Miranda Lambert - Kerosene

Serious artists don't usually get discovered via TV talent shows, but this 21-year-old former Nashville Star finalist has become an important songwriter and vocalist with her debut album, Kerosene, which immediately sprang to the top of the country charts. Overall, it's a set of amiable country pop, but the title track and "What About Georgia?," which open the disc, are rock songs at heart--driven by a hard-smacked snare drum and layers of guitar. But what's really at the core of these excellent performances is Lambert's romantic lyrics and versatile singing. When she's playing the angry lover in "Kerosene," she's loaded with punky attitude. When she's brokenhearted and moving on in "New Strings," her soft, delicate tones and gentle phrasing perfectly capture a rich blend of sadness and hope. There's even a bit of Dolly Parton's sweet vibrato and rustic charm in "Me and Charlie Talking," a nostalgic contemplation on love and life's simple virtues. Lambert authored or co-penned 11 of Kerosene's dozen tunes, but what she's really written is the first chapter in what may be a long, impressive career. --Ted Drozdowski Amazon.com

Great Music!

Great songs and a winner all the way! If you like Miranda, you will love this! April 1, 2008

one of the best

Not a weak song on the album, great writing, great music. One of my best buys. November 7, 2006

On Fire

Miranda Lambert has sure come a long way since her 3rd place finish on Nashville Star. This album is rockin' and on fire all the way. If you want a good country album with some soulfull lyrics, this is the CD for you. Miranda also wrote or cowrote almost every song on the album. January 5, 2006

"Kerosene" Not Quite That Flaming

Prime Cuts: Greyhound Bound for Nowhere, I Can't Be Bothered, Kerosene

"Kerosene," Lambert's major label debut, unleashes out of the gate with a roar: debuting at the apical position of the Billboard country album chart and boasting a top 30 single "Me and Charlie Talking," this former Nashville star contestant is definitely turning heads. This comes as no surprise as Lambert, who sounds like Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines sonic sister, is an arresting vocalist who sings with virtuosity and volubility. Furthermore, with its booming percussions, snarling electric guitar riffs and hard-edged sounding acoustic guitars, this has a mass appeal to those who are fans outside the rustic edges of country music. Liken perhaps to a Southern Kelly Clarkson, save for a couple of more country numbers, "Kerosene" could pass muster for a contemporary pop album.

Regardless of genre specificity, how does "Kerosene" fair? Needless to say there are a few prized moments: Aficionados of country music's equivalent of "American Idol," "Nashville Star" would have remembered Lambert's arresting performance of the plaintive ballad "Greyhound Bound for Nowhere." Penned by Lambert (who wrote or co-wrote all but one track), "Greyhound" tells the agonies of a disillusioned divorcee finally leaving behind her past behind. Though such a theme is perennial within the canon of country music, Lambert's impassioned nuances engulfs an authentic ache and regret making her performance here a tour de force. Trying to hide behind the marquee of self pretense, the protagonist of "I Can't Be Bothered" has her true feelings of heartache exposed by the song's wailing steel guitars and its mournful sounding fiddles. On an album that is decisively pop slanted, with its Patsy Cline-like backings, the traditional sounding "I Can't Be Bothered" is a gem.

Less striking, however, still worthy of listening is the title track. With a Gretchen Wilson redneck kick-your-ass faux, "Kerosene" finds a feisty, cuspidate and strong willed Lambert ready to set her roving man aright. Despite an abyssal attempt to create an integument sounding intro, the pop sounding ballad "Me and Charlie Talking" is a little too treacly. This is the problem with the rest of the material here: While Lambert explores salient themes such as a depreciative relationship ("Bring Me Down"), the disintegration of communication ("There's a Wall") and starting anew ("New Strings") she does not deal with them beyond a nondescript way. They are not bad, but it's that these tunes are far too polished with a commercial sheen to be viscerally acerbic. Maybe the culprit lies with Lambert herself as she pens too many of the songs here.

With her fetching good looks, her enthralling and vivacious vocals, Lambert is a name to watch. However, "Kerosene," is let down primarily by its largely unremarkable material. Save for the prime cuts mentioned above, this is a pretty average Nashpop album that finds more affinity with the stars of American Idol than Nashville Star. September 25, 2005

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