about to hear some real genuine Country music. Kellie Pickler has finally released her third studio album ‘100 Proof’. A long awaited release for fans, but definitely worth the wait of the roughly three years it has been. Fans can happily say goodbye to the polished Country-Pop sounds that were displayed on Pickler’s previous self-titled release and hello to these more traditional Country sounds with a fresh spin. The ears are pleasantly exposed to more steel guitar, banjo and even fiddle among other instruments that can be heard throughout the album. It is eleven tracks of real Country music. Starting with the first two tracks ‘Where’s Tammy Wynette’ and ‘Unlock That Honky Tonk’ which most certainly make for the perfect opening as both are fun, yet effectively genuine to the singer’s roots and genre.

This is without a doubt the most personal work yet done by the 25-year old singer and songwriter. Kellie co-wrote six of the tracks on ‘100 Proof’ including the heart string tugging songs about her parents. Though Pickler has stated she didn’t write the song ‘Mother’s Day’ to be heard by her mother, who abandoned her when she was young. It was a song she wrote for herself to be able to heal and move on. It is definitely one of the most emotional ballads this album has to offer with lines like, I pray that there’s a way, that life could skip a day to Monday. As well as the line, Maybe one day God’ll bless me with a daughter of my own. We’ll have a love I’ve never known. The song for her father, ‘The Letter (To Daddy)’ will strum those heart strings all the more as you hear a clear thankfulness in her vocals that her father has found sobriety. The track’s opening line, The bottle took you from me when I was a child, will likely have you already feeling a bit choked up as the singer continues to croon out a this beautiful and very personal letter to her father.