No self respecting woman would be seen in a real fur coat these days and it seems that, likewise, no self respecting singer would sing real country when they could be doing Americana or blue collar AOR instead. It is the Nashville way these days. That is not to detract from Susan Cattaneo’s achievement with “Heaven to Heartache” of course but I had to wonder if this was an album or an advertisement for the fact that Ms Cattaneo can write a modern day country song – such as “Country Is The State I’m In” -with the best of them.
Think of the Judds or even LeAnn Rimes. They did pretty well of putting a twang in their voice and pumping out the radio friendly hits fresh from the hit making bakeries in Nashville with everything made from all natural ingredients. So, Ms Cattaneo takes a leaf out of the book of success and gives us a confidently delivered 12 songs full of hooks to capture the ear. Hell, there’s even one called “Girls Night Out” (I might run a competition to name the many country style songs have been called “Girls Night Out” in the last few years) that pretty much identifies the target market as independently minded women who still need a man for something (ha!). After all, we’re all country under the skin
I’m being a bit harsh perhaps as Ms Cattaneo has an appealing voice and it is far from wrong to seek commercial success by duplicating what has already been successful for others. However, I’m less convinced that airbrushing out her individuality was a necessary part of the creative process.