CARRIE RODRIGUEZ > She Ain’t Me

Manhattan/Back Porch Records is thinking expansively about Carrie Rodriguez, the fiddler/singer who caught the Americana audience’s fancy for the sweet, good-natured (and seductively drawling) naturalism of her vocals on several albums with Chip Taylor. The label on her second solo album is trying to make her a sophisticated, roots-influenced adult-alternative singer/songwriter (and maybe star) by bringing in Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris) to produce.Label: Manhatten/Back Porch
[Rating: 3 STARS]

Manhattan/Back Porch Records is thinking expansively about Carrie Rodriguez, the fiddler/singer who caught the Americana audience’s fancy for the sweet, good-natured (and seductively drawling) naturalism of her vocals on several albums with Chip Taylor. The label on her second solo album is trying to make her a sophisticated, roots-influenced adult-alternative singer/songwriter (and maybe star) by bringing in Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris) to produce. These songs are stylistically first-class, like the rocking title tune with its melodic overtones of “Bette Davis Eyes” and the sensuous ballad “Rag Doll.” The endearing drawl is still present, but the disarming homespun quality of her work with Taylor-as well as a lot of her fiddle-playing-has been replaced with something more familiar, and that’s a loss.