Tag Archives: Relationship

Two Black Cadillacs (Single Review) – Carrie Underwood

 

Carrie Underwood’s new single, off her platinum selling album Blown Away and as a follow up to one of 2012’s biggest country hits Blown Away, is Two Black Cadillacs, a song which sets an ominous tone the moment the first note strikes.

Two black Cadillacs driving in a slow parade. Headlights shining bright in the middle of the day. One’s for his wife, the other for the woman who loved him at night, Underwood sings as a dramatic melody plays in the background. She immediately throws us into the setting of a funeral where a preacher man is saying the man being buried was a good man and his brother says he was a good friend.

But the two women in the black veils have a secret to hide. The story could very well serve to make a movie drama and Underwood delivers it effortlessly in a few minutes.

Two months ago his wife found the number on his phone, turns out he’d been lying to both of them for far too long. They decided then he’d never get away with doing this to them, Underwood lets the plot thicken. The women, taking turns in lying a rose down on the coffin and throwing dirt into the deep ground, also have a secret to hide. So they share a crimson smile and leave their secret with the man they killed, at the grave, to die with them.

Two Black Cadillacs is a hauntingly dark song by Underwood that serves as a one-two punch by the country star as she delivers her album’s most critically acclaimed tracks as back to back singles. The darkness with which her tone delivers this song would make you think she’s lived these events herself but it’s only telling of the caliber that Underwood has turned into as a performer. As she sings “bye bye” to signal the women biding farewell to the man who betrayed them both, you can feel her voice pierce through.

Two Black Cadillacs is a song where the musicians playing couldn’t stop after it was done so they kept playing and playing. Part of them jamming is found on the album track and will probably be cut with the radio edit. The song goes fifty shades deep and is Underwood’s darkest and most thought-provoking single release to date. From the haunting thumping melody that is reminiscent of a funeral march to the rich and multi-layered storytelling lyrics, Carrie Underwood delivers. Releasing a “softer” song may have been a safer bet. But Underwood is here to let her detractors know that Blown Away was just a storm warning. Bye bye, bye bye. 

A.

Remind Me (Single Review) – Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood

To say the hype for this duet was great is an understatement. Everyone (and yes, I do mean everyone) who had heard the song was gushing about how brilliant it was. Some even called it the best thing to happen this year. So naturally, that sets the bar very high for the song. Does Remind Me deliver?

It does. On every single account!

Appearing on Brad Paisley’s upcoming album, This Is Country Music, to be released on Monday May 23rd, Remind Me is a song about a couple wanting to rekindle their romance. They reminisce over the days where they used to kiss in public, not caring about what people said, when the woman missed her flight because they lost themselves in each other’s embrace… but their fire is dying and they want to find that spark again. (For the full lyrics, click here).

So naturally, a song with Remind Me’s context demands vocalists who are capable of delivering the message credibly. And what better than country music’s leading vocalists to deliver the song. To say Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley do not shine on this would be a travesty. They excel on a topic that is way outside both of their comfort zones.

I have never heard Carrie Underwood sound more vulnerable on a song before – and she has had many songs dealing with vulnerability. Brad Paisley is the perfect counterpart for Carrie in this song. He exhibits restraint as he tries to seduce Carrie’s character. She whispers back the words “remind me” on the first chorus with impeccable falsetto, penetrating your heart. You feel her longing to her significant other to remind her of how they used to be. The nuances she gives the song are truly stunning as well. It is no wonder Brad Paisley called her today’s best singer in any format of music.

Remind Me is a give and take song between both characters, uniting them both on the song’s bridge, right after a brilliant guitar breakdown, where they tell each other that if “you still love me, don’t assume I know”, remind me. The song is also very real. Every couple has been through that exact same circumstance. Be it after seven weeks, months or years, each couple gets to a point where they feel the need to remind each other of what once was. The imagery the song uses (waking up in the guy’s old shirt, turning out the lights and not sleeping…) is very raw and helps get the song across.

When you listen to Remind Me, you will know that this song will burn through the country charts left and right, up and down. There’s no way this won’t be this year’s biggest hit and win every single award imaginable next year. And people had said both artists were past their prime. This song is there to remind everyone of the caliber Brad and Carrie are made of. And if they keep on giving us music like this, let them keep on reminding us.

You can listen to Remind Me here: