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CDJ is Great Mar 19, 2008
This is worth owning, she is a great singer/songwriter, and the songs on this CD agin prove it.
No Regrets, No Mistakes Mar 23, 2007
As the title track exclaims: "Life doesn't wait for us to get it right..I'm going to do my best to make the most of it, avoid regrets..." This multiple award winner from Canada showcases her well-known songwriting ability and excellent voice in this CD, which was co-produced by her as well. I understand her unifying theme to be "enjoy life while you've still got it," and this disk does that well. She didn't write the single "Simple Life," as others have observed, but it fits the overall theme perfectly. "He's Mine" is passionate, a strong song that sounds like a hit. The title track has clever lyrics and would have been a good single also. I look for life-changing songs, and this CD delivers. "We Talked," "God Doesn't Make Mistakes," and "I'll Let You Go" are tender and heartfelt, songs that will affect you.
On this CD, CDJ sounds like a confident veteran; evidently her years of hard work in Nashville paid off. This former Music Row Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year displays not only excellent writing but emotional depth as well. She sounds best while singing about real life; emotions, joy, and pain. My one criticsm/observation is that it feels overproduced at times, much like Faith or Shania for better and worse. Thank You to Amazon for recommending this; their recommendations based on purchases or reviews are right on the money. I eagerly anticipate CDJ's new release later this year. Maybe her new label will enable her to maintain her independence. RECOMMENDED HIGHLY; you won't regret this!
Superb Sophmore Set Apr 05, 2006
Carolyn Dawn Johnson's first album was good, but "Dress Rehearsal" is a delight, especially if you like your country with some pop or rock flavor. The album is good when you first listen to it, and thereafter it just continues to grow on the listener. Particularly good are "He's Mine" "Squeezin' the Love Outta You" [delivered with wonderful sass] and "Head Over High Heels" which Carolyn delivers with energy and a playful enthusiasm. Love this disc.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
By far her best effort yet Apr 30, 2005
Carolyn's first album was okay. To me, it lacked a certain undefinable something that relegated to "just okay" status.
But this one is great. The songs are better, the sound is better, it's just a much more enjoyable album.
Buy it if you like this kind of sound, which is a little pop and a little country and maybe a little folk (oh god! not folk!)(okay, it's not folkish, but the songs have lyrics that are better than the standard country fare, which to me leans toward "folk").
Buy it, you'll like it!
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 A Fine Rehearsal Apr 18, 2005
Prime Cuts: We Talked, God Doesn't Make Mistakes, Just Another Plane
Being the creator of such hits such as "I'd Be Yours" (Linda Davis), "Single White Female" (Chely Wright), "When We Don't Talk" (Ilse DeLange) amongst others, Johnson has parlayed her craft to this her sophomore album "Dress Rehearsal." Save for "Simple Life," Johnson has had a hand in co-writing all of the tracks here. Collaborating with other Nashville writing elite such as Craig Wiseman, Shaye Smith, Charlie Black, Troy Verges, "Dress Rehearsal" is tailored made for radio. It's a polished pop country album offering a cornucopia of songs dealing with topics safely reprised within country music's canon.
Johnson's preference for the rustic life, a theme well explored a la Alan Jackson and Mary Chapin Carpenter, is the thesis of the lead single "Simple Life." "Simple Life" starts off well with an organic feel with some jaunty guitar work but soon gives way to become, in an ironic way, one of Johnson's busiest track. With its tepid melody and suffocating production, "Simple Life" is not my choice for the first single. Much better are "High over High Heels" and "He's Mine"-both peppy, upbeat, pop-country fares that would not be out of place in fellow Canadian vocalist Shania Twain's repertoire.
Living in the aftermath of 9/11 country music, thanks to Tim McGraw, Brad Cotter, Alan Jackson, have been proliferated with songs encouraging us to cherish life and cape diem ("seize the day"). Johnson adds her take on this tired and true theme on the title track "Dress Rehearsal." Without any shove of new insights, nevertheless, Johnson sings home a timely message, "Life doesn't wait for us to get it right... Time is irreversible, this ain't no dress rehearsal."
However, the album's most gratifying moments come when the beat tapers; Johnson's never sounded more sincere than when she sings a ballad. Caressing the lyrics with her mellifluous vocals, Johnson makes the plaintive ballad and current single "Die of a Broken Heart" an event to be experienced. Similarly touching is the therapeutic "We Talked" and the ingratiating "Just Another Plane." The latter, being a little reminiscent of Deana Carter's excellent "People Miss Trains" has a timbre of pain to it that is just moving. Dove tailing Nashville's obsession with songs with inspirational messages, "God Doesn't Make Mistakes" details a homily of self-acceptance that most of us should take to heart. With its restrained guitar backing, Johnson sensitively sings, "I'm ok the way God made me... I'm always gonna be a better me than anyone else. God doesn't make mistake." A track aplomb with relevancy and performed with sensitivity.
However, not all the songs work here. Being too eager to placate the support of country radio, Dann Huff's production is at times too crowded. "Life As We Know It," "Squeezin' the Love out of You," "My Little Secret" (the follow up to Johnson's breakthrough hit "Complicated") are entertaining but forgettable. Maybe, Johnson's also suffering from the second album slum: some of these melodies here are not as strong as her debut effort. Anyway, despite such criticism, there are enough songs here, especially the ballads, that warrant repeated listens to this worthy though not stellar album.
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