Search - Chely Wright :: Lifted Off the Ground

Wright's "Lifted" Up Her Soul for Display on New Disc

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 05/05/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: Broken, Notes to the Coroner, Hang Out in Your Heart



It happened to Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shelby Lynne, Ronna Reeves, k d lang and host of many others. After being released from their major label contracts where many of these artists felt artistically contrived, their subsequent records become reactionary to their back catologs. Symptomatically these subsequently records become completely or mostly self-composed, they are quick to abandon strong melodic structures for tuneless sonic indulgences, and they depart stylistically from the Nashville formula. Strangely, the results have worked wonders for some carving for them a whole new niche (with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shelby Lynne and kd lang being perfect examples). While for others, they have been meet with nothing but with oblivion (Ronna Reeves being the tragic example). With her last top 40 country hit "Back of the Bottom Drawer" being more than 6 years ago, Chely Wright has passed her prime as far as the country charts are concerned. By moving away from commercial country seems the logical choice. In fact based on the initial buzz "Lifted Off the Ground" ought to work well for Wright in spreading out her wings to encompass a larger audience than her initial country crowd. Nevertheless, what prevents Wright from sliding into becoming one of those anonymous coffee house singers is that Wright has not completely abandon her jut towards songs with memorable hooks.



Written while she was in a crucible of personal depression, many of these entries reflect her frustrations with her life, sexuality, failures and her thorny relationship with her mother. Easily the first half of the CD is the stronger of the two. Lead single "Broken" hits the high water mark of a great hit with its strong stately drum line, Wright's soft but assertive delivery and a revealing message that begs for openness in a burgeoning relationship. "Notes to the Coroner" showcases Wright's ingenuity as a writer: written from the perspective a woman who was just about to take her own life after a toxic love affair, it's morbid yet revealing. Calling to mind traces of Wright's hit "She Was," "Hang Out in Your Heart" a soft ballad has a loud message of loneliness that is delivered with a penetrating ache. "Snow Globe" is the antithesis of those corny sugar-coated Mother's Day tribute. Continuing the theme she started in her previous "Between Mother and a Child," "Snow Globe" is another attempt in making sense of Wright's estranged relationship with her mother set in a trippy dreamy soundscape.



The second half of the disc is less even. "Like Me," also the title of her autobiography, is a sparse acoustic-like number with Wright's vocals at the cynosure. Nevertheless, despite the song's simplistic melody it hides a dark message of Wright's sexual ambiguity. The guitar only backing of "Wish Me Away" is a tad too amorphous and far too indulgent for wider appeal. While she goes into the opposite direction with "Damn Liar," an angry blast at her no-good lover awash with even profanity. Wright has come a long way since her "Single White Female" days. In fact, she sounded more like Alanis Morissette on the rock entry "Object of Your Rejection." Unfortunately, unlike Alanis Morissette, she does not have the knack to channel her rage into creative measures.



If you are expecting Wright to be the Wright who gave us hits like "It Was" and "Shut Up and Drive," this CD will disappoint. This bears little resemblance to commercial country. Rather, it's a singer-songwriter soft rock to rock album with some country touches here and there. Just like producer Rodney Crowell's recent efforts, "Lifted Up from the Ground" defies genre classification. Yet, there is an immediacy, honest and heartfelt quality to these paeans that make this still a worthy purchase.

"

A profoundly personal, compelling, honest work of art

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 05/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chely Wright

"Lifted Off The Ground"

(Vanguard, 2010)

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Five years ago, singer Chely Wright left the confines of the Top 40 country scene for a more stripped-down sound on an indie label; she goes further on that journey here, a moody, soulful, deeply personal album in which Wright comes out of the closet and, doubtless, burns her last bridge with the socially conservative Nashville establishment. But while she closes one door, she opens others, courting a folkier, more diverse audience and delivering a powerful album that should attract and satisfy these new fans.



Certainly, with the anguish and honesty of this emotionally raw batch of songs, she's a million miles away from the calculated, prefab "earthiness" of today's commercial country scene, entering into the confessional folk-pop terrain pioneered by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash and others. The first sign that this album takes a new direction if the half-giddy, half-morbid suicide novelty song, "Notes To The Coroner," catchy and clever, but a bit disturbing as well. It's soon followed by the album's masterpiece, the mournful, acoustic "Like Me," which is a brilliantly written, utterly aching ballad addressed to a woman that Wright has fallen in love with, but can never attain, because while she wants to come out of the closet, her lover cannot. The rest of the album is mostly an echo of that searing, painful blast -- more regret, anger, recriminations, sorrow. She swears on a couple of tunes (which will probably help this album gain some notoriety) but the words sound natural, an affirmation of her intensity, not a mere gimmick. This album is clearly a work of self-therapy, but not entirely one of self-indulgence... Indeed, it's rare to hear a record that is so palpably relevant and real, so emotionally direct and meaningful. Wright isn't dabbling in style or obscuring her thoughts in wordplay or irony -- all the current conventions of pop and twang are thrown out the window as we hear an artist simply expressing herself, and exploring her own thoughts as she makes one of the biggest decisions of her life. It's a compelling record, and many of us will wish her all the best in days and years to come. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Country Music)"

Such a personal album.

nwask | Toms River, NJ | 05/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I listened to the album after reading her book, Like Me. What a difference it has made to me, because I can really see why she wrote the songs she did. The words really are so meaningful and personal, it makes me feel like I know her a little bit and I think it is her best album to date! Go Chely!"