Chely Wright
Single White Female
MCA Records

If you loved the Chely Wright single "Single White Female," you're in good company. I loved the song - the beat, the lyrics - cool. Chely has one of those great alto voices more in keeping with the Kathys (Mattea and Troccoli) or Kim Hill. I'd take a voice like Chely's over someone like Dolly Parton any day.

After such an upbeat, fun song, one might expect a little more of the same. Not so. The rest of the CD is so depressing I'd have cried in my beer if I weren't a teetotaler. Apparently the classified ad in "Single White Female" was a flop, and all poor Chely had to sing about was the demise of relationships or the complete lack of a significant other.

It's tough enough to keep a relationship going without listening to relational hopelessness like "She Went Out for Cigarettes" or "Why Do I Still Want You."

Okay, so there are one or two other redeeming songs on this album. "It Was" is pretty catchy. Save "Unknown" for when you're in a really retrospective mood. At one time or another, nearly everyone has made a mental inventory of the quirks that make us who we are and felt the worry that we'd live our lives as complete unknowns.

Chely has a great voice and a lot of talent, but as far as I'm concerned, she could use a bit more help when it comes to choosing new material. If you just have to have "Single White Female," buy the single, unless of course, you have a hankering for crying in your beer.

-Guyla Greenly Cooper

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