Oklahoman Miranda Lambert's life spins, evolves
BY BRANDY McDONNELL Published: October 12, 2009
Oklahoman Miranda Lambert has again set the country music world spinning with her new album, fittingly titled "Revolution."
Her third record debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart, and "Revolution" has earned rave reviews from critics for rotating rabble-rousing revenge fantasies with tender love songs. For Lambert, 25, the album's name represents her own evolution as a person as much as a rebellion against any musical establishment.
"The name kept coming up in conversations about the record, and it just feels so exciting and so appropriate. I learned so much about myself making this record, and I feel like listeners will really get to see all sides of me," she said via e-mail between live shows and TV appearances.
The Tishomingo resident will bring her new songs and past hits to Oklahoma City's Ford Center in January, when she joins superstar Brad Paisley on his extended "American Saturday Night" tour.
"The biggest thrill is always when I perform and the fans are singing along with the lyrics," she said. "I can't wait to take this music on the road. And it's always an added bonus when the critics and my peers like it as well."
With her previous two albums — 2005's "Kerosene" and 2007's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" — the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter turned heads with fiery payback anthems such as "Gunpowder & Lead." But all her records have mixed touching love songs in with the more flammable material. She released the emotional ode "More Like Her" as the last single from her second album, which won the Academy of Country Music's 2008 album of the year award.
She followed up with another heartbroken ballad, "Dead Flowers," as the lead-off track for "Revolution." The album's second single, "White Liar," again has her getting back at a cheating lover, though in a less overtly violent manner.
"On this record I pushed myself musically and lyrically, and I am very happy with the result. My idol Merle Haggard and also Waylon (Jennings) have always had amazing cheating/drinking songs, but both of them write the best love songs as well," she said.
Lambert wrote or co-wrote 12 of the 15 tracks on "Revolution," and the covers include rowdy renditions of Julie Miller's "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go" and John Prine's "That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round."
While some fans have complained about the new album's softer tone, the Texas native points out that her life has changed significantly since her "Kerosene" days. Not only is she older, she has a committed romance with fellow country star and Oklahoma native Blake Shelton. She has a "sanctuary" in her Tishomingo farm, where she did most of the writing for "Revolution."
"I haven't completely mellowed out, but I'm just in a happy place in my life.
"I've got a great career and truly love what I do. I have a great relationship, a farm with lots of animals that I love ... and overall life is just good. I had to really dig deep and go to a sad place for songs like 'Dead Flowers,' and I'm always up for a good revenge song like 'Sin for a Sin' no matter how happy I am! I like to say it's preventative writing," she said.
Lambert and Shelton, who lives on a neighboring spread, co-wrote three songs for her "Revolution": the raging "Sin for a Sin," the deceptively catchy "Me and Your Cigarettes" and the grown-up ballad "Love Song." Shelton also contributes some background howling on the country-rocker "Maintain the Pain."
"If we ever set aside time to write together, it just doesn't seem to work. These songs came about in a very organic fashion; we just sit around the campfire and sing and play guitar. Blake is an amazing musician, and together we have fun making music. We do have different styles of music, and we definitely have very different tastes in other people's music; however we both love 'old school,'" she said.
After promoting her he "Revolution" virtually nonstop, Lambert plans to take a couple weeks off this month before hitting the road again. Last week on Twitter she wrote that she was back in Oklahoma and "headed to the woods with my bow and my Beau." It is deer-hunting season, after all.
Whatever makes your world go 'round.
No comments:
Post a Comment