Assistant Music Director's Mailbox

I’m going to step a little outside of the box for this week’s review. This time I’m looking into the country music genre for my AMD Mailbox. I was fortunate to see this week’s artist as Elle Woods in Broadway’s “Legally Blonde – The Musical.” After leaving Broadway, Laura Bell Bundy went on to create her major label country debut, Achin’ and Shakin’.

While I normally don’t do this, I have to start by saying that this is literally the most adorable CD I have ever seen. This is one of those CDs where if you go digital, you are missing out. The CD is called Achin’ and Shakin’ because it is broken in two halves, one of heartbreaking ballads and one of up-tempo country dance tracks.

Bundy is definitely not the first to make such an album as both Beyonce’s I Am…Sasha Fierce and Debbie Gibson’s Anything Is Possible followed the concept of splitting the album into fast and slow halves. Bundy, however, takes it to the next level. Not only does this CD contain two different booklets for each half that tells the story of each, it even goes on to tell you a good time to listen to each half and what drink you should have while listening.     

On to the music. Let’s start with Achin’. My big concern whenever an artist does a section of ballads in a row on their album, they almost always end up getting really boring, really fast. This is honestly the first album that does not have that problem. Bundy manages to create six unique and equally beautiful ballads that are all great songs to just lay back and chill out to.

The melodies are beautiful whether it be the simple opening guitar on “Homecoming Queen” or “Curse the Bed.” “Drop on By,” the album’s second single, is definitely the strongest of the Achin’ tracks as she manages to hold a country sound and a soulful vocal performance. They are each different and equally enjoyable. The best part of these songs is how the lyrics are very straightforward and honest; they’re not too fancy or complicated. Bundy says what she feels and therefore makes songs that are both relatable and beautiful such as “Cigarette,” where she muses how she should have “let her hair down for dancing.”       

While I do love Achin’, the true highlight of Bundy’s album is definitely the Shakin’ portion. Not only does Bundy create songs with catchy verses and dance beats which would attract both fans and non-fans of country music, she manages to inject humor into her songs to make them truly excellent tracks. For instance on “I’m No Good (For Ya Baby),” Bundy proudly states that she “shakes her junk to make other boys stare and I’ll pretend you’re not even standing there.” The definite stand out track is her debut single “Giddy On Up.” This single is not just a great track to dance to but is quite possibly the catchiest song that I’ve heard in months. The chorus is simple and will quickly get stuck in the head of anyone who listens to it.           

Achin’ and Shakin’ is one of the most enjoyable listens that I have had all year. Laura Bell Bundy is both fun and soulful and gives an excellent listening experience. The best part of this album is probably that it is not only enjoyable for hardcore country listeners but also for people who enjoy more mainstream country, or might just be listening to country music for the first time. I’m going to change it up this week because I can’t really give this CD pop tarts as it is definitely not a pop CD. So I’m going to do two firsts. This time I will be giving my first ever 10 and I will be giving this album 10 horseshoes.

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