On the follow-up to her self-titled breakout debut,
Jo Dee Messina and her production team of
Tim McGraw and
Byron Gallimore don't mess with what's not broke.
Messina took two years to get
I'm Alright to the fans, quite frankly because she was so busy touring in support of her hit record. Certainly a fencepost in the foundation blueprint for
contemporary country records in the 21st century,
I'm Alright contains ten cuts that either walk the line between
country and straight-up radio-friendly
pop or fall just to the
country side of that fence.
Messina has an enormous voice. While she doesn't have to stretch her contralto range much, her sense of dynamics is a near trademark, learned from the very best in the business. For proof, all one needs to do is go to the
ballads, such as the
Kostas and
John Sherrill-penned
"Because You Love Me," with its sense of restraint until the key moment in the refrain when caution is tossed to the wind and the singer delivers the proof in her conviction. The other tune
Sherrill contributed to the set is the poignant
"Even God Must Get the Blues," co-authored with
Dene Anton.
Messina's real musical companion in the tune is a lost and lonely Hammond B-3 organ -- which seems to have become a standard in
contemporary country just as the upright piano was to the
countrypolitan sound of the '60s -- and she walks with it, strolls with it, and dances with it through this socially conscious heartbreaker. But
Messina can deliver party tunes, love songs, and break-up songs as well as anyone, as evidenced by the title cut that opens the disc. Driven by banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, and acoustic guitars, this one rolls with a backwoods back-porch vibe, and all is well with the world. Certainly the record is clean, perhaps a bit too clean, but the song selection is close to impeccable.
Gallimore and
McGraw were still finding their way with
Messina here, and they hit pay dirt with her next record, 2000's
Burn, where they found the perfect balance between
country,
pop, and '70s
soft rock to dress
Messina's voice in. ~ Thom Jurek
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