Small Town Girl  (Audio CD) 
by Kellie Pickler

This debut album by the small-town girl with the big, powerhouse voice showcases two distinctly different sides of Kellie Pickler's music. The hard-riffing uptempo material recalls the heartland rock of Bob Seger and John Mellencamp, with Pickler providing a good-ole-girl twang. Among the highlights are the emancipated strut of "Red High Heels," the playful humor of "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind," and the tomboy bluesiness of "One of the Guys." Yet the American Idol finalist turns pure diva on the over-the-top balladry of the album's other half, with swelling strings and arrangements that overpower rather than enhance "I Wonder" and "I'm on My Way." On such cuts, producer Blake Chancey (Dixie Chicks) never gives Pickler a chance to show the subtlety and nuance that makes music more an art than a competition. --Don McLeese