Before Jamey Johnson’s ascension, there was another Alabaman slated as a new savior of old country music. Born and raised in Coffeeville—a place best described as way the hell down south—Ashton Shepherd emerged with a thick backwoods drawl and a sassy swagger that stood in startling contrast to her silky voiced contemporaries.
On the heels of her first single, “Takin’ Off This Pain,” her debut album (Sounds So Good) was greatly hyped and anxiously awaited by critics, many of whom cited her as one of the key players in a coming revitalization of a ‘traditional’ country sound.
But the twangy single sputtered at radio, and outside of the critical sphere, the album landed quietly and quickly faded out of sight. She released an even twangier follow up (“Sounds So Good”), which had just enough juice to make up to #21. And that, as the saying goes, was that; there was no shower of accolades, nor a coronation—just obscurity and the hope of another chance to live up to both potential and expectation.
It was quite an abrupt departure for such a highly-touted talent, especially one who managed to crank out two Top 20 hits—a relatively impressive feat for a new female in today’s radio environment.
Now, two years later, Shepherd has that second chance. “Look It Up” is a spunky little kiss-off track that busts out of the gate with a wicked groove and convincing attitude, although those of us who remember her from way back when should instantly notice that something’s missing.
Shepherd’s signature twang has been ratcheted down this time around, leaving her sounding like a less washed-out Gretchen Wilson. She skewers her unfaithful lover with just the right level or scorn, but that raw, unbridled and unwieldy drawl that gave her voice such character and such satisfying color has been largely stripped away.
Here, her tone is clearer and her enunciation is sharper, but the result is a song that’s bland and boring in comparison to the fare found on her first record.
On “Look It Up,” Shepherd’s voice is more welcoming and accessible than ever before—it’s a polished, shinier Shepherd. Indeed, she sounds like a more refined singer.
Maybe that’s a good thing, and maybe it’s not—time will judge whether or not country fans embrace this less grating incarnation.
Either way, though, the price was high. With this release, Shepherd’s gone from someone in a position to shift the the center to someone who is merely chasing it.
And, as Jamey Johnson has proved, sometimes fitting into the center ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Love her sound! Completely refreshing when it comes to most of the stuff on radio!
Obviously, I disagree. To me, this sounds just like everything else. Might as well be Gretchen.
I have to say I prefer the original version of this track by Aussie country singer Jasmine Rae. It was the title track from her debut album a couple of years ago and spent something like eight weeks at the top of our country radio chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH42ene-VW8
Actually, that album seems to be popular in Nashville, as two other tracks from the record – Pink Guitar and As Far As You Know were both cut by US artists after Rae released it.
I actually like the sound of Ashton’s voice on this track. She does sound a lot like Gretchen, but I wouldn’t consider that a bad thing unless it comes with an affinity for one-dimensional redneck anthems. There are plenty of good reasons to criticize Gretchen Wilson, but she does have a good voice.
I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but on Ashton’s previous releases, I thought her twang sounded a bit exaggerated and artificial, whereas the twang of Jennifer Nettles or Reba sounded much more natural to my ear. Don’t get me wrong; I find few things more charming than a twangy southern drawl. But to me Ashton’s drawl sounded a little bit like a caricature, though I understand that many people would disagree. But I’ve always loved her musical style, and I think “Look It Up” is a great little kiss-off song.
I’m truly amazed that Ashton’s label has stuck with her and recorded a second album after how she fared at country radio the first two go rounds. My complaint with the “Sounds So Good” album was that many of the ballad songs sounded far too similar to each other. I would have preferred more tracks along the lines of “Takin’ Off This Pain” and “The Bigger The Heart” that had a lot of sass and spunk to them. (Note: Not the Aussie kind of “spunk”.)
I think Ashton should have used the backing track from Jasmine Rae’s version as its far more suited to AirHead Country Pop-Rock Radio than this more twangy approach. It will be a miracle if this song does well at mainstream country radio stations, although I wish it would. The real question is whether the radio failure of this single will mark the end of Ashton’s major label association in Nashville? Well, there’s always the farm and pickin’ shed to go back to, and I think Ashton would be just as happy either way.
Ashton’s single sputtered, but we can hardly call two #20s from a new female in 2008 a terrible debut.
I love Ashton! Just happy to hear her voice doing what it does best, SINGING! Not the greatest song I’ve heard, but I can say that about MOST songs I hear. This song should go sraight to #1 just like most of the other crap going #1, but I have a feeling this will be too COUNTRY! Ashton is so talented and sounds country, yep, they’ll never play her on COUNTRY RADIO! PATHETIC!!!
People seem to like this song better than I do. I think this assessment of it is dead on. There’s something missing for sure and I’m disappointed by it.
As to this comment: “Jasmine Rae’s version as its far more suited to AirHead Country Pop-Rock Radio than this more twangy approach”
THAT IS SO WRONG Maybe Ashton doesn’t want to be “AirHead Country Pop-Rock” . This song is authentic Country music and it’s an amazing record. It sounds like a classic, from the vocal to the production, to the killer lyrics.
…it’s really sad that the arguably finest ingredients in country music – fiddle, steel and twang seem to make it almost indigestible to the majority of its consumers, these days. a more polished miss shepherd to me is a bearable price to pay, if it means that there’ll be a chance for further releases by her. i enjoy this one for what it is – quite a charming reference to loretta outside any official tribute collection.
ASHTON SHEPHERD IS A MAN-HATER!! http://youtu.be/PdGrAO0ESts
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
I love her song look it up and it sounds better without a “thick backwoods drawl”
I think maybe she need to find a new record label to help her with marketing her music. I think she has a lot of talent, and she has a very unique voice that stands out amongst today’s auto tuned pop vocals. It is a shame nobody gave her enough attention.