Single White Female - Wright, Chely (CD 1999)

I have enjoyed Chely Wright s music for some time, but this was the first time I broke down and bought an album of hers. After watching the song It Was for the millionth time on CMT (what else would I watch feeding the baby in the middle of the night?), I decided this would be worth trying out. The only other song I was familiar with on that CD was Single White Female, which was another CMT hit that made people sit up and take notice.

I rarely find myself buying a CD, as my husband owned a DJ business for about the last 20 years and, luckily, I have an amazing music collection at my disposal. When a certain album comes along that I just don't think I can do without, I buy it. It has to be something special, though, to lure me in.

After tearing off the wrapper and that annoying piece of tape stuck to the top of the CD case, I was barely out of the Wal-Mart parking lot before I tested it out. I m the type that buys a CD for one or two songs, and then plays them to death before sampling some of the other songs. I always hate to break in a new song because the first few times it means nothing to me. My husband is amazed at how many times I can play a song in a row and not get sick of it.

I slowly started venturing into other tracks, without even realizing the song had changed. It was then that I realized I actually liked the other tunes without effort. One song, in particular, Unknown was a favorite from the start. It is a slow song depicting the feeling of wanting somebody to share certain parts of her life with, things that might go unknown if she doesn t have somebody to care for her. She sings of wanting somebody to know that she sings when she drives, gets nervous in crowded places, loves when it rains and burns candles when she is alone. She sings about many aspects of her life. She sings about saying a prayer at 11:11. That really spoke to me because I often find myself looking at the clock precisely at 11:11. This happens nearly every day, strange as it sounds, and it has always been a peculiar little tidbit of my life. Imagine my shock when I heard her singing about that!

Another favorite is The Fire. She sings of a past flame who is now dating others that are of a gentle nature and how he prefers them now but will find out he really needs somebody more fiery in his life, which would be her. It is a powerful song that mixes up the tempo a bit on this predominantly slow-paced album.

Many of the songs deal with a woman searching for love. That is the tone of the most of the album. She plays the role of a woman scorned, dealing with heartache and being reminded of a lost love. In the title track, she is begging to be noticed by a particular gentleman by placing a personal ad. She sings of this with an upbeat tempo that really gets you fired up for the rest of the album, although the rest of the tracks taper off in intensity.

With It Was, she is finding herself realizing that she is, indeed, in love and that love is not always in black and white, it is a mixture of contradictory feelings and circumstances it was calm it was savage. It was cool as a breeze... it was warm to the touch. This is a powerful and strong song.

The tracks on this album include:

1. Single White Female
2. She Went Out for Cigarettes
3. It Was
4. Unknown
5. The Love That We Lost
6. The Fire
7. Picket Fences
8. Some Kind of Somethin
9. Rubbin It In
10. Why Do I Still Want You?

I have been pleased with this album and find myself playing it often. Since I now like all of the songs on it, that rewind button is pressed less and less. Chely s voice has a range that is easy to sing along with and it is easy to get wrapped up in it.

If you don't mind the fact that ballads outweigh jazzier numbers on this album, I encourage you to give it a try.

My four kids have the "privilege" of enduring mile after mile of me singing along with this one. The next time you see a black Windstar cruising down the road with a crazy woman singing at the wheel, that just might be me!