Right Road Now (Warner, 2010)
Whitney Duncan
Reviewed by Kevin Oliver
It's on the more understated material where Duncan shines brightest, as on The Open Road. A ballad that could be the single female equivalent to Bless The Broken Road, it's the most believable performance Duncan musters up on the entire album even as her voice clears the rafters on the climactic chorus. Duncan's a songwriter as well as a singer, which gives her a Miranda Lambert-style edge, but she's not nearly as rebellious-sounding even on the hottest track here, Burn It Down. Instead, she comes across as a cross between Taylor Swift and Shania Twain on songs such as Kinda Crazy and So Sorry Now, the latter's production a dead ringer for the Def Leppard bombast of ex-Mr. Twain, Mutt Lange.
So it's a testament to the considerable abilities of Duncan that she manages to rise above generic and derivative backing tracks to come out on top with her own gutsy vocal style that'll have girls wanting to be her and guys wanting her, period.
CDs by Whitney Duncan
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