Sony
Country, 2009
Play On is an uneven album. Carrie Underwood and her music makers are not taking any risks here, so basically you know what to expect here if you have listened to anything by her in the past. There are plenty of radio-friendly bubblegum pop songs that will fit in well in both pop and country radio stations. Since Ms Underwood can really sing, unlike her fellow pop-country tarts like Taylor Swift, I don’t think she should worry about competition anytime soon.
Unfortunately, this also means that Play On is either very good or very boring, depending on the song. There are some really good songs here, such as the title track, the merry Quitter, the bitchy Songs Like This, and the soulful duet with Sons of Sylvia, What Can I Say. But other songs are just too pedestrian to be memorable.
Play On breaks no new ground and takes no risks, which won’t be so bad if the end result isn’t this uneven. My suggestion to anyone who isn’t a fan looking to complete a collection is to preview the tracks and buy individual songs instead of getting the whole album.
