100 Proof
| Kellie Pickler
100 Proof
100 Proof is the third studio album by American country music artist Kellie Pickler. It was released on January 24, 2012. The album includes the single "Tough". The title track, was released exclusively on iTunes on December 20, 2011. The album sold 27,000 copies in the first week, and is the highest-charting album of Pickler's career on the Billboard 200 and the Digital Albums chart.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
All Music
Kellie wisely puts the spangly threads away in the closet for her third album, 100 Proof. The title alone gives a good idea of what she's getting at here: she's serving the hard stuff, potent and straight, and it has a kick, one that hits harder than anything she's done before.
-
MJS Big Blog
With Kellie delivering by far her best, most believable studio vocal performances yet on 100 Proof, the traditional country direction is obviously the right one for her. There are still spots on the album where Kellie pushes her voice too high (like the bridge of the otherwise lovely “Rockaway”) but for most of 100 Proof, Kellie shows stronger vocal control within her range and more emotive phrasing than her previous albums.
-
Sounds Like Nashville
Kellie Pickler has reached back to her country roots and provided fans with an album that’s reminiscent of the days when you didn’t have to wonder whether you were hearing country music on a country radio station or a pop radio station. It may have taken three tries, but 100 Proof has definite potential to rocket Pickler’s career into new territory. Rating:
-
Slant Magazine
What impresses most about 100 Proof is the extent to which it capitalizes on Pickler’s relative strengths as a performer in a way that’s shockingly self-aware. Though the album lacks a cohesive through line or consistent depth of material that would make for something more accomplished and challenging, it’s a deeply personal record that explores country music’s conventions in a creative, respectful way and gives Pickler ample opportunity to prove her chops as an interpretive singer. Whether or not the album allows her to boost her commercial profile remains to be seen, but 100 Proof proves that Pickler is capable of far more than she has previously let on.
-
Country Music News Blog
Overall, 100 Proof is a really great album, and I will definitely have it on repeat for the months to come! Be sure and check it out as soon as possible.
-
Saving Country Music
If you are truly a fan of country music and have an open heart, you will like 100 Proof. In the Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn mold, 100 Proof revives the lost appreciation for the strong, yet sweet country woman, while staying away from the surface symbolism that erodes the substance from many of the other artists that attempt this difficult feat. This is one of the best albums to come off of Music Row in years, and may turn out to be one of the best in 2012, period–an opinion I fear we may see validated in lackluster sales and the absence of hit singles from it. The mainstream may not support in en masse, but I will.
-
Washington Post
Pickler isn’t demonstrably sassy or rebellious, torchy or tough. As a substitute for a point of view, “100 Proof,” her third album and first in almost four years, uses Tammy Wynette as a kind of honky tonk spirit guide. On the opening track “Where’s Tammy Wynette,” Pickler wonders: “Tell me how you fry a skillet of chicken in high heels and a skirt / Where’s Tammy Wynette when you need her?” For, say, Miranda Lambert, these would not be pressing concerns, but for Pickler, caught between country music’s traditionalist Wynette wing and its insurgent Taylor Swift division, they’re reasonable questions.
-
World Cat
Country star and former American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler returns with her third album, which includes the single Tough.
-
Taste Of Country
Kellie Pickler's new direction is a good fit, but much like a great pair of blue jeans it will take a few wears before the singer seems totally comfortable. '100 Proof' is an album she should (and is) proud of, but almost more exciting is how this underestimated singer will slink into the traditional country genre on the next album and the one after that, and the one after that. The uptempo tracks are packed with catchy but never gimmicky hooks and melodies. Beginning with 'Where's Tammy Wynette,' Pickler shows her grit while leaving a message of hope and inspiration for her fans. 'Tough' accomplishes the same thing, but others -- like 'Unlock That Honky Tonk' and 'Little House on the Highway' -- get lost amongst these tall trees.
-
Steve Hoffman Music Forums
As always in Nashville, it starts with the songs. On the first couple of listens, this album doesn't put Kellie quite up on the same level with Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift, but the title track in particular is an absolutely beautiful country song. I hope this album does well for her; it's certainly a giant leap forward for her artistically.
-
Rolling Stone
In recent years, Pickler has branched out from the sheen-pop sound of her first two records, starting with her acclaimed 2012 album 100 Proof, which favored a rough-and-tumble honky-tonk sound that conjured her heroes Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.
-
Country Music Chicago
This album trucks down the interstate miles away from the pop sound her others have had and comes to rest on the front porch of a little farm house as in Rockaway where she confronts her demons and talks straight truth to her parents and partners and listeners. She tells them how Tough she is and in Turn on the Radio and Dance you will be listening over and over as well as dancing.
-
My Kind Of Country
At last she has come through with something really worth hearing. She has obviously worked on her singing as well, and makes the most of a voice which is nice enough but not outstanding. Frank Liddell and Luke Wooten support her vocals infinitely better than her previous producers. There is a lot of variety in tempos and styles here, ranging from very traditional to more contemporary but recognisably country.
-
CMT
100 Proof leans heavily on traditional country themes, like cheating, family relationships and getting rowdy at the bar. And even the casual listener can’t miss the steel guitar, fiddles and lots of twang.
-
CBS News
Country music fans have already gotten a taste of Pickler's third album from her hit singles "Tough" and the title track, "100 Proof." Every song lyrically pulls from parts of her life and the production [of the album] is Kellie Pickler all the way.
-
Sounds Like Nashville
Pickler set out to get back to her southern roots on 100 Proof and make a traditional and fresh sounding country album. To help her achieve her goals she enlisted producers Frank Liddell (Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack) and Luke Wooten. The album-opener “Where’s Tammy Wynette” (written by Jimmy Ritchey, Don Poythress and Leslie Satcher), sets the tone of 100 Proof with its raw and un-conventional sound. Pickler co-wrote 6 of the 11 songs on 100 Proof including “Long As I Never See You Again” which she wrote with famed songwriters Dean Dillon and Dale Dodson.
-
The Moultrie Observer
That sound is traditional, all the way down to mixing spoons into the rhythm track on the album’s first single, “Tough” (written by Leslie Satcher). For fans drawn by the infectious pop flavor of her Platinum single “Best Days of your Life” (Pickler and Taylor Swift) or the Gold-charting “Red High Heels” (Pickler, Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo and Karyn Rochelle) and “Small Town Girl” (Pickler, Lindsey and Mayo), the new direction is unmistakable.
-
Leader Post
100 Proof has received a great deal of critical acclaim. The album has a more traditional sound than Pickler’s first two albums, Small Town Girl (2006) and Kellie Pickler (2008).
-
Entertainment
For those who don’t know, Pickler’s third album 100 Proof has struggled more than her previous efforts and sold 74,000 copies (versus Small Town Girl, which sold over 800,000, and her self-titled sophomore disc, which passed 400,000). She looked back on making the record and looked ahead to her next step. It’s interesting that this split comes after 100 Proof, which was easily your best work so far .
-
Country Music Life
Now she’s ready to start 2012 off with another hit single. Kellie has been up and down over the last few years, but her latest single has heart, passionate, and plenty more to offer country radio. Check out 100 Proof.
-
VOA
For ?100 Proof,? Pickler switched producers, this time working with veteran hitmakers Frank Liddell and Luke Wooten. They allowed her to be true to herself and not be concerned with making a record for the sake of achieving radio hits.
-
Billboard
An old-fashioned countrypolitan album-and a really good one, at that-is exactly what "100 Proof" is: Working with Miranda Lambert's longtime producer Frank Liddell, Pickler tones down her once-manic vocal approach in 11 handsome tunes long on fiddle, mandolin and sparkling steel guitar. Pickler even receives a writing credit on six of them, illustrating her mind-set on an album that opens by wondering where Wynette is "when you need her."
-
Roughstock
All the focused attention to traditional detail would be meaningless without fine singing, and Pickler handles all her vocals expertly. She never over-sings. Instead, she lets the beauty of the instrumentation and lyrics speak for themselves. Up until now, Pickler was little more than a perky, pretty singer with a country past. However, if 100 Proof is any indication of her musical future, Kellie Pickler is now an artistic force to be reckoned with.
-
WRHI
A quick glance at the song titles on 100 Proof and it’s apparent that Kellie Pickler is reaching back to her country roots on her first record since 2008’s self-titled release.
-
Country Music Rocks
The new album is comprised of 11 tracks, 7 of which were co-written by Pickler, and includes her current hit single “Tough”. Pickler’s musical influences played a significant role in her music on this album and she does a fantastic job honoring her country music heroes.
-
Metacritic
The third country album for the American Idol contestant was produced by Frank Liddell.
-
Little Rebellion Music Magazine
This kind of lovely traditional(ish) ballad is where Pickler is right at home and she is utterly convincing. Impressive, since she gets no support. The music surrounding her is, it bears repeating, too loud and there is too much of it. The dialogue between two guitars, with steel popping in and out of the conversation, is a nice track by itself, but isn’t what a simple song like this needs.
-
Charlotte Observer
For "100 Proof," Pickler enlists co-producers Frank Liddell, who has worked with Miranda Lambert, and Luke Wooten, who has worked with Dierks Bentley. Both Lambert and Bentley are successful contemporary artists who embrace traditional country music. Indeed, Pickler incorporates Lambert's take-no-prisoners attitude and Bentley's rambunctious use of acoustic and electric instruments.
-
Music According To Kim
The music is pretty traditional, but it's the lyric and the vocal that make me say that. These days I kind of feel like some of the women in country music have kind of lost their focus, which is why I find this refreshing. Kellie Pickler has arrived at exactly the place she needs to be and it's wonderful.
-
NH
One of six tunes the singer co-wrote, "Unlock That Honky Tonk," rings the battle call; its plea to open a locked dancehall could be an allegory that country music shouldn't forego the down-home sounds that gave the genre its identity. The quality of her performances proves Pickler is right. For "100 Proof," Pickler enlists co-producers Frank Liddell, who has worked with Miranda Lambert, and Luke Wooten, who has worked with Dierks Bentley. Both Lambert and Bentley are successful contemporary artists who embrace traditional country music. Indeed, Pickler incorporates Lambert's take-no-prisoners attitude and Bentley's rambunctious use of acoustic and electric instruments.
-
BC
Once known as the country-pop version of Jessica Simpson for her “sweet southern style and ditzy demeanor,” proclaimed by US Weekly, Pickler claimed she hadn’t been exposed to much pop culture while growing up. Ironically, she has become a pop culture figure, honing a country-pop repertoire that bridges southern twang with a polished adult contemporary sheen.
-
The Ithacan
The release came with a promise from Pickler that her attempts at shimmery country-pop à la Taylor Swift are far behind her and that a more traditional country style is much more to her liking. The album proves that some promises are worth keeping, because “100 Proof” pays homage to the country divas of old with passion, finesse and just enough contemporary production value to keep the collection from feeling dated.
-
CM
When it comes to Pickler, she’s just as confident singing a breezy country pop number.
-
CBS New York
Though it was one of her most genuine and personal albums, ‘100 Proof‘ was seemingly overlooked by her label and sold a mere 74,000 copies since its release in January. Kellie didn’t hold back about the entire rocky road.
-
Las Vegas Review
Her latest album, “100 Proof,” touches on personal ground such as Pickler’s relationship with her father, who was finishing a jail term when she competed on “Idol.”
-
Tire Review
With four solo albums – including the critically acclaimed ‘100 Proof’ – the former “American Idol” contestant is known for putting on a fun, high-tempo performance.
-
New Jersey Stage
Pickler’s 2011 effort, 100 Proof, was named the #1 Country Album of The Year.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments