Ashley Gearing - “Out the Window”
Songwriters: Marv Green, Chris Lindsey, Hillary Lindsey, Aimee Mayo
This song should form one half of a teaching case in the difference between good and mediocre mainstream country. Ashley Gearing’s second charting single (and her first for Curb Records) sounds familiar. Indeed, Sara Evans had a smash with the same kind of song in 2004: young girl meets boy, runs off and lives happily ever after while her family is left wondering what happened. It’s a clever idea, and the fact that it doesn’t sound as good the second time around has more to do with poor execution than redundancy.
First, songwriting. “Suds in the Bucket” smartly centered on a single image, a girl who left so fast and spontaneously that she “left the suds in the bucket and the clothes hanging out on the line,” and that choice made for an endearing hook. Conversely, Green, Lindsey, Lindsey and Mayo recolor their lyric: first the girl is climbing out of the window to meet her lover, then tossing a bouquet out of the window on their wedding day, and finally gazing out the kitchen window at her children playing in the yard. The result is a hook that, well, sounds like a hook, and as a listener I don’t like to feel as though I’m being manipulated.
Moreover, the writers simply leave too little to the imagination here. In “Suds and the Bucket,” Billy Montana and Tammy Wagoner gave us great, memorable images of a church congregation sitting with mouths agape at the runaway, while the best that these writers can offer are heavy-handed lines like “five years later they were happy ever after making babies.”
Gearing’s performance is technically unimpeachable but regrettably unremarkable. Perhaps it’s unfair to expect a 16 year old to infuse a song with the kind of effervescence and personality that characterizes Evans’ “Suds,” but Gearing nonetheless misses any chance she had to improve the song by her performance. Ashley has a strong voice that is easy to listen to but hard to remember, but it may well improve as she matures. However, she makes this mediocre song listenable enough that it earns a very qualified thumbs up.
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10 Comments
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May 15, 2008 at 4:08 pm Permalink
Whoa, Matt, you’re daring to take on Team Lindsey/Mayo?
I’m gonna go listen to this song now, but your review sounds more like a thumbs down than a thumbs up…
May 15, 2008 at 4:21 pm Permalink
The production and Ashley’s performance are both pretty dang good. The melody is decent, but pretty forgettable. My problem is that every line of this seems to be pulled from other songs and patched together. The verses are well written, but are so derivative that I couldn’t help but be reminded of better songs when I listened.
I agree 100% with you about the hook sounding manipulated. It just doesn’t work.
May 15, 2008 at 4:28 pm Permalink
I can’t believe this got a thumbs up- there really isn’t anything positive at all in the review- now, I am a BIG fan of the songwriting team here- but let’s call it like it is- this sounds like a sequel to “Simple Life” or even more like Sara Evans new mediocre single “Some Things Never Change”- but with a much less powerful (yet similar) hook- I really wanted to like this- but it is WAY too generic- esp. considering some of the songwriters other works…
May 15, 2008 at 4:35 pm Permalink
As far as lines being pulled from other songs, a few in there reminded me of Faith Hill’s “Wild One.” And just to be nitpicky, when it says she “busted down” the screen, it makes me think of a screen door ala Ashton Shepherd’s “Takin’ Off This Pain” video. “Busted out” the screen seems like it would have worked better.
May 15, 2008 at 5:09 pm Permalink
Those complaining about thumbs up: you read the review, which is what I intended and what’s necessary to understand this binary rating system. In this case, the thumbs up doesn’t constitute my enthuiastic endorsement of the song, just as, had I chosen to give it a thumbs down, it wouldn’t mean that I hated it: I called it “mediocre” and had to make a choice. I think it’s in the top 50% of country radio singles, it sounds nice enough, and I won’t change the channel when it comes on (at least until I get sick of it), thus the qualified thumbs up.
May 15, 2008 at 6:34 pm Permalink
Is this the same girl that at age 11 or something had the song “can you hear me?” about her dad dying? If so, she was pretty good back then, and she’s pretty good now …. but it doesnt seem to me she’s really five years better.
May 15, 2008 at 9:35 pm Permalink
nice hook for a song but it’s been done much better by Mac Mcanally on his “Word of Mouth” cd….
May 16, 2008 at 8:03 am Permalink
ok, ok. I love analyzing songs, lyrics and albums. but can we draw the line at over-analyzing the thumbs up or down? your review thrashed the song (”medicore” and “unremarkable” arent exactly ringing endorsements), and now you say its in the top 50% of radio singles, which still isnt enough to warrant a thumbs up when you compare that to your review. the sentiments expressed in your above comment wouldve been helpful in the review, cuz for the most part, thumbs up means “good” and thumbs down means “not so good”. Sorry dude, I agree with your words but not your thumb….
May 16, 2008 at 10:37 am Permalink
The song is a perfect little trifle tailor made for Top 40 country radio and is competent, derivative, and the same old same old… Ashley has a nice voice that is actually somewhat distinctive, but CURB recently let Amy Dalley go (who just had her second child) and Amy is a fantastic vocalist in comparison.
If CURB is thinking they can tap the Taylor Swift fanbase because of Ashley’s age, they are mistaken. It was Taylor’s songwriting that really helped put her on the map and Ashley covering committee songs just won’t cut it…
If Ashley had been a contestant on American Idol, or even a participant on Dancing With The Stars, she may have had a shot but as it stands her chances of really big success on Top 40 country radio are slim unless they find a song with more unique appeal. On the other hand if Carrie Underwood had cut this song it might make it to # 1….
May 21, 2008 at 8:07 pm Permalink
I love this song! Cannot wait for it to get radio play in Canada! :D
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