My Official Review of Carrie's Carnival Ride

Well....mmmm. Am I disappointed? No, not really, but am I shocked at some of the choices...yes. Is it 100% Country as they billed it...well, yes, but no. If I was going to describe the album by using country diva comparisons, I'd say there's a little bit of Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Reba McIntyre. It's a dyslexic cd to say the least. But some might say, "good mix". However, here's my feelings, I'm gonna break it down...song by song.
(Note: Carrie is listed as co-writer on 4 songs...a first for her...I've noted the songs with ***)
1. FLAT ON THE FLOOR: Right off the bat we are in a country honky tonk. Never heard this out of her before. It's a bit like Rascal Flatts coming out with "Me and My Gang"...it's pretty groovy...and dare I say a rockin' sort of country tune. But Gretchen "Redneck Woman" Wilson kind of comes to mind. It's not "Before He Cheats" sexy...it's gritty.
2. ALL AMERICAN GIRL***: Oh what a sweet little song. Awesome vocals. She said in an interview that the high note in this song is going to wreck her voice on tour! It's the highest she's ever hit. Quite frankly, this whole cd is one power vocal after another. A real throat throttler.
3. SO SMALL***: The obvious choice for her first single from her Sophomore CD. It hits on all cylinders and it's amazing. Simply put.
4. JUST A DREAM: I would love this song, if the words were less death and devastation and more kitten whiskers and 50% off sales at Nordstrom. Who the fuck writes a song for sweet Carrie like this? I mean, can you just picture it. "Hey Carrie, I wrote this song about an 18 year old child bride that loses the true love of her life to the fucked up war. And the whole song is about her attending his military funeral, complete with the bullet through your heart during the 21 gun salute!!!" And she says, "Right on...let's sing it". I mean really people. This was such a buzzkill. Musically, the song is a good singer along...but I choose to sing...I won the lottery and it's such a dream......such a dream....
5. GET OUT OF THIS TOWN: I don't like the way the gears shift in this. She drops a chord and goes flat...like a half note, and it's weird. I won't listen to this song again. Nope.
6.CRAZY DREAMS***: This is a happy little ditty. It's not barn door busting...won't be a hit single I don't think, but it's no snoozer either. It's boot scootin' worthy. I could spin on this one.
7. I KNOW YOU WON'T: Here's a chill maker. DOWNLOAD THIS ONE. If you only buy one song off this cd, buy "So Small" but if you have 1.98 to drop, pick this one too. It's not country AND it's not a sound I've ever heard from Carrie. Sexy, sultry, powerful emotionally, and builds to such a great crescendo that just brings chills to me. I predict this is Hit #2 off the cd.
8. LAST NAME***: Another Gretchen Wilson trash tune. Are we supposed to believe she gets drunk and runs off to Vegas and gets married to a guy who's last name she doesn't know? I guess people believed she'd carve her name into leather seats too. It's a country rock song. She blames it on the Cuervo. (Backstory on this one...she met a boy at a backstage afterparty and was flirting with him. He asked for her number and she gave it up, and then realized she didn't even know his last name. She was embarrassed that she couldn't even remember their introduction. After hearing this, I quite doubt Carrie has ever even run a stop sign. Enough said.)
9. YOU WON'T FIND THIS: This is a good one. I like the lyrics...they fit her. I see this as a potential hit. It's another song of someone dumping her and regretting it. "There's once in a lifetime and there's once in a while, and the difference between the 2 is about a million miles". I like that. You can definitely get this song stuck in your head. Got a good vibe and break in it. Probably my 4th favorite song on the cd.
10. I TOLD YOU SO: Sappy and a story about how some dude comes crawling back to her after stupidly dumping her. Pretty little song, but I don't like the lyrics. Why does she keep getting dumped?
11. THE MORE BOYS I MEET: Let me just say "She kisses some frogs and decides she loves her dog" is the message of the song, and that's all I'm going to say. Again, is she a lesbian? Nope because she is being seen around NY with Chace (not misspelled) Crawford (google him or watch Gossip Girl...but word to the wise, a man that good looking is not straight...that's all I'm saying...he spends more time in the mirror than Madonna did during the Vogue years) I digress.
12. TWISTED: Nice little song. Can't really say anything bad about this. It's sort of a repeat of the same lyrics over and over and kind of a pop tune actually. Bottom line, I love her voice so you can't really say any song sucks. It's a good one I guess.
13. WHEEL OF THE WORLD: And she finishes the cd with a blockbuster hit. Ok, so I guess I might revise the earlier note, this is my favorite song on this cd. Spine chilling in a different way. This one is very emotional and soothing. Again, sort of a new sound in a smooth voice and the music with the strings are so powerful. You can just see the entire orchestra in the studio and the violins are so powerful. The crash of the cymbals along with the beat of the drums....it's so amazing. So, DOWNLOAD IT. trust me.
So, do I read too much into the music lyrics on some songs because I've read too much about Carrie? Do I have an image of her, and the lyrics seem fake? Maybe. Is the overall album solid musically? Oh Yeah...no issues there. They did not spare one thin dime in production. Let me put it to you like this...Kelly's cd disappointed me because it was "too rock" and too full of angst. Carrie may have tried to push the country a little too far in a few songs. I'm not being harsh, but there are only 3 songs that make me have chills. And they are great chills...sounds of Carrie never heard before. Sexy and sultry, as I said above. So, is 25% of an album being awesome enough? Maybe so. I can't wait to hear what others think.

Overall, I give Carrie Underwood .... 3.5 Carries out of 4 possible Carries. It's World Series time, so let's just say she did not hit for the cycle. Came up shy with a triple at the bottom of the 9th, but still won the ballgame. Will it sell 4 million albums? Yep. Will it hit 6 million? I'm not sure. Was it a disaster like Kelly's??? Not even close. She will go on tour and sell out the venues. Make no mistake, she did a fine job with this. Remember, I reviewed this after listening to each song exactly 2 times. I continue to love her more than any other artist out there right now. She remains 4-Star Carrie to me.