All Jacked Up  (Audio CD) 
by Gretchen Wilson

Here for the Party, this sassy, strong-singing Redneck Woman's 2004 debut, was a giant smash, but All Jacked Up's even better: diverse, rockin', and topped by a sensuous, soulful surprise bonus-track version of Billie Holiday's "Good Morning Heartache." Wilson kick-starts this guitar-and-fiddle-fired CD with the title track--a whiskey-drinkin' sequel to "Redneck"--and the ode to down-home women "California Girls." "Skoal Ring" suggests that the couple that chaws together stays together, and "One Bud Wiser" is a crafty tongue-in-cheek weeper that pays tribute to George Jones in both its lyrics and Wilson's copycat phrasing. Another legend, Merle Haggard, celebrates salt-of-the-earth American virtues with Wilson on the duet "Politically Uncorrect." And "Not Bad for a Bartender" is three and a half minutes of autobiography, detailing the eighth-grade education, floor-sweeping, and saloon-keeping that were all stops on Wilson's unlikely road to success. Funny, fiery, and moving, All Jacked Up proves this 32-year-old's career has plenty of mileage left. --Ted Drozdowski