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Sounds So Good

by Ashton Shepherd

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Ashton Shepherd arrives at Sounds So Good, her memorable 2008 debut, with a long line of remarkable women to thank, starting with the feisty Loretta Lynn and leading all the way up to country’s current wild child, Miranda Lambert. A deep-dish Alabaman (she says “pitcher” for “picture”) Shepherd is a good ol’ gal who knows what she likes (in this case, a pint of Crown and hard country music), and more importantly what she won’t stand for. If Lynn always stopped short of leaving her philandering husband, Shepherd, Loretta’s spiritual granddaughter and already “old” at 21, packs her bags, “Takin’ Off This Pain” with her wedding ring. In essence, as producer Buddy Cannon (Kenny Chesney) helps frame her, Shepherd is every pent-up housewife and mother with a 100-proof wild streak, minus Lambert’s wounded danger. But as the writer or co-writer of nearly every song, she also knows her way around a big romantic ballad (“Lost in You”), and a Dolly-esque dying child weeper (“How Big Are Angel Wings”). Vocally, Shepherd recalls Sara Evans’ nasality in the mid-tempo title track, and the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines in too many places to count, even as her hard-bitten accent and pedal steel filigree keep her from blurring those artists’ stylistic lines. Bottom line: Watch for Shepherd to follow Gretchen Wilson in restoring the chick to redneck pride. -– Alanna Nash