Deana Carter: The Story Of My Life : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Since scoring a surprise country hit with her 1996 debut, singer Deana Carter has had an arm's-length relationship with Nashville orthodoxy: Her albums balance pristine, twangy ballads with robust adult-pop and wry singer-songwriter fare. After immigrating to L.A., Carter wrote or co-wrote every song on The Story of My Life, her fourth album. The results are surprisingly tight, as Carter exploits the catch in her sweet voice on a series of acoustic tear-jerkers. Punchy rockers like "The Girl You Left Me For" could have been produced by the Matrix. Still, Carter has retained her Nashville-bred sense of clarity, infusing midtempo pop numbers such as "Ordinary" and "She's Too Good for You" with straightforward hooks and convincing heartbreak about the guy who took off. Story is a couple gems short of excellence, but Carter has expanded her unaffected charm beyond the twang thang.