Web Exclusive: Jessica Simpson

There has been a recent ambush on country music. No, it’s not hip-hop artists rapping about how… There has been a recent ambush on country music. No, it’s not hip-hop artists rapping about how much it sucks. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. Country music has seen an onslaught of pop stars with dead careers trying to save themselves by going country. Jessica Simpson is the latest to go back to her southern roots, but the only thing successful about her first country album Do You Know is that it can be used as a sleep aid. Simpson’s first song on country radio, ‘Come on Over,’ has an extremely conservative country sound. The steel and acoustic guitars are prominent in the intro as she sings about how she needs her love interest to come over immediately. There is nothing profound about this song, neither musically nor lyrically, but it has potential simply because this is her first country single and, let’s face it, what guy wouldn’t want Jessica Simpson to beg him to come on over. But the rest of the album is surprisingly dull. There are two songs that might be considered up-beat, but that claim only works in comparison to the eight ballads that surround them. Not only is the album flooded with ballads, but very few are love songs, which people have come to expect from country music. In fact, love is given a surprisingly unfavorable impression on this album. It could lead one to think that Simpson has had negative experiences with love (see: Nick Lachey). ‘When I Loved You Like That’ and ‘Still Don’t Stop Me’ are both ballads where Simpson sings about being in a relationship where she has been hurt. But the most intriguing song about a bad relationship is ‘Sipping on History.’ ‘I could have been June Carter Cash / Waltzed right along with you / All through this life with you,’ she sings emotionally, which marks one of the only times on the album where her feelings actually shine through in her vocals. This allusion to June Carter and Johnny Cash is clearly a reference to what Simpson’s marriage to singer Nick Lachey could have led to. ‘We could have been 80 years old / Sipping on history,’ she powerfully sings. The vocals and the emotions in this song are some of the best on the album. She does give some time, albeit only two songs, devoted to true love songs. ‘You’re my Sunday’ describes her true love and how he makes her feel. That day of the week just might be a reference to her current boyfriend, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. ‘Do You Know,’ featuring Dolly Parton, is the only other love song on the album, but the lyrics are not very notable, though her voice does blend seamlessly with Parton’s higher-pitched background vocals, which makes for an interesting sound to the ballad. The only other notable song is ‘Might as Well be Making Love.’ This ballad has a more classic country feel than the other pop-sounding ones. But the interesting aspect is that she sings it like another rival country diva. The softly sung verses combined with the extremely powerful and high-pitched choruses are eerily reminiscent of Carrie Underwood (you know, Romo’s ex-girlfriend). Now for the pivotal question: Will country fans embrace Simpson as legitimate? She was booed at her first country concert, but since it was a country music festival, which are known for their notoriously drunken fans who rarely accept outsiders, we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt on that one. Simpson’s pop voice is still apparent, but absent are the vocal gymnastics that have plagued her more recent work. The musicianship is clearly on the side of country, and she was raised a country girl. But Do You Know is a little too boring for her to make a splash in her new genre.