Miranda Lambert Revolution CD

Audio Mixer: Mike Wrucke.
Liner Note Author: Judy Forde-Blair.
While Miranda Lambert's first two albums spun tales of kerosene fires, bar fights, and firearmed vengeance, REVOLUTION finds the Texan taking some degree of comfort in her relationship with Blake Shelton, whose influence helps govern the album's mellow moments. Lambert has never played by anyone's rules, be they dictated by Nashville or society in general, but she has carved out her own set of principles over the course of a four-year career. Accordingly, REVOLUTION offers a strong, cohesive take on what has quickly become the "Lambert sound:" a blend of lilting ballads and loud, fire-breathing anthems, many of which owe as much to rock & roll as country. She's more comfortable with the slower songs this time around, and "Dead Flowers" is perhaps her strongest vocal performance to date. Even so, the harder numbers continue to pack the strongest punch.
Revolution is Miranda Lambert's first record to be delivered to great expectations, a reflection of the excellence of her first two and her increasing crossover to a wider, rock-oriented audience. Revolution was certainly made with that audience in mind, running a whopping 15 tracks -- a standard length in rock albums, not country -- and pumped up with growling, grinding guitars and thunderous rhythms, all the better to escalate her image as a rowdy spitfire. The gambit pays off almost too well, not quite obscuring the tender, gentle moments that prevent Lambert from being easily pigeonholed but pushing her Crazy Ex-Girlfriend persona to the verge of parody. What goes too far are not the songs but the sound, the relentless onslaught of overdriven guitars meant to convey an attitude Miranda captures better with her snarl. Lambert still slips easily into a rebel rocker persona, sneering "Only Prettier" with delicious contempt, but here she winds up as more winning when she modulates her delivery, adding sly humor to Fred Eaglesmith's "Time to Get a Gun" or easing into the easy-rolling "Airstream Song" and ballads that wind up as the highlights here. And these slower songs are highlights because they're not as insistent as the rowdy, swaggering rockers -- they flow as naturally as "Kerosene" did on Lambert's debut. Miranda can still pull off her tough-girl attitude -- she's turned into a pro, able to turn on her character at the drop of a dime -- but Revolution is somewhat weighed down by the perception that Lambert is nothing but a rocking rebel when she is, as the sum total of this strong but overly long album ultimately proves, so much more. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
While Miranda Lambert's first two albums spun tales of kerosene fires, bar fights, and firearmed vengeance, Revolution finds the Texan taking a good degree of comfort in her relationship with Blake Shelton, whose influence can be heard in the album's mellow, leisurely pace. Lambert has never played by anyone's rules, be they dictated by Nashville or society in general, but she has carved out her own set of principles over the course of a four-year career. Accordingly, Revolution offers a strong, cohesive take on what has quickly become "the Lambert sound": a blend of casual ballads and loud, fire-breathing anthems, many of which owe as much to rock & roll as country. She's more comfortable with the slower songs this time around -- "Dead Flowers" delivers one of her strongest vocal performances to date, while "Airstream" recalls the graceful delivery of Loretta Lynn -- but the harder numbers continue to pack a punch, even if they're not as R-rated as they once were. When Lambert howls her way through "Maintain the Pain," whose phaser-laden guitar underscores a decision to "put a bullet in my radio," she wields a double-edged sword like a pro, courting the Nashville crowd while simultaneously sending a kiss-off to those who deem her too dangerous. ~ Andrew LeaheyRolling Stone (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With her third record, Miranda Lambert remains country's most refreshing act....'Airstream Song' is a string-band dropout fantasy..."
Spin (p.80) - "[With] guitar noise and booming drums out of garage and grunge, alternating with patches of soft-focus atmosphere..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.59) - "REVOLUTION is a portrait of an artist in full possession of her powers, and the best mainstream-country album so far this year."
Billboard (p.36) - "Among the highlights on the new set are Lambert's rocking twist on John Prine's `That's the Way the World Goes `Round' and the retro-sounding `Me and Your Cigarettes.'"
Paste (magazine) (p.50) - "This time, we get 'Dead Flowers' and 'Me And Your Cigarettes,' both of which drop Lambert's guard."