Customer Reviews

The Metropolitan Hotel

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just when I start to worry that I'll never hear Chely Wright on the radio again, she delivers another from the heart. "Bumper of My SUV" is a true story and I get goosebumps every time I hear it because I know she has been there. I also love the sentimental "Back of a Bottom Drawer", "Southside of Lonesome" and her spunky cover of "C'est la Vie (You Never Can Tell)". This CD has such raw emotion that is rare in today's world of polished, cookie cutter music. Clearly an independent label was the way for her to go because this is truly an album for the fans. Thanks Chely!

Chely Wright is back with her first new album in three and a half years. Her first album for Dualtone Records. The title is THE METROPOLITAN HOTEL, a title Chely says is inspired by a hotel she stayed in England while she worked on the album. The album is very different from her other Nashville albums. This one is still country but much more of an artistic endeavor than a commercial one. The first few singles have slumped up the charts, with "Bumper of my SUV" cracking the top 40 a few months ago. The first single was "Back of the Bottom Drawer", which got a lukewarm reception on country radio. Her newest single is the moving ballad "The River". Other moving ballads include "Wheels" and "Between a Mother And A Child". The album closes nicely with "What If I Can't Say No Again", a personal favorite of mine. Overall a strong album from Chely Wright.

After a four-year hiatus from album releases, and a departure from MCA for the artist-friendly indie Dualtone, Wright has returned with a songwriter's album. Her first self-produced album provides several interesting dichotomies. The self-penned songs are more personal than those she previously picked from Nashville's stable of writers, but at times the intimacy turns to treacle. Further, while the production is stripped back to a sound that balances nicely with Wright's earthy tenor, there's no escaping the years of being conditioned to the crossover sounds of her earlier radio-ready major-label releases.

The result feels like the first step in a new phase of Wright's career - one that, as the lead track emotionally portrays, is fueled by songs rather than hits. Which isn't to suggest that there aren't potential hits to be found here, as the lead single, "The Bumper of My S.U.V.," has shown. But the interwoven tragedies of "The River," and the first-person narrative of "Between a Mother and a Child" exert the sort of emotional gravity that would pull listeners too far into their thoughts for a commercial break. While a few others Nashville artists fill out their albums with worthwhile non-hits (Patty Loveless being a prime example), Wright's turned the equation around: recording a cohesive, artistic album that just happens to feature a few hit-ready tracks.

Hats off to Dualtone for stepping in to promote Wright as a musical artist, just as Nashville's majors decided she wasn't worth promoting as a hit single machine.

I think this will go down as my favorite album of her for now. it was her best effort at making it "Hers" and if she keeps it up and learns from it to improve her art. then all i can say is i just can't wait for her next effort.
i just love how the album starts. no music intro, no other noise like an intake of breath for example, just her lovely voice softly starting the opening sentance of her song "...Different Day Different town..." then the simple strum of a guitar. it's beautiful - at that point she was telling me that this was different than what she has ever done before. she going to bare her soul for me,tell me her secrets, tell me what she thinks of a certain subject and then move on. (well, i think as much as she willing to let us know for right now.)
on the cover of the album it shows us a sweet, beautiful - but also a little sad picture of herself that looks like she wants to be vunerable and serious for a little bit. there is no sexy pictures within this CD. there is no need for it. that is not the point. there is no fan fair with this, no cookie cutter music,and no electronic or computer assitance with this. just some just some good music with good stories to go along with the melody and the effort.
she wrote most of the songs on the albums and even though i never really appriciated the early efforts of her being a singer and songwriter. i really enjoyed the songs she wrote. their not great songs but i think she's getting better and better with each song. "Southside of Lonesome" is my favorite.
i don't know the story behind the album but i really want to believe that they found this old run-down hotel and she had this inspiration to use it to cut the album and tell us the stories that she may have written in the very same building. it is what i think about when i listen to this. but i don't know if it is true or not. and i hope i never find out.
i don't know if this is the direction she wants to go now. i hope for a while it is - at lest for the next album it should be - and then if she wants to make another album where its silly and sexy and made just for the die-hard,honky-tonk country fans. then that's okay with me. but i really appriciate this album. its going to go down as one of my all-time favorites. and i want to see if she will go deeper - it dosen't have to be personal - i just think she is capable of a lot more than what the country music industry wants her to do. after hearing the album several times i kinda fell in love with her. so that's probably why i want her to do another one like this one.
i wnat to fall in love with her again.
by the way, her version of "C'est La Vie" is very good, other than the great Chuck Berry himself. i will say that her version is the best i ever heard.
so i reccomend this album highly.

This CD has Chely's fingerprints all over it....writing, producing, singing.....and she should be proud. What an excellent CD--from start to finish.
It is rich in stand-out instrumentation, without being over-produced, or at the expense of the vocals.....because it also has stand-out vocals (Chely is in top form---and incorporates the perfect inflections, spoken word, and hooks, in just the right places). And the lyrics...the songs range from heartfelt to fun...without the "fluff" or filler. No filler here!
It's my nature to skip the slower songs on a CD for the first few listens, but not here. They're all too good to pass up.
In my opinion, Chely has taken a step back stylistically (to her roots) and a huge leap forward artistically. And...it's a winning combination!

Chely Wright is not main-stream pop country any longer. Chely's return to real country music is as drastic a departure from "Single White Female" as was her exodus to pop country after "Woman In The Moon". This CD is no a one-hit wonder. "Bumper Of My SUV" is a good song, it deserves the attention it's getting, and it should bring broad exposure to the entire CD. But it's far from the best song in the set and actually not representative of the good country music found in songs like "South Side Of Lonesome", "What If I Can't Say No Again", and "I Got Him Ready For You". Oh that "The River" would find some radio airplay, but that is not likely to be for there is just too much reality and too much death in it to suit the tender ears of mainstream air waves which thrive on the "loved happily ever after" theme. "Metro Hotel" has the potential of being a great CD as evidenced by different songs, each in turn, rising above the rest as standouts as one experiences repeated listens to this CD. Time will tell.

Even if country isn't your thing, this album will not disapoint you. Chely shines through writing meomorable songs that will stick in your head and speak to your heart. Full of real emotions and a new take on some old situations this album is sure to make you laugh a little and maybe even cry a little. Chely is able to capture a womans real emotion and translate them in song without cheapening them or talking down to them. "Back of the Bottom Drawer". "I got him ready for you." and "Your Shirt" Tell stories that all women I know can relate to and laugh at or just enjoy. "The River" and "Between a Mother and a Child." Are chilling and heart breaking but in the way only the truth can be. "South Side of Lonesome.", "Wheels" and "What if I can't say no again." offer up some of the best break-up songs I have heard in years, minus the whining and moaning, Chely stripped it down to the most real emotion. I bought this album once and am sure I will have to again after I wear this one out! So go go get! Buy this album now!

In my opinion, this is Chely Wright's best CD to date! My favorite cut being "The River". Nothing slick or over-produced about this CD. Mature and heartfelt. I highly recommend this CD.

This is one of the best albums I have ever heard! It is a wonderful collection of songs which blends contempory and alternative country brilliantly. Every track is great and ranges from mid-tempo (Just the Way We Do it), fast (C'est La Vie) to slow (What if I Can't Say No Again). And the sequencing of the songs means that you get some emotional relief with something like Your Shirt after a track such as the political (but not uncomfortably so) Bumper of my SUV.

There are also some great story songs like Back of My Bottom Drawer and, probably the most detailed and emotional track, The River. And there aren't just ballads like (apart from the above) Wheels, Southside of Lonesome and Between a Mother and a Child, but catchy, foot taping tracks such as I Got Him Ready for You, Your Shirt and Just the Way We Do It. This is an album that will enchant you, relax you and make you think. And once you've been taken on this emotional and encaptivating journey, you can sing along to the classic Chuck Berry cover C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell). Chely wrote many of the songs here, the best ones being the ones she did write, and hearing her tell us all of this is truly engaging.

This is my latest all-time favourite album!

Buy it, hear it, treasure it!

I love Chely's eloquent alto on The Metropolitan Hotel; it is extremely moving and demonstrates a matuirty which serves her well. Single White Female was a great single and album, but this one's better. Chely produced this one; she's an older, wiser, more confident woman whose writing, like her voice, has never been better. Her best writing is confessional, yet accessible to any fan. For Country to work, you have to be able to relate to the song- and that sentiment is undeniable on this CD. "Between a Mother and a Child" is especially poignant. Likewise, "Back of the Bottom Drawer" is mature and delivered with conviction. "I Got Him Ready For You" sounds confessional; we all have regrets. Bottom line, give this CD a chance. Chely is more raw and emotional than most of what's coming out now.

I cannot say enough about "Bumper of My SUV." What a heart-felt anthem! I am a veteran and understand exactly what she's saying. Don't worry Chely, we know there are more supportive people than the "haters" who could never understand our patriotism. The sentiments she expresses bring tears to my eyes- this is in the same league with Alan Jackson's "Where Were You" (When The World Stopped Turning), the best post9-11 anthem. Chely, God Bless You. You represent the best of America, just like the U.S. Marines.