Gretchen Wilson One Of The Boys CD

On her third album in as many years, Gretchen Wilson is showing new facets to the "Redneck Woman" persona fleshed out on her debut, HERE FOR THE PARTY. A substantial and satisfying follow-up to 2006's ALL JACKED UP, which some fans found slightly disappointing, ONE OF THE BOYS amplifies the rock-&-roll edge of Wilson's country.

The wild-eyed "You Don't Have To Go Home" and the flat-out Southern rock boogie of "There's A Place in the Whiskey" are enough to qualify Wilson for belated placement in the outlaw country canon of the 1970s next to Waylon Jennings and Jerry Jeff Walker. Elsewhere, the title track is another one of Wilson's defiant statements of purpose, while "Good Ole Boy" and "If You Want A Mother" turn country stereotypes on their heads through Wilson's unapologetically feminist lyrics. Writing or co-writing nearly all of the album's 11 songs, Wilson makes ONE OF THE BOYS as personal, tough, and sexy as mainstream country albums come these days.

Liner Note Author: Judy Forde Blair.

Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; SOny Tree Studios; The Tracking Room, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Kristin Barlowe.

Personnel: Gretchen Wilson (background vocals); Tom Bukovac (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Willis (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Mark Oakley, Pat Buchanan, J.T. Corenflos (electric guitar); Mike Johnson (steel guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (mandolin, fiddle, cello); Dan Hochhalter (fiddle); Steve Nathan (piano); Shannon Forrest (drums, percussion); Eric Darken (percussion); John Rich , Wes Hightower, Brandon Fraley (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Bart Pursley.

Rolling Stone (p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Wilson's straightforward, pretense-free approach yields good stuff, like the very catchy title track..."
Uncut (p.127) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Alternating between a coy tug at the cuff and a more brazen one at the heartstrings, Wilson switches ably between pop and emotional Nashville ballads..."