Shannon Brown is the latest in a long line of
Big & Rich protégés -- and the close association with
John Rich, who produced her 2006 debut,
Corn Fed, and had a hand in writing just over half of its songs, at least separates her from the pack of singers who pattern their sound after
Big & Rich without actually working with the gonzo duo. Her closest comparison within the
B&R stable would be
Gretchen Wilson, the stylized redneck woman who kicked up a storm in 2004, around the same time
Big & Rich started making waves with their debut,
Horse of a Different Color. But if
Wilson is a deliberate hell-raiser -- half
Tanya Tucker and half
Shania Twain --
Brown is the girl next door, sweet and friendly, with just a little bit of sex and sass. And she might be a better straight-up singer than
Wilson, too, boasting a greater range and a sense of subtlety -- which isn't necessarily a plus for a singer tackling
John Rich material. Like a lot of his work, his songs for
Corn Fed are often contrived and cutesy, and what once sounded fresh and fun is creeping toward the formulaic, particularly on self-congratulatory cuts like "High Hopes," where
Rich confronts critics who don't call this new breed of country "country." In the hands of a vocalist without charisma, this could be deadly, but
Brown is a thoroughly appealing singer, filled with down-home charm but a vocal power that you don't hear every day.
Shannon had been kicking around Nashville for a while before she finally had this opportunity to record a full-length debut -- she had a song on the soundtrack for Miramax's 1999 overhyped indie comedy flop Happy Texas, and sang some backup vocals on records by
Chely Wright,
Richard Marx,
Lorrie Morgan, and
Kenny Chesney -- and the skills she developed during those years in the trenches are evident in how she sounds equally convincing on the searching, introspective ballad "Small Town Girl," the funny, swaggering "Big Man," the gospel-inflected "Can I Get an Amen," and the terrific title track. She's good enough that when the
Rich originals veer toward formula, she can wring something interesting out of them, but the really promising thing about
Corn Fed is that the seven songs she had a hand in writing are the best here, suggesting that not only does
Brown have a fine debut on her hands, but she has a bright future as well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine