Carrie Underwood “Greatest Hits: Decade #1” Album Review

A decade after we saw her win American Idol, Carrie Underwood is taking a look back at her first 10 years as a superstar.

Carrie’s first Greatest Hits compilation (which we’re sure will be her first of many) starts with a bang with the joyous powerhouse that is Something In The Water. Carrie’s most recent single makes the perfect opener, as it shows us exactly what we’re going to get from the double disc CD: class, faith and incredible vocals.

Immediately following the new single is the album’s second never-before-released track, Little Toy Guns. Carrie’s vocals soar alongside the pounding drum beat as she tells the story of a child who wishes her parents words didn’t hold such a power to hurt. Little Toy Guns lands perfectly in the sweet spot between Carrie’s innate rock and country tones, providing a hook that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks. If the track doesn’t become Carrie’s next #1, there’s definitely something wrong.

Assembled in chronological order after the first two tracks, Decade #1 then becomes one big trip down Carrie Underwood memory lane.

We start where it all began, with 2005’s Some Hearts and Carrie’s inaugural American Idol single Inside Your Heaven. It’s easy to forget just how far she’s come, but after hearing how her vocals have matured on the compilation’s first two numbers, her growth in the industry is obvious after a re-listen to this Billboard Hot 100 #1.

The inspirational classic Jesus, Take The Wheel and the sometimes forgotten Don’t Forget To Remember Me both follow, and then comes the multi-platinum Before He Cheats (aka everyone’s go-to karaoke song since 2005), which gives us our first glimpse of the sassy Carrie we’ve come to know and love. The mid-tempo Wasted follows, and closes out the Some Hearts era on a meaningful note.

We then hear Carrie’s more mature soaring vocals on Carnival Ride‘s So Small, which precedes the more light-hearted sweetness of All-American Girl. Sassy Carrie returns to tell us the dangers of a drunken night in Vegas on Last Name, but the mood sobers again for the heartbreakingly touching military narrative of Just A Dream, and the first duet of the compilation, I Told You So with the legendary Randy Travis.

Disc 2 begins with Play On‘s in-your-face stomper Cowboy Casanova. The 2009 song is followed by one of Carrie’s most touching and meaningful songs to date, the beautiful balled Temporary Home, which is sandwiched between two girl power break-up hits preceding Undo It. If there’s one (very minor) bone to pick with the album, it’s that although its chronological order allows us to see just how much Carrie has grown, when listening to the full run-through, it can make for a couple of culture shock song changes. However, Mama’s Song is up next, and makes the perfect mid-tempo bridge to the album’s second duet – Remind Me with Carrie’s CMA co-host, Brad Paisley.

We’re then lead on to what is probably Carrie’s most progressive album to date, 2012’s Blown Away. First up is the uplifting pop influenced Good Girl, and the uniquely powerful signature hit Blown Away. The compilation then continues on its slightly darker path with the murderous tale of a wife and a mistress on Two Black Cadillacs, but rounds out the studio cuts with the heart-warming hopefulness of See You Again.

But Ms Underwood’s not done there. There’s an extra treat following the 2013 song, as fans are treated to four bonus tracks that have never been released on her studio albums. The extra tracks kick off with her 2011 live duet with Vince Gill, How Great Thou Art. If you’re responsible for any of the 27 million views this track has gotten YouTube, you’ll know that the collaboration is simply angelic.

We then get a peek at the making of a trio of Carrie’s biggest hits, through the inclusion of three worktapes. So Small and Mama’s Song make the perfect worktape candidates, as the early versions perfectly showcase the stripped back beauty of Carrie’s powerful voice.

However, the most interesting worktape has to be Last Name. The track sounds almost unrecognisable in its early form, and its rawness gives a true insight into the making of a hit.

Overall:
Carrie Underwood is a true superstar, and this album proves it. Decade #1 delivers timeless hit after timeless hit through a musical timeline of the incredible career one of country music’s brightest stars.

Track listing:
Disc 1

1. Something in the Water
2. Little Toy Guns
3. Inside Your Heaven
4. Jesus, Take the Wheel
5. Don’t Forget to Remember Me
6. Before He Cheats
7. Wasted
8. So Small
9. All-American Girl
10. Last Name
11. Just a Dream
12. I Told You So (feat. Randy Travis)

Disc 2

1. Cowboy Casanova
2. Temporary Home
3. Undo It
4. Mama’s Song
5. Remind Me (duet with Brad Paisley)
6. Good Girl
7. Blown Away
8. Two Black Cadillacs
9. See You Again
10. How Great Thou Art (with Vince Gill) [Live from ACM Presents: Girls’ Night Out]
11. So Small (writing session worktape 1/24/07)
12. Last Name (writing session worktape 1/22/07)
13. Mama’s Song (writing session worktape 2/5/09)

Recommended tracks:
Something In The Water, Little Toy Guns, Before He Cheats, Good Girl, Blown Away.

UKCM Rating: 10/10

Where To Bu
Greatest Hits: Decade #1 will be released in the UK tomorrow Tuesday 9 December and is currently available on pre-order from Amazon and iTunes.

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