Carrie Underwood
Greatest Hits: Decade #1
Hits compilations have become an odd thing in the digital age, as they give both hardcore and casual fans little reason to purchase. The new tracks can be downloaded if you’re interested. The hits that you would’ve wanted, you’ve probably downloaded anyway.
So kudos to Carrie Underwood for putting together a collection that’s worth purchasing in physical form, with beautiful artwork and liner notes, and for putting together a track listing that doesn’t cut corners in any way. Every single hit is included, and she’s had a ton of them so far, all consistently good and quite a few that have been great.
Completists who may have missed the Randy Travis duet version of “I Told You So” or her #1 hit duet that was on Brad Paisley’s album can find them here, along with interesting writing demo sessions for three of her hits, and a showstopping live performance of “How Great Thou Art” with harmonies by Vince Gill. If you’ve got all of her studio albums already, there are still a lot more goodies here than just the compulsory new material.
But what’s really exciting is how compelling that new material is. “Something in the Water” has already become her longest-running #1 country hit, thanks to those new chart rules, but it’s worthy of all the success it’s been receiving. The other new track, “Little Toy Guns”, is even better, a powerful number about the lingering effects of verbal abuse on everyone in earshot, not just the intended targets of those missives.
Together, the two new singles are outstanding examples of what’s made Carrie Underwood so compelling an artist over the past ten years. She’s a top-notch singer, to be sure. But it’s her deep empathy for the human experience, based on the rock-solid foundation of her compassionate faith, that inform that top-notch singing. She’s one of the best country artists working today, and as this document of the past decade supports, she’s been one of the best all along.
Recommended Tracks: “Little Toy Guns”, “Something in the Water”, “How Great Thou Art” (with Vince Gill)
I love Carrie Underwood’s music and voice.
I would put her up there with Reba, Patsy, and Tammy!
Quote from review of Carrie Underwood’s album:
But it’s her deep empathy for the human experience, based on the rock-solid foundation of her compassionate faith, that inform that top-notch singing.
Very true. Unfortunately, it is a shame that not everyone else in country music understands the meaning of that word “Empathy.”
Carrie Underwood is probably the best female voice in country music since the great Crystal Gayle. There’s a strength and yet softness to her voice that grabs hold of the listener when she chooses to use those gifts. We got a glimpse of what Gayle’s voice could really do on her incredible remake of the Johnny Ray classic ‘Cry’. But Gayle never felt the need to blast our ears with every song she sang .
Unfortunately, Underwood has evolved into a singer who feels she must bellow through every note of every song she sings. She wandered into Whitney Houston territory, which many listeners may love, but it gets old after awhile. I wish she’d go back to singing more subtly with more range rather than shaking the room like an earthquake.
If anything, this collection reminds us of what she could sound like in her early days – especially in her more upbeat songs. By the time we get to her ‘Blown Away’ period, I’m reaching more for the Asprin bottle than I am the dance floor.
It’s funny that people say Carrie’s ventured into “belt every note” range. They would have to look no further than the album tracks on “Blown Away” — “Do You Think About Me”, “Wine After Whiskey”, “Forever Changed”, “Good in Goodbye”, etc. It was just the singles she released that were more bombastic than a lot of the other stuff on the album.
Anyways, she’s a phenomenon. Period. I appreciate her so much for what she’s done for Country in the past 10 years.
I agree with Taylor. Some of my favourite tracks from Carrie are hidden in her albums, rather than her singles.
“You Won’t Find This” from Carnival Ride, “What Can I Say” + “Someday When I Stop Loving You” from Play On and “Wine After Whiskey” from Blown Away. She has a vulnerability and a genuine touch to her voice that really gets to you. Excited for the next decade of hits (and moreso, her non-hits!)
I wish they’d pulled more singles from most of Carrie’s projects, seemingly more from each successive album. Part of that’s because the albums keep getting better.
Given radio’s willingness to play her consistently, I wish that “I Know You Won’t”, “Play On”, “Change”, “Do You Think About Me” and “Nobody Ever Told You” had gotten a shot.
She’s one of the few artists who gets her songs up the charts fast enough to leave room for additional singles. Then again, perhaps she’s also one of the few to know the value of going away for a little bit between projects.
It’s very odd to me that Carrie hasn’t had more singles from most of her albums. Not only have some great songs been overlooked, but it’s normal for artists to release more than 4 singles when they take a couple years between albums.
And, yeah, Carrie is a reliable hit maker, but it’s worth nothing that she hasn’t had a radio #1 since “Blown Away.” In fact, no female artist has had a #1 since then. Why isn’t there more being done about this? People in the industry note it, but it doesn’t seem like anything is actually being done.
“And, yeah, Carrie is a reliable hit maker, but it’s worth nothing that she hasn’t had a radio #1 since “Blown Away.” In fact, no female artist has had a #1 since then. Why isn’t there more being done about this? People in the industry note it, but it doesn’t seem like anything is actually being done.”
It’s something that’s taken a lot of heat as of late. “Bro-Country” really surged in 2013/2014. Underwood’s had Mediabase #1s during that time (“Two Black Cadillacs”, “See You Again”), but since most don’t consider Mediabase as the #1 music data distributor (that title would belong to Billboard), it’s seen as “Underwood hasn’t had a #1 on Country radio since ‘Blown Away’.” This issue has REALLY come to fruition this past week or so when label antics, backdoor radio bias, and male competition blocked “Something in the Water” from becoming the first Billboard Country Airplay #1 by a solo female since “Blown Away”. It would’ve been nice to see Underwood be able to “reignite her own flame,” in a sense, but a lot of other issues came into play and seriously tampered with the song’s otherwise-stellar run at radio and in sales.
Lambert clearly isn’t doing it and there’s no other female on the horizon that’s looking to get it done (even though Mickey Guyton’s “Better Than You Left Me” got off to SUCH a promising start), so let’s hope “Little Toy Guns” manages to do it. If Underwood is blocked consecutively with two absolutely stellar singles that provably resonate with the general public, then I don’t know what can be done by anyone to get radio to give Underwood, Lambert, or any other solo female artist another #1 on Billboard.
While I am not a fan of everything she does, there is much to like about Carrie Underwood. She has a great voice just short of being the very best of all time, she is a faithful supporter of The Grand Ole Opry and is so versatile that she can sing anything.
This two CD set is a very good value for the money
I think the Country Airplay chart itself has lost relevance since they stopped using its results as the sole component of the Hot Country songs chart.
It still bugs me that non-format airplay counts toward the chart, as it messes with the top frame every time pop radio picks up a country track. Their audience impressions are just way too high for country radio airplay to balance them out.
But overall, the chart is better reflecting the popularity of country songs and what the life cycle of singles really looks like today.
I agree with Kevin on all fronts about those charts, but that’s still separate from radio not supporting female artists. The downloads/sales and streams of artists like Kacey Musgraves and even Carrie Underwood are ahead of their airplay, so clearly the fans want that music. And, really, the industry hurts itself because sales for those artists would be even better if those artists got more airplay.
Indeed, except for Garth, most of the biggest selling albums in country music history belong to women (Dixie Chicks, Shania, Faith, Patsy Cline, Reba, Carrie, Taylor…).
But it’s her deep empathy for the human experience, based on the rock-solid foundation of her compassionate faith, that inform that top-notch singing.
This is the best description of her core. Funny how it took years for that to become an obvious characteristic. I think that’s a result of her writing growing more personal over the years, and the skepticism with which she was met in those first five years or so.
Great review.
Exactly, Michael. You can add LeAnn Rimes to that list, too. Lee Ann Womack had a big crossover hit. It’s clear the females of country have the most widespread appeal, so it behooves the industry to support that more. It’s odd because the industry has rallied around Miranda Lambert, but she’s never had the huge sales you’d expect from someone who receives as much industry attention and support as she gets. Of course, we know a lot of her support is political (and please note I am not saying her music isn’t good; we all know industry support is about more than quality, though).
Well, all award shows are political. The CMAs are no different from the Oscars in that regard.
It’s also interesting that pop has really embraced its female stars lately. This fall, women held down the Top 5 spots on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 7 weeks with hits from Meghan Trainor, Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora, Tove Lo, Jessie J., Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj.