I know I've been doing a string of song reviews and this is going to be yet another one, but there's just so many new songs out there that I want to get to. 36 to be exact and it seems like every day I find out about another one. It's crazy; you know a lot of songs get put out around the same time, but until you start keeping track you have no idea. It brings home just how competitive the music business is - especially when you consider that the new songs make up a small fraction of the songs that get played on radio. I imagine some of the songs I review won't get much airplay at all and that's a sad thing in a way.
That said, I have a feeling that this one I'm talking about here won't be one of those. Why? Well, it's by Kellie Pickler who is obviously a pretty known artist and that never hurts. But aside from that, this is a pretty great song. Which means that my streak of reviewing songs I like is going to continue for the time being. Not a bad problem to have, really. I'm going to enjoy that while it lasts. In the meantime, let's get to my thoughts on "100 Proof".
"100 Proof" was written by James T. Slater and Leslie Satcher, the latter of which just so happened to write Kellie's last single "Tough". Now, if you ask me, one of the most important lines in a song - if not the most important line in a song - is the first one. The right opening line will hook the listener in a way that makes them want to listen to the rest of the song. That's what you want. There are some songs that get stronger as they go, but I've found that songs with strong opening lines tend to be strong overall. So let's look at what the opening line of this song is, shall we? "Ain't no rain as cold as the look she just gave him". This is a great opening line. What a description. It hooks me right away and makes me want to know more about the situation that's playing out. So we're already off to a good start.
What makes this song interesting lyrically speaking is that this is a song about two different couples and how the term 100 proof applies to each. For one couple, 100 proof refers to alcohol. For the second, 100 proof refers to love. You have a couple with a bad relationship verses a couple with a good one, the first needs to drink and keep drinking. For the second, they don't need to drink because the love they have for each other is enough to make them drunk. It's a very interesting contrast that gets played out beautifully. There's so many great lines in this.
Musically speaking, I feel like the music kind of takes a backseat to the lyric for a lot of this song. It has a subtleness to it that suits the song very nicely. Nice restraint by the musicians here, great playing as well. The music does swell at the appropriate times, but the focus of this song is the vocal and the lyrics. This is one to listen to more than once and try to focus on different instruments each time, if you can. I find new things jumping out at me each time. This might sound odd, but this song reminds me of waves with the musicians crashing in when they need to and gently fading back when the song calls for it. This song was beautifully produced. My favorite moment being when it fades back at the start of the last chorus to highlight that vocal.
And speaking of that vocal, let's turn the focus to Kellie. I don't think she has ever sounded more confident as she does, not just on this song, but on this album as a whole. She gives a great delivery here and you can just tell that it's coming from a very real part of her. She's said that she's been in both of the types of relationships in the song and it shows. There's a truthfulness here that I appreciate. Just a great vocal.
Aside from all of the above, the thing that makes this song so special is how authentically country it feels. The music is pretty traditional, but it's the lyric and the vocal that make me say that. These days I kind of feel like some of the women in country music have kind of lost their focus, which is why I find this refreshing. Kellie Pickler has arrived at exactly the place she needs to be and it's wonderful. This is another song that's going to be interesting to watch to see what it does. It is my hope that it does extremely well. With no disrespect to the other women of country music, I feel like it's time for Kellie Pickler to take the spotlight and get some recognition. She has done everything she needs to and this was a great song to put out as a single. Now the country music fans just need to embrace it.
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