Maggie Rose - Cut To Impress
Album Review by: Cheryl Harvey Hill, Sr. Staff Journalist
When the beautiful and talented Maggie Rose hit the world stage last year and sang “I Ain't Your Mama”, the message she intended to send was perfectly clear in her lyrics and appearance! As the first single on her new label, the sassy manta was the perfect platform from which to launch all that delightful poise, energy, and confidence. The gorgeous blonde, looking the epitome of a sultry roaring twenties gun mall, had paid her dues as Margaret Durante and the time was finally right for the rest of the world to meet the feisty alter ego who was well known by all who loved and admired her. In June of last year all the hard work finally paid off when “I Ain’t Your Mama” was released and became the number one most added new song of that week on country radio.
The success of “I Ain't Your Mama” may have been her first big success but she has had many other notable milestones along the way. One of the more outstanding happened in 2011 when her music video, "Maybe Tonight", debuted in Great American Country’s Top 20 Country Countdown at number one. This gave Rose the distinction of being the first ever artist signed to an independent label to do so in the history of the show, but she wanted more. She decided it was time for some serious changes.
As the story goes, indicative of all that fearless, foxy, attitude and energy, some say, with tongue in cheek, that “scissors and alcohol” may have played a major role in her new careeer direction. It's actually a funny story but there soon came proof that she was making wise career choices and last year she signed with RPM Entertainment.
The new album, Cut To Impress, will be released on March 26. The album contains ten songs, four of them co-written by Rose. The title, “Cut To Impress”, comes from a lyric in the second verse from “Mostly Bad,'” a song she co-wrote with Jim Wes. Rose says, "It was one of those lines that stood out to me because it represents so many things that embodied my debut album. It's a confident statement about all the cuts on the album and it’s also is a statement saying I have cut out a place for myself as an artist that is different and unique." After listening to the album all the way through, I would have to agree with her. In the broad spectrum of country music she easily fits in but she has a unique panache that could, most assuredly, set her apart.
All ten songs on this project serve up a true smorgasbord of life so there is much to like here but there were a couple of songs that stood out for me on the first run through. One of them was “Better”. On this cut Rose sings “I just want to move on with my life / put the pieces back together / I just wanna feel better”. With relatable lyrics like that, she is destined to touch 99.9% of anyone who hears this song and to further guarantee her success, she delivers each song with an energy and emotion that lets you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she has, most likely, “been there, done that”.
“Put Yourself In My Blues” is another beautiful song that got my attention. Great lyrics, sublimely delivered. With spot on emotion, Rose sings, “so jump in my world / come take a look through these tears / just get a glimpse of the heartache I feel in here”.
Although the album offers up several really good up-tempo tunes, it is the catchy, get your groove on, “I Ain't Your Momma” that won me over and quickly became my favorite but, beware, this tune will stay in your head for days. Even before I saw the video, I loved this song. Its captivating lyrics and addictive, toe-tapping, music definitely make it a real winner, "Gonna put some fun back in this ho-hum honey / Gonna be so hot you'll think it oughta cost you money”.
On our rating scale of one to five stars, with a sound album that is Cut To Impress, I'm going to give Maggie Rose five stars and two thumbs up.
The album, Cut To Impress, will be released March 26, 2013. The single, “Better” has been shipped to radio and will go for adds on February 25.
Fans can join Maggie Rose’s mailing list to receive a free acoustic “cut” from the new album. Visit www.maggierosemusic.com.
I Ain't Your Mama review
Lakeland, FL concert
When the beautiful and talented Maggie Rose hit the world stage last year and sang “I Ain't Your Mama”, the message she intended to send was perfectly clear in her lyrics and appearance! As the first single on her new label, the sassy manta was the perfect platform from which to launch all that delightful poise, energy, and confidence. The gorgeous blonde, looking the epitome of a sultry roaring twenties gun mall, had paid her dues as Margaret Durante and the time was finally right for the rest of the world to meet the feisty alter ego who was well known by all who loved and admired her. In June of last year all the hard work finally paid off when “I Ain’t Your Mama” was released and became the number one most added new song of that week on country radio.
The success of “I Ain't Your Mama” may have been her first big success but she has had many other notable milestones along the way. One of the more outstanding happened in 2011 when her music video, "Maybe Tonight", debuted in Great American Country’s Top 20 Country Countdown at number one. This gave Rose the distinction of being the first ever artist signed to an independent label to do so in the history of the show, but she wanted more. She decided it was time for some serious changes.
As the story goes, indicative of all that fearless, foxy, attitude and energy, some say, with tongue in cheek, that “scissors and alcohol” may have played a major role in her new careeer direction. It's actually a funny story but there soon came proof that she was making wise career choices and last year she signed with RPM Entertainment.
The new album, Cut To Impress, will be released on March 26. The album contains ten songs, four of them co-written by Rose. The title, “Cut To Impress”, comes from a lyric in the second verse from “Mostly Bad,'” a song she co-wrote with Jim Wes. Rose says, "It was one of those lines that stood out to me because it represents so many things that embodied my debut album. It's a confident statement about all the cuts on the album and it’s also is a statement saying I have cut out a place for myself as an artist that is different and unique." After listening to the album all the way through, I would have to agree with her. In the broad spectrum of country music she easily fits in but she has a unique panache that could, most assuredly, set her apart.
All ten songs on this project serve up a true smorgasbord of life so there is much to like here but there were a couple of songs that stood out for me on the first run through. One of them was “Better”. On this cut Rose sings “I just want to move on with my life / put the pieces back together / I just wanna feel better”. With relatable lyrics like that, she is destined to touch 99.9% of anyone who hears this song and to further guarantee her success, she delivers each song with an energy and emotion that lets you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she has, most likely, “been there, done that”.
“Put Yourself In My Blues” is another beautiful song that got my attention. Great lyrics, sublimely delivered. With spot on emotion, Rose sings, “so jump in my world / come take a look through these tears / just get a glimpse of the heartache I feel in here”.
Although the album offers up several really good up-tempo tunes, it is the catchy, get your groove on, “I Ain't Your Momma” that won me over and quickly became my favorite but, beware, this tune will stay in your head for days. Even before I saw the video, I loved this song. Its captivating lyrics and addictive, toe-tapping, music definitely make it a real winner, "Gonna put some fun back in this ho-hum honey / Gonna be so hot you'll think it oughta cost you money”.
On our rating scale of one to five stars, with a sound album that is Cut To Impress, I'm going to give Maggie Rose five stars and two thumbs up.
The album, Cut To Impress, will be released March 26, 2013. The single, “Better” has been shipped to radio and will go for adds on February 25.
Fans can join Maggie Rose’s mailing list to receive a free acoustic “cut” from the new album. Visit www.maggierosemusic.com.
I Ain't Your Mama review
Lakeland, FL concert
