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Overview
Platinum is a double-edged title. The first edge refers to Miranda Lambert's hair -- as she sings on the title track, "what doesn't kill you only makes you blonder" -- the second refers to her fame, a topic she returns to often throughout her fifth record. A star since her 2005 debut Kerosene -- it was released on the heels of her also-ran placing on 2003's Nashville Star, so she's never known a time outside of the spotlight -- her fame reached the stratosphere in the 2010s, after she married fellow country star Blake Shelton in 2011, not long after he became one of the judges on NBC's The Voice. This romance pushed Lambert into mainstream tabloids, a situation she addresses on "Priscilla," where she laments that "it's a difficult thing being queen of the king," an odd turn of phrase considering Miranda is by no means subservient to Blake. By most measures, she reigns supreme in 2010s' contemporary country in a way her husband does not: she's a songwriter, which he is not, she spends her spare time in the Pistol Annies and he spends his downtime on TV and she, far more than her husband, takes musical risks. Platinum is notable because Lambert tries to be everything to everyone here and damn near succeeds. There are times when she drifts too far toward crass crossover, but she doesn't run risks when she adopts a vocoder, which she does to great aplomb on "Smokin' and Drinkin'," a duet with Little Big Town that has all of their smoothness and none of their slickness. Lambert only sounds desperate when she's racing to keep up with Carrie Underwood on "Somethin' Bad" -- a song co-written by American Idol stalwart Chris DeStefano -- and perhaps on "Automatic," a paean to the past she feels too self-conscious about and doesn't have a melody to sell its nostalgia, either. Apart from these two cuts, Platinum doesn't take a wrong step, which is all the more remarkable because Lambert tries to have it both ways: she pulls out all the stops making gilded contemporary pop, but spends a significant section of the album playing songs the way they used to, covering Tom T. Hall's "All That's Left" with the Time Jumpers, offering a bluegrass ode to "Old Shit," and then concluding with a vaudeville shuffle "Gravity's a Bitch," a riotous admission that there's no denying the ravages of old age. Most of Lambert's co-writing comes on the concluding third of the record, where she collaborates with Ashley Monroe on "Holding on to You" and "Another Sunday in the South," while working with Brandy Clark on "Two Rings Shy," songs that reaffirm her taste for sharply crafted modern country, but Platinum is cannily constructed, opening with the most modern tunes ("Girls," a record that crawls when it seems like it would run, "Platinum," and the breakneck "Little Red Wagon") before settling into more pure country. Perhaps Platinum would've benefitted from a tighter construction, but its mess and lopsided sequencing wind up appealing: at its heart, this is a classic double-album where the misses enhance the home runs and, eventually, are endearing on their own terms.
Product Details
Release Date: | 06/03/2014 |
---|---|
Label: | Sony |
UPC: | 0888837927826 |
catalogNumber: | 379278 |
Rank: | 5053 |
Tracks
Album Credits
Performance Credits
Miranda Lambert Primary ArtistGlen Duncan Acoustic Guitar,Fiddle,Mandolin
Richard Bennett Acoustic Guitar,Banjo,Bouzouki,Electric Guitar,tiple
Matt Chamberlain Percussion,Drums
Ranger Doug Green Acoustic Guitar,Background Vocals
Larry Franklin Fiddle,Background Vocals
Paul Franklin Steel Guitar
Vince Gill Electric Guitar,Background Vocals
John Jarvis Synthesizer,Piano,Keyboards
Jay Joyce Synthesizer,Acoustic Guitar,Dobro,Mandolin,Electric Guitar,Keyboards,Hammond Organ
Greg Leisz Acoustic Guitar,Pedal Steel Guitar
Marty Raybon Background Vocals
Andy Reiss Electric Guitar
Mike Rojas Synthesizer,Piano
Randy Scruggs Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Slide Guitar,national steel guitar
Kenny Sears Fiddle,Background Vocals
Joe Spivey Fiddle,Background Vocals
Harry Stinson Background Vocals
Glenn Worf Bass,Upright Bass
Billy Thomas Drums
Fred Eltringham Percussion
Carolyn Dawn Johnson Background Vocals
Little Big Town Background Vocals
Karen Fairchild Background Vocals
Jimi Westbrook Background Vocals
Eddie Perez Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Jedd Hughes Electric Guitar,Guitar (Electric Baritone)
Mando Saenz Harmonica
Brad Albin Upright Bass
Jessi Alexander Background Vocals
Ashley Monroe Background Vocals
Phillip Sweet Background Vocals
Chris Stapleton Background Vocals
Kimberly Roads Background Vocals
Mallary Hope Background Vocals
Gwen Sebastian Background Vocals
Gene Miller Background Vocals
Jeff Taylor Piano,Accordion,Background Vocals
Audra Mae Background Vocals
Heather Little Background Vocals
Aubrie Sellers Background Vocals
Nicolle Galyon Background Vocals
Jams Byous Background Vocals
G.K. Drakoulias Background Vocals
Warren Givens Background Vocals
Stephanie Lambring Background Vocals
Technical Credits
Tom T. Hall ComposerNatalie Hemby Composer
Brett James Composer
Chuck Ainlay Engineer
Scotty Wray Composer
Neil Mason Composer
Shane McAnally Composer
Chris DeStefano Composer
Miranda Lambert Composer
Jessi Alexander Composer
Carrie Underwood Duet
Ashley Monroe Composer
Brent Cobb Composer
Luke Laird Composer
Matt Wheeler Engineer
Priscilla Renea Composer
Jimmy Robbins Composer
Brandy Clark Composer
Dave Bianco Engineer
Dixie Hall Composer
Audra Mae Composer
Matt Rausch Engineer
Heather Little Composer
Joe Ginsberg Composer
Nicolle Galyon Composer
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