Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood

Well, I joined some stupid music club because my MP3 collection was getting a little stale. I won't say how many MP3s I have. I don't want to get sued, after  all.

Anyway, as part of joining this club, I got 7 CDs for the price of one and man that sure was exciting.

One of the CDs that I got was Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts".

I only really liked one track and that was "Before He Cheats". It was awesome. It just made my little blackened heart want to get up and dance.

The rest of it seemed pretty formula. I noticed the formula seemed to be her voice starting off solo, and then harmonies adding in to add volume and whatnot. Each song started out simply, and then got more complicated. But not in a way that you thought was artsy. And I do realize that most songs are that way for a reason. Yet, when you listen to Alanis Morrisette's "Jagged Little Pill", you don't notice that. You listen and you don't notice some weird pattern like that. Because you're engrossed. Alanis' music doesn't sound formulaic, unlike Miss Underwood's.

Which is odd, because, in looking at the song writers listed on so many of the tunes, it seems that the song-writing powerhouse that is Diane Warren wrote a bunch of them.

It's not that the CD sucks. It doesn't. If you love Carrie Underwood, you'll probably love that CD. But if you're just a potential fan, you might not.

Some of the vocal acrobatics that she performed made my vocal cords hurt in sympathy. I'm talking about leaping from the bottom of the staff up to the top in a single bound. Her voice sounded a little strained sometimes. But it still sounded delightfully different.

And I thought it was cool that the CD wasn't angelically wholesome, even if Underwood's image is just that. "Before He Cheats" is a good example of that.

Am I the only person who wonders if Underwood has the cojones to step up and stand up for herself in the music business? She just seems so….nice.

I guess it was an ok buy for me but I wish I'd ordered something else. Like the Keith Urban CD that actually has the song I wanted on it -- "You'll Think of Me".