Carrie Underwood ‘Storyteller’ – Album Review
In 10 years, Carrie Underwood has gone from unknown Oklahoma farm girl to worldwide country music superstar, racking up an impressive array of awards including seven Grammys, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, eight American Music Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, a European Country Music Award, and many more, not to mention the one she’s most proud of: her Grand Ole Opry induction trophy. She was inducted in 2008, just a few short years into her country music career, and to this day remains one of the most often-seen faces on the famous Opry stage in Nashville, despite the worldwide success that regularly takes her around the globe.
After celebrating 10 years in the business with last year’s Greatest Hits: Decade #1, Underwood kicks off a new decade of hits with this month’s release of her fifth studio album, Storyteller. The 13-track record is a fierce, no holds barred collection of stories that build on the sound Underwood has become known and loved for, and at the same time take her to new territories both musically and lyrically. Working with producer Mark Bright for the fifth time, Underwood also brought in Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town) and Zach Crowell (Sam Hunt) to help push her into new sonic realms, and this new sound is readily apparent right from the first track.
“Renegade Runaway,” which fans heard earlier this month as one of the record’s pre-release tracks, opens with an intriguing instrumental evocative of a desert chase. The fast-paced track continues to evoke wild west imagery in its lyrics, with Underwood describing the main character as a “heartbreak bandit” who is “an outlaw, a quick draw”. Underwood, singing as the narrator in this particular story, warns the listener to run away from this renegade, but unlike previous warning tell-offs “Cowboy Casanova” and “Good Girl,” there’s a sense of admiration for the woman in this story. Musically, the song is the first indication of how this record will push the boundaries of country music, with a loud and rocking chorus and in-your-face vocals. Still, it feels very rooted in its home genre, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the set design for Underwood’s upcoming headlining tour focused around the wild west imagery we’re introduced to here.
Continuing with the musical boundary-pushing is “Dirty Laundry,” an R&B/hip hop-influenced track that paints a vivid picture of a woman discovering that her husband is cheating on her, due to his stupidity in leaving a lipstick and wine-stained shirt wadded up on the bedroom floor. Rather than anger, the wife’s response is more matter-of-fact, with her declaring she’s going to hang his dirty laundry out on the front porch as her goodbye to him, and chastising his stupidity in leaving the evidence in plain sight (“you should’ve burned it, you should’ve lost it”). The song’s urban influence is new territory for Underwood, whose music has always included influences outside of country music, but usually of rock and pop.
The “Better Dig Two”-esque banjo intro sets the tone for “Church Bells,” a murderous tale told in third-person narrative. The main couple, who the outside world sees as Ken and Barbie, are anything but at home. After “Ken” comes home drunk late one Saturday night and “Barbie” is forced to cover her bruises with makeup and dark sunglasses, she takes things into her own hands and ensures he’ll never hit a woman again. Underwood got a taste of murderous revenge on 2012’s Blown Away, and it appears that was just the start. The body count continues in several songs on Storyteller.
By this point, with the energy ramped up, Underwood decides to slow things down with a song that’s probably more reflective of her real-life relationship than some of the other fantasy tales. “Heartbeat” again incorporates R&B influences into its melody (think early ‘00s Usher), but this time it feels like it’s going with the grain of what is currently working on country radio, whereas much of the rest of the album goes against it. For that reason, I imagine it’s an easy choice for the label to release as a single (and the buzz generated by Sam Hunt singing harmonies doesn’t hurt its chances either), but I personally tend to prefer when Underwood sets radio trends rather than follows them, and there are too many other great songs on this record that I’d hate to see go unheard in favor of the pleasant but not-terribly-interesting “Heartbeat”.
I won’t go into too much detail on the album’s next track, “Smoke Break,” simply because we’ve all been hearing the top 10 hit on our radios for months already. But it has been wonderful to watch Underwood perform this song live, getting back to her roots with a guitar in hand. I can see why it was chosen as the album’s lead single, as it’s less jarring than the new sound present on many other tracks, but it’s far from being one of the album’s strongest songs — in fact, I’d place both it and “Heartbeat” near the bottom of the barrel. I still enjoy both songs, though, which indicates just how strong the rest of the record is.
We’re led next to the main event — the song that Underwood has said was the catalyst for what Storytellerturned into. A swampy, Southern gospel-tinged ditty, “Choctaw County Affair” is completely different than anything Underwood has ever recorded before. Though the twang in her voice is heavy on the majority of this record, this track takes it to a whole other level. The story follows the murder trial of a couple down in Mississippi, who are accused of killing a young woman who threatened to blackmail them. Told in first-person narrative, we know Underwood and her cohort are indeed guilty, but the story is told in such a humorous way that we actually laugh when they get away with it. A comedic tale of how to get away with murder, Underwood sings “there’s no body, there’s no witness, so y’all go mind your business”. Her phrasing is insanely good on this track, and the more I listen to it the more I hope her label goes ahead and takes the risk of releasing it to radio. If anyone could make a song like this work for the masses, it’s Underwood.
Slowing things down again is “Like I’ll Never Love You Again,” written by Love Junkies trio Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose and Lori McKenna (“Sober,” “Girl Crush”). It’s without a doubt one of the finest love songs Underwood has in her catalog. Reminiscent of ‘90s and early ’00s Faith Hill and Tim McGraw duets, the track is a refreshing softer moment on an otherwise in-your-face record, with Underwood suggestively declaring “I want to love you like the rain on the roof / stronger than a bottle of 110 proof”. If the label feels a need to release a softer, more personal track — in between all the vengeful rockers — I hope they consider this one over “Heartbeat”.
Picking up the pace with “Chaser,” Underwood proves yet again that she could easily be a pop superstar if she wanted to be. Exploding into the chorus, this song feels perhaps the most removed from country, but it will certainly appeal Underwood’s large pop fanbase. Paired back-to-back with “Relapse,” the two songs almost seem like they’re telling stories about the same character. In the former, a hurt Underwood (“you’re looking at me and thinking of her and it cuts me like a razor”) decides she deserves better than what she has, declaring to her man that he can “go ahead and chase her”. But in the latter, she relapses, going back to an old lover who she knows isn’t good for her, convincing herself that it’s okay to fall off the wagon once in awhile, because she can stop when she wants to.
On “Clock Don’t Stop,” Underwood reminds us of the importance of forgiving our loved ones while we still can. It’s about one of those fights where you can barely remember what started it, but you decide to go to bed angry anyway. Underwood’s falsetto is used beautifully on the chorus, evoking that sense of desperation one can feel when time seems to be running out.
Underwood gets personal on “The Girl You Think I Am,” recalling a Christmas pageant her dad watched her sing in when she was a child and the moment she said goodbye after her parents dropped her off at the airport to head to American Idol auditions in Hollywood. The emotional track is a gorgeous moment on the record, and some of the most personal material Underwood has ever released. Perhaps because she’s now a parent herself, she’s able to tap into an understanding of the pedestal parents often put their children on. But rather than seeing that pedestal as a burden, she uses it as motivation to strive to become the girl her father thinks she is.
Getting into the shoes of a different character next, Underwood delivers on “Mexico,” about a couple who decide to head for the border on the heels of the police. We don’t know what crime they’ve committed, but Underwood declares “if they get the cuffs on us, it’s 25 to life”. Like many songs on this record, “Mexico” feels like its own little movie, with a funky guitar riff and descriptive lyrics that take listeners on a ride-along with the characters. This song is everything that Underwood’s duet with Miranda Lambert, “Somethin’ Bad” could have and should have been.
Closing out with another intensely personal track, “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted,” Underwood comes full circle from the overly independent renegade runaway this story started out with. Arguably one of the best closing tracks in her discography, this sweet song uses plain-spoken lyrics and that gorgeous cry in Underwood’s voice to welcome a calmer period in her life. “I never pictured myself singing lullabies,” she admits in the second verse, “sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of the night / In the quiet, in the dark / You’re stealing every bit of my heart with your daddy’s eyes / What a sweet surprise.” Written for her husband of five years Mike Fisher and new baby son Isaiah, the track is the perfect way to transition into the next chapter of Underwood’s own life story.
Storyteller is arguably Underwood’s strongest overall record. Musically it’s very innovative, incorporating influences from a variety of genres, but despite that it feels very much rooted in country. That’s thanks mainly to Underwood’s voice and the stories themselves. It’s a lesson many of her peers could stand to take to heart: how to incorporate other influences while still remaining true to country music.
The stories and characters on this album are incredibly well fleshed-out, and there are no glaring plot holes. Sure, some songs are stronger than others, but everything feels like it has a place here. Nothing feels like it should have been left on the cutting room floor. One of the criticisms I’ve had of some of Underwood’s past songwriting is her purposeful tendency to leave a song’s lyrics overly general (“See You Again,” “Mama’s Song”). She’s explained that she does this so listeners can input their own stories into her songs, but I personally find more of a connection with songs that go into specific details about an emotion or an experience. On Storyteller, Underwood infuses detailed, imagery-laden lyrics that prove just how fitting the record’s title is, and how much she has grown as a songwriter (she co-wrote half of the album). The record strikes me as a sister to Brandy Clark’s critically acclaimed 2013 debut 12 Stories — more mainstream, certainly, but just as fantastic. Every song is its own short story, and it all works together in the end to make for Underwood’s most cohesive collection since her coming-of-age debut, Some Hearts, 10 years ago.
And even though she could easily aim for worldwide domination, even though she continues to be one of the most musically innovative artists of the genre, it’s clear where Underwood’s heart is. 10 years from now, no matter how many stages around the world scream for her presence, I’m sure she will remain right where she belongs: at home on the Grand Ole Opry stage, continuing to bring new fans to country music.
Originally posted here.
