Review: Carrie Underwood Plays On with a Mixed Bag

Carrie Underwood is country music's sweetheart who quickly rose to stardom by playing the American Idol game very well. There's no denying Underwood's vocal talent, but over the years I've found it difficult to know as an artist where she stands and The same is true for her third studio album Play On.

Underwood is all over the place on this album with a mixed bag of songs. It's not necessarily a bad thing, and artist should diversify their sound, but at the end of the day as an artist is she the temptress, the inspirational Bible-toter, the sweet naïve school girl, or what? Perhaps she's all these things - a walking contradiction. Or perhaps she's a good actress being able to embody the persona of whatever the song demands.

"Cowboy Casanova" kicks off the album. It's an up-tempo guitar driven song and next phase in her country-pop-rock arsenal. Catchy as heck, but not nearly as infectious as her crossover hit "Before He Cheats." The song lost some steam as it was scrutinized for potential plagiarism, but that story was quickly squashed by Camp Carrie. But what makes this song stand out is the video, you can't deny the hotness that is Carrie Underwood as she vamps it up in old-school attire.

Then there's the moving ballad "Temporary Home," which tells the story of a child in foster care and a young mother trying to find her way. The real interesting tidbit about the song is that it was inspired by a conversation Underwood and boyfriend, NHL star Mike Fisher, had about how life is simply a temporary home until our bodies move on, pretty deep for a jock. "Play On", the album's title track, is the quintessential Underwood inspirational song about perseverance in life. Pretty she she's visited this theme on the last two albums, but finds (yet) another way to phrase it, it's forgettable at best.

My favorite song of the moment is "Undo It." Mark my words it's going to be the next anthem for scorned girls everywhere and a true follow up to her massive hit "Before He Cheats." It's all about how Underwood delivers the accusatory lyrics ("You stole my happy/You made me cry/You took the lonely/You took me for a ride/I wanna uh-uh-undo it") against a" We Will Rock You" type drum back-beat that makes this song work. Trust me, you'll be singing along with the "nah na na na nas" before you know it.

Runner up for favorite song of the moment would have to be "Unapologize" written with Hillary Lindsey and Canadian singers/songwriters Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida. There's the naked emotions of looking back on a moment in time where you say something against your will to just make it easier, but then regretting not being truthful. There's been many times I wish I was able to "unapologize," if only it was an actual word. Nonetheless, Underwood displaces some nice vocal acrobatics throughout the song, but what I love is how it fades out with straight instrumental for the last 30 seconds.

So, what's really disappointing? Well, it's Underwood's pairing with pop-impresario Max Martin on "Quitter," with dull lyrics like: "Stay with me/Keepin' us together/ And make me feel like I never ever wanna give you up/ Up till now/I've always been a quitter." With it's goofy throw-back 80's vibe, I guess it could be the new soundtrack to an updated Breakfast Club movie or better yet, inspire bad dancers all around to flair about after kicking back a few drinks.

There's no question, Carrie Underwood is offering up a little something for everyone on Play On, which is a formula that has worked flawlessly for her so far and my hunch is that it will continue to.