andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Gretchen Wilson’s new single “Work Hard, Play Harder” has a couple of songbirds cawing foul.

The Black Crowes have filed a copyright-infringement suit against Wilson, accusing her of stealing parts from their 1991 hit “Jealous Again” on her new single.

The Crowes have also filed a suit against her label, Sony BMG, her publishing company, J Money Music, and TNT, a cable T.V. network that uses Wilson’s sing in promotional videos for the new season of Saving Grace.

Gretchen Wilson first made a splash in the country music scene in 2004 with her hit “Red Neck Woman.” And according to the Black Crowes, she’s more than just a red neck woman. She’s a thief.

“We find the musical verses of Wilson’s song to be such an obvious example of copyright infringement that I expect all parties to reach a relatively quick resolution to avoid legalization,” said The Crowes manager.

It?s scary to release a second album — especially when the first topped country and mainstream charts, was certified quadruple platinum and helped usher in a new era of country music.

Gretchen Wilson saved new female country. Content to be the “redneck woman”, she shows no interest in crossing over to pop music like Shania Twain or Faith Hill — and country fans love her for it.

It?s no surprise supporters have been collectively holding their breath while preparing for Wilson?s sophomore album release, but they can exhale knowing she refuses to disappoint. All Jacked Up is a solid sequel to 2004?s monster hit Here for the Party.

Wilson knocks you off your bar stool with the album?s first single ? the drinking anthem “All Jacked Up”. A loud tune about having too much, this song picks up where “Here for the Party” left off.

But Wilson isn?t just a party girl ?- the rest of the album offers more than enough to satisfy.

Wilson is still just a rough and red around the neck as she has always been, calling everything as she sees it. Her lyrics are so unapologetically in-your-face, you can practically hear her daring someone to do something about it.

She solves deadbeat boyfriend problems by drinking in “One Bud Wiser” (”I found an equalizer that makes his memory a no show”) and dissects America in a duet with Merle Haggard called “Politically Uncorrect” (”And I?m for the farmer with dirt on his hands/And the soldiers who fight for this land/And I?m for the Bible and I?m for the flag/And I?m for the working man”). Wilson takes a bold swing at fake blondes, specifically socialite Paris Hilton, in “California Girls” (”That Paris Hilton gets under my skin/With her big fake smile and her painted on tan/She?d never have a chance at a real man”).

The strongest song is the ballad “Raining on Me”. Offset by strong drums and guitars, Wilson?s vocals spark with emotion as she sings about constant disappointment and hope.

The only song that misses is “He Ain?t Even Cold Yet”. This slightly morbid tune about a woman who moves on with other men just after her husband dies is misplaced and misses the passion other songs on the album have.

Wilson fills the disc with plenty of shout outs: to moms on “Full Time Job”, the working man on “Skoal Ring” and to fleeting youth on “Rebel Child”.

She rounds out the album with “Not Bad For a Bartender”, proof she refuses to forget about “swingin? doors and cleanin? floors” and how she “out of nowhere somehow found [her] yellow brick road” (she was bartending at age 14 with a loaded 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun behind the bar for protection).

It should be noted Wilson co-wrote the majority of the songs on All Jacked Up and also co-produces with John Rich (of country duo Big and Rich) and Mark Wright.

Fans of country music or female singer/songwriters should definitely pick up this album. Wilson?s avoided the sophomore curse and will no doubt continue to jack us up with each album she produces.

4 out of 4 stars.

Gretchen Wilson: All Jacked Up
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2005
Track Listing:
1 All Jacked Up
2 California Girls
3 Full Time Job
4 Skoal Ring
5 He Ain’t Even Cold Yet
6 One Bud Wiser
7 Politically Uncorrect
8 I Don’t Feel Like Loving You Today
9 Rebel Child
10 Raining on Me
11 Not Bad for a Bartender

Much like the aftermath of Sept. 11 just four years ago, celebrities, musicians, and actors are banning together to raise money for victims of another U.S. disaster. This time, the cause is Katrina, the Category 5 hurricane that has left the Mississippi gulf and the city of New Orleans in ruins.

?A Concert for Hurricane Relief,? to be broadcast on NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC this Friday at 8 p.m. EST, will include performances by Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and Tim McGraw. Celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio are also scheduled to participate in the hour-long special, which will be hosted by Matt Lauer in New York. Viewers will be encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

But the special which will likely draw the biggest crowd is a three-city MTV extravaganza that will feature performances by Usher, Green Day, Ludacris, and Alicia Keys. It will air live on Sept. 10 on MTV, VH1, and CMT from New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville.

“In the face of a tragedy of this scope, we simply have to do everything in our power to offer support, comfort and hope to all the people directly impacted by the hurricane,” said Judy McGrath, chair and CEO of MTV Networks, who announced the concerts yesterday. “Our goal is to join forces on every medium to get involved, to volunteer, to contribute in any way we can.”

Other artists currently on board for the event are Gretchen Wilson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews Band, Rob Thomas, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, and David Banner. Additional performers are expected to be added to the line-up as the show draws closer. All proceeds will go to the American Red Cross.

President George W. Bush has called Katrina ?one of the worst national disasters? in U.S. history as hundreds are feared dead in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

If you’re a Gretchen Wilson fan, you better make sure you’re getting a lot of calls on your cell phone. That’s the only way you’ll be able to hear the country star’s newest single, “All Jacked Up,” before the song finally hits radio and retail outlets in the fall.

The tune is the title track off Wilson’s new album, which won’t go on sale until September 27. But Cingular Wireless customers can now download a 30-second clip of the song as a ringtone for $2.49 through the company’s Cingular Sounds project.

“The launch of leading country artist Gretchen Wilson solidifies our leadership within wireless entertainment and builds on the momentum and diversity of our past artists,” said John Burbank, vice president of marketing, Cingular Wireless. “This announcement introduces our first exclusive country music artist into the Cingular Sounds family, helping expand our wireless music content.”

Cingular Sounds was launched in April, and it specializes in offering ringtones of popular songs either in advance of or simultaneous with the track?s release in other formats. The first artist to take part in the program was Coldplay, with their huge single ?Speed of Sound.? The band?s new album, ?X&Y? went on to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 Chart and is currently still going strong in the top five.