Entertainment Weekly (No. 812, p.72) - "[A] spunky set of honky-tonk, country-rock, and Sheryl Crow-style ballads....[Lambert] clearly knows how to write a killer tune." - Grade: B+
Personnel: Miranda Lambert; Eric Darken, Glenn Worf, Jay Joyce, Jim Hoke, Joey Huffman, Mando Saenz, Randy Scruggs, Richard Bennett, Russ Pahl, Hank Singer, Mike Wrucke, Natalie Hemby, Buddy Miller, Chad Cromwell.
Recording information: East Iris, Nashville, Tennessee; Omni Sound, Nashville, Tennessee (2004).
Many contestants on AMERICAN IDOL and similar TV shows go on to greater success, but due to their relative lack of experience, often have a hard time finding their niche. Not Miranda Lambert--when KEROSENE was released in 2005, the NASHVILLE STAR third-place winner was barely out of her teens, but she had already spent years honing her craft in bars. In addition to being a confident vocalist and strong-willed businessperson, Lambert is a crafty songwriter whose work is easily on par with that of Nashville veterans twice her age.
The title track is a pounding, attitude-filled country-rocker reminiscent of John Cougar Mellencamp's "Rain on the Scarecrow." (That this diminutive young blonde woman can spit out lines like "Trade the truth for a lie/Cheatin' ain't really a crime" so convincingly is also startling.) "I Can't Be Bothered" is straight-up honky-tonk, replete with whining steel guitar, Buck Owens-worthy twangy Telecaster, and a jaunty dance beat, while "Me and Charlie Talking" is funky swamp-country of the Jerry Reed variety, albeit with lovelorn lyrics that reveal Lambert's old soul. An uncommonly accomplished debut, KEROSENE is the first outing by a genuine all-around talent.