Here for the Party (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Gretchen Wilson (background vocals); Gretchen Wilson (vocals); Russ Pahl (guitar, steel guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo); John Rich (acoustic guitar); Michael Rhodes , Mike Brignardello (baritone guitar, bass guitar); Reese Wynans, Steve Nathan (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Gale West, Joe Scaife, Angela Primm, Wes Hightower, Big Kenny (background vocals); John Willis (acoustic guitar); Kenny Greenberg, Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Al Anderson (gut-string guitar); Larry Franklin (mandolin, fiddle); Greg Morrow (drums, percussion); Eric Darken (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Bart Pursley.

Recording information: Sony; Tree Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographers: Michael Penner; Glen Rose.

Taking its cues from her hit single "Redneck Woman," Here for the Party's opening title track introduces Gretchen Wilson in no uncertain terms. "I'm here for the beer and the ball-bustin' band," she sings over its emphatic kick drum beat and barroom twang. "I may not be a ten, but the boys say I clean up good." The vocalist's brassy delivery -- not to mention her brazen honesty -- differs considerably from the songbirds that often surround her on country radio in 2004. In fact, she's closer to the leather pants and poppy honky tonk of Tanya Tucker's 1978 effort T.N.T. Tucker is referenced in the aforementioned "Redneck Woman," as are Hank Williams, Jr. and Kid Rock, who also seem like primary sources for Wilson's mix of traditional country, pop accessibility, and uncut rock & roll attitude. Though she happily belts out the harder edges of "Homewrecker" and the hometown tribute "Pocahontas Proud," Wilson is also convincing on the ballad "When I Think About Cheatin'," and the softer tones of "What Happened." These tracks give Party some welcome depth, playing off its more rowdy material nicely and proving that Wilson isn't just a loudmouth novelty. Sure, that mud on her jeans in the back cover photo is real. But so is the sentiment in "Holdin' You," when she declares that "Holdin' you/Holds me together." Gretchen Wilson may be a redneck woman, but she has a heart of gold. ~ Johnny Loftus

In the tradition of singers such as Wanda Jackson and Tanya Tucker comes Gretchen Wilson, a self-proclaimed hard-living trailer-park inhabitant with country-rock attitude to spare. The pleasant surprise with Wilson is that, in stark contrast to the streamlined country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill, she doesn't mind getting a bit dirty (musically or otherwise). Though her grassroots ethos clearly plays into her success, it's not a pose: Wilson means what she says, and her country twang, mixed with roots and mainstream rock, packs a punch.

HERE FOR THE PARTY alternates between songs about rural, working-class nightlife (particularly Wilson's love of cowboys, whiskey, and, of course, country music) and its trials and tribulations (romantic heartache and spiritual struggle). The runaway single, "Redneck Woman," waves the banner of the "four-wheel-drive tailgate" and standing "barefoot in my own front yard with a baby on my hip." But where the anthemic choruses of songs such as "Here for the Party" are all bravado, "Holdin' You" and "The Bed" show the vulnerability of a dedicated and jilted lover, respectively. Wilson's range (listen to the gospel-derived "Chariot," complete with a mid-song rap) impresses, and adds to the appeal of a down-home girl that can rip up the honky-tonk and belt out a heartfelt ballad. minimize