Angela Hacker's "The Winner Is..."

[unionstation]

I pre-ordered a copy of Angela Hacker's Wal-mart cd "The Winner Is..." just before the release date. Thanks to the US Post Awful, I didn't actually receive it until yesterday. I listened to it on my lunch hour. Rather than waiting, they rushed this cd into production. It's only available at Wal-mart stores or downloadable off ITunes. The bulk of the cd comprised of studio recordings of Angela's performances from "Nashville Star". In some cases, I preferred the live versions. The arrangements were so much slower on the cd. "I Can't Make You Love Me" sounded very different from the live version, suggesting she approached it differently during the show. They also included three of Angela's originals and an old Aretha Franklin classic. "Do Right Woman Do Right Man" was actually one of the best tracks of the whole thing. What it pointed out was the lack of upbeat songs aside from her duet with Zac on "Hard to Handle". I always used to grumble about Mary Chapin Carpenter's early albums when I was listening to them on cassette. One side would be feisty and upbeat and then the flip side would be melancholy and reflective. Plenty of variety, but I wish they'd been organized differently. In Angela's case, she sang to her strengths on "Nashville Star", namely the country power ballads. That was why the judges gave her that Barbara Mandrell song. I'm hoping when she records her full length cd she'll show more range and energy. These were recorded during "Nashville Star" when she had to be stressed and nervous. I'm not sure whether it's fair to judge Angela's merits solely on the basis of this album. I'm a little dubious about her recording with her brother. Somehow I don't see the Hackers recording "I'm a little bit country..."