Jessie James
Jessie James
Release Date: Aug 11, 2009
Genre(s): Rock, Dance, Pop, Country
Record label: Mercury
Music Critic Score
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Album Review: Jessie James by Jessie James
Great, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating B+
Roots-music purists love to complain about their inability to distinguish current Nashville product from poppy Top 40 fare. This 20-year-old Georgia native never knew there was supposed to be a difference; her boots-and-beats debut is equal parts Carrie Underwood and Christina Aguilera. Jessie James falters on a handful of snoozy power ballads but plays one heck of a small-town sex kitten on up-tempo numbers like ”Blue Jeans,” where she claims her tight pants get her into the club for free, and ”My Cowboy,” a sly country-rap jam co-written by Jamey Johnson and produced by John Rich.
Based on rating 7/10
Diva outlaw Jessie James first caught a flash of attention with the hoedown-meets-crunk-jam "Blue Jeans." The call-and-response ode to the apparel's curves featured prominently in the 2009 summer movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, and its offbeat sensual drive and girl-power themes stirred a minor buzz. Her self-titled debut, released later that same year and featuring said track, continues to frolic in the gulf between sultry-sweet pop strut and country-girl coyness. However, while James is not averse to basking in a classic Nashville theme, as on "My Cowboy" or the Katy Perry co-penned "Bullet," or throw in a sizzling banjo, she is at heart a pop singer.