Cry Pretty

Cry Pretty

by Carrie Underwood
Cry Pretty

Cry Pretty

by Carrie Underwood

CD

$13.99 
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Overview

Ever since she walked away with the fourth season of American Idol in 2005, Carrie Underwood's strength has been her steeliness. Even at her tenderest moments, there was a sense of remove, as if Underwood were reluctant to let her guard slip, which is what makes the emotional frankness of 2018's Cry Pretty startling. Underwood is self-aware enough to address this shift at the very beginning of the record, which opens with a title track containing the confession that she's "not usually the kind to show my heart to the world," and then she proceeds to spend the next 50 minutes allowing herself to open up to emotions she has usually kept in reserve. "Cry Pretty" is the rallying call for the album, a cry of confidence that can be heard not just in the lyrics but also within the album's musical ambition. Without abandoning the sweeping, cinematic diva-pop that's her signature, Underwood buttresses her country roots while fearlessly threading hip-hop and R&B within her music, going as far as to invite Ludacris in for a verse on the triumphant closer, "The Champion." Perhaps this fist-pumping affirmation isn't as successful as the smooth R&B rhythms holding "Backsliding" together or the rapid rhyming on "That Song That We Used to Make Love To," but the audacity of the Ludacris guest spot underscores how Underwood is taking risks for the first time. Nearly all of them pay off. "The Bullet," an anti-gun-violence ballad that feels especially potent and poignant in the wake of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest shooting, is nervy and affecting in a way Underwood never has been, and it finds a counterpart in "Southbound," a party tune that's as effervescent as anything she's ever cut. These two songs show how Underwood's deliberate maturation doesn't come at the expense of what she's done before. Instead, it deepens and enriches what was already there -- as any good maturation would -- and the result is an album as satisfying as it is surprising. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 09/14/2018
Label: Capitol / Capitol Nashville
UPC: 0602567673354
Rank: 81116

Tracks

  1. Cry Pretty
  2. Ghosts on the Stereo
  3. Low
  4. Backsliding
  5. Southbound
  6. That Song That We Used To Make Love To
  7. Drinking Alone
  8. The Bullet
  9. Spinning Bottles
  10. Love Wins
  11. End Up with You
  12. Kingdom
  13. The Champion

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Carrie Underwood   Primary Artist,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Ludacris   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Ilya Toshinskiy   Mandolin,Resonator,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Banjo,Dobro,Bouzouki
Dave Cohen   Keyboards
Will Weatherly   Keyboards
David Garcia   Drums,Keyboards,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Danny Rader   Dobro,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Chris McHugh   Drums,Percussion
David Davidson   Violin
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Steve Hinson   Pedal Steel
Kris Wilkinson   Viola
Wendy Moten   Vocals (Background)
Perry Coleman   Vocals (Background)
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass
Josh Miller   Vocals (Background)
David Angell   Violin
Dan Dugmore   Pedal Steel
Hillary Lindsey   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Rob McNelley   Guitar (Electric)
Michael Burman   Guitar
Bones Owens   Guitar
Nir Z   Drums
Amanda Lufburrow   Vocals (Background)
Ivey Childers   Vocals (Background)
Jenni Fairbanks   Vocals (Background)
Vicky Hampton   Vocals (Background)
Brett James   Vocals (Background)
Bryan Sutton   Guitar (Acoustic)
Dave Barnes   Vocals (Background)
Holly Williams   Vocals (Background)
The McCrary Sisters   Vocals (Background)
Robert Dante   Piano,Keyboards
Carole Neuen-Rabinowitz   Cello
Austin Hoke   Cello
Charlie Judge   Keyboards
Ben Haggard   Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Dave Cohen   Programming
Fred Williams   Programming
Will Weatherly   Composer,Programming
David Garcia   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Digital Editing
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Allen Shamblin   Composer
Andrew Dorff   Composer
Joe Baldridge   Engineer
David Davidson   String Arrangements
John Hanes   Engineer
Liz Rose   Composer
Mark Endert   Mixing
Josh Miller   Composer
Marc Beeson   Composer
Robert Marks   Mixing
Hillary Lindsey   Composer
Chris Lord-Alge   Mixing
Jim Jonsin   Mixing,Producer
Lori McKenna   Composer
Carrie Underwood   Composer,Producer,Creative Director
Kam Luchterhand   Assistant Engineer
Brett McLaughlin   Composer
Josh Ditty   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Adam Chagnon   Engineer
Parker Foote   Design
Abby Murdock   Design
Sarah Emily Berrios   Programming
Jonathan Violassi   Design
Carol Oordt   Composer
Brett James   Composer
Dave Barnes   Composer
Nik Karpen   Assistant Engineer
Bobby Shin   Engineer,String Engineer
Christopher Bridges   Composer
Niko Marzouca   Mixing,Engineer
Jason Evigan   Composer,Programming
Randee St. Nicholas   Photography
Joshua Sage Newman   Art Direction
Chris Lord   Mixing
Francesca Tolot   Make-Up
Bethany Newman   Art Direction
Chris DeStefano   Composer
Joe LaPorta   Mastering
Doug Johnson   Mixing Assistant
Tom Douglas   Composer
Emma Trask   Stylist
Andy Albert   Composer
Ann Edelblute   Management
Nate Lowery   Production Coordination
Charlie Judge   Programming
Joe Corey   Engineer
Lorenzo Martin   Hair Stylist
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