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EW review: 'Jacked Up,' going places

By Will Hermes
Entertainment Weekly

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(Entertainment Weekly) -- Watching the quadruple-platinum rise of Gretchen Wilson's "Here for the Party" last year was as encouraging a cultural sign as those Dove ads showcasing undie-clad women with non-fashion-model-proportioned curves.

Here was a Nashville star more roughneck than prom queen, secure in her own kind of sex appeal, singing about whiskey, Wal-Mart, and keeping her Christmas lights up year-round.

If there was a whiff of shtick, it was a fresh and charming shtick, delivered with a big, versatile voice. Even those uncomfortable with Wal-Mart's business practices could get behind her.

It helped that she had an ace songwriting partner in John Rich, capo di tutti capi of Nashville's Muzik Mafia collective (Big & Rich, Cowboy Troy). Rich co-wrote "Party's" best tracks -- including the rowdy hit "Redneck Woman" and the double-edged fidelity pledge "When I Think About Cheatin' " -- and does the same for "All Jacked Up," a feisty follow-up that sticks to the debut's ballads-plus-bar-anthems blueprint while revealing a broader range.

For starters, Wilson virtually corners the market here on product-placement pop. It's unclear if the album's title track, a coded boogie-rock ode to her beloved Jack Daniel's, was inspired by the Busta Rhymes/P. Diddy hit "Pass the Courvoisier." But it's just as catchy (and as hectic), the singer brawling with a girl (who's "ten foot two") and crashing her truck after what should've been a quick happy-hour drink.

Even better are "Skoal Ring," a line-dance number praising the fade circle that a certain chewing tobacco wears into her workingdude's pants, and "One Bud Wiser," an expertly boilerplate honky-tonk anthem that pushes this technique to the limits of credulity.

But like Run-DMC's sneaker-love classic "My Adidas," these songs come across less as shilling than as witty declarations of modern identity; if we are what we consume, heck, let's sing about it!

"Politically Uncorrect," meanwhile, feels more calculated and less fun, a vague liberal-baiting duet with Merle Haggard that boldly dares Google to prompt "Did you mean incorrect?"

Yet for all her bad-girl brio, Wilson's secret weapon is her tearjerkers, like the post-breakup morality tale "He Ain't Even Cold Yet" and the bad-weather-metaphor blues "Raining on Me," which she delivers with absolute authority.

The closing "hidden" track is the real mold breaker. "Good Morning Heartache" was written for, and is indelibly connected to, Billie Holiday (although covered memorably by Ol' Dirty Bastard, among others). Wilson delivers it alongside a lonely jazz guitar and a violin-cum-fiddle and just nails it, tugging against the beat with Lady Day-style phrasing while adding her own brand of soul. It's a casual, purely musical moment that suggests Wilson will make compelling and unconventional "country" records for a long time to come.

EW Grade: A-

'You Stand Watching,' Ryan Cabrera

Reviewed by Dave Karger

Ya gotta give Ryan Cabrera one thing: The guy knows his audience.

Ashlee Simpson's ex-flirt may be 23 years old, but the lyrics on his shaky sophomore record, "You Stand Watching," sound like they've been lifted from a junior-high yearbook ("I'll be your shelter when the weather gets rough").

Worse, Cabrera ends virtually each line with a distracting breathy whine, while pop-lite "With You Gone" contains the pitchiest vocals this side of the "American Idol" semifinals.

EW Grade: C-

'Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre,' Various Artists

Reviewed by Dalton Ross

On "Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre" the night in question is the first performance show of the INXS reality series -- except now Dana's painful scream on "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is buried in the mix, and Suzie (magically) no longer forgets the words to "Remedy." And there's just something wrong about a guy from a Queen tribute show (MiG) trying to channel Kurt Cobain. But I'll crank up my gal Jordis any day of the week.

EW Grade: C

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