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Unglamorous

Lori McKennaAudio CD
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Price: $16.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
MP3 Music, 11 Songs, 2007 $9.49  
Audio CD, 2007 $16.99  
Vinyl, 2007 $18.67  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. I Know You (Album Version) 3:56$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  2. Unglamorous (Album Version) 4:14$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  3. Your Next Lover (Album Version) 4:27$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  4. I'm Not Crazy (Album Version) 4:16$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  5. Falter (Album Version) 4:49$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  6. Witness To Your Life (Album Version) 3:31$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  7. Drinkin' Problem (Album Version) 4:00$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  8. How To Survive (Album Version) 4:36$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  9. Written Permission (Album Version) 4:08$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen10. Confetti (Album Version) 4:01$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen11. Leaving This Life (Album Version) 4:53$0.99  Buy MP3 


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Visit Amazon's Lori McKenna Store
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Frequently Bought Together

Unglamorous + Lorraine + Bittertown
Price for all three: $45.97

Buy the selected items together
  • Lorraine $12.99
  • Bittertown $15.99

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (August 14, 2007)
  • Original Release Date: 2007
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records Inc.
  • ASIN: B000RHRGF8
  • Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,725 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fans of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will flock to Massachusetts singer-songwriter Lori McKenna's fifth album for obvious reasons--McGraw coproduced it with his longtime shaper Byron Gallimore, Hill recorded three of McKenna's songs for Fireflies, and McKenna snared a guest slot on McGraw and Hill's 2007 tour. But longtime McKenna followers may approach this--her first album recorded expressly for a major label--with trepidation, fearing the commercial push has tamed the fearlessness and precision of her writing and diminished the quiet power of her folkie vibe. Well, Unglamorous is, indeed, different from her previous efforts--the lyrics often move beyond McKenna's dark and gritty blue-collar world, and her sound gets a fuller production, with a noticeably tougher edge in her Everywoman tonality. But McGraw and Gallimore have taken pains to only boost McKenna in the marketplace, not radically change her style. The radio-friendly title song (cowritten with hitmaker Liz Rose) is an autobiographical portrait of McKenna as a plumber's wife and the mother of five, for example, and if she sounds overly joyous about the virtues of middle-class struggles ("Curtains faded/Threadbare rugs/Real life/The baby stayed up all night"), millions of people can relate to that kind of life and be buoyed by the commonality. Still, there are plenty of songs that revisit McKenna's starker themes: "Drinkin' Problem," to which McGraw contributes harmonies; "Falter," about how the town bum got that way, with Hill's gorgeous and impassioned soprano lending emotional strength; the devastating "Leaving This Life," about McKenna's mother, who died when her daughter was six; and a passel of well-crafted and intense songs about a marriage in trouble. The most interesting commercial forays come back to back early in the sequence. If "I'm Not Crazy" is a giddy love song on an endorphin high, its predecessor, "Your Next Lover"--the album's best cut--hauntingly chronicles a romantic throw-over in sparse but potent detail, laced with black humor ("I saw her out in the parking lot/And any plans you had you can break"). As on past albums, McKenna occasionally references high school as a watershed moment. But Unglamorous clearly shows that the 36-year-old has graduated. --Alanna Nash

Product Description

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Lori McKenna a plumber's wife and mother of five from tiny Stoughton, MA was thrust into the limelight when Faith Hill including Stealing Kisses and two other songs on 2005's #1 pop/country Fireflies. Now Unglamorous, produced by Tim McGraw and Byron Gallimore for their Stylesonic imprint, brings a blend of rock, folk and country to songs Hill calls masterful, with a pureness that is completely unaffected. With Unglamorous, Lori McKenna takes center stage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Old meets new August 16, 2007
Format:Audio CD
Old meets new. Lori still has the same sound she has always had, but it's been brought a little more mainstream on this CD. AND IT WORKS!

I came across Lori before her "Faith Hill" days. Not sure how I came across her...but loved her voice, her lyrics.

But this....this is what she was meant to be. She has not sold out. She has merged the old with the new. THIS is the way her songs were meant to be heard. The incredible voice. The touching lyrics. With a production befitting them.

The CD has a very simple production that enhances but does not overpower her lyrics and incredible voice. The production does make some of her earlier stuff seem "demo'ish" but...hey, with titles like "The Kitchen Tapes," that was the whole idea.

This CD is a wonderful progression for Lori. And....we benefit. This CD is a "must have."

Folk meets country. Old meets new. Get it!
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Great Talent, New "country" schlock production.. September 10, 2007
By Xagan
Format:Audio CD
Sadly for her old fans, Lori seems willing to accept the modern "country" format sound, it takes to get radio airplay and play the bigger concert halls these days. Pity. Her material is as good as ever.

That being said, the same tired wanna be rock'n roll backbeat, is applied to virtually every song. Add the layered guitars, including at least two layers of distorted guitars and voila the standard new/modern country sound does it's best to submerge her gifts. Somehow they still manage to make it through the schlock. BUT IT IS ONLY INSPITE OF THE HACK PRODUCTION, NOT BECAUSE OF IT. I for one, hope her next release returns to the more minimal and real sound of her past recordings.

I liked the added production used on Bittertown. It fit her music, rather than forcing her to fit into it's formualaic sound as this album does.

Worst case scenario, she gets the attention she deserves and produces more records that sound like this one.

Compare her original Stealing Kisses to the Faith Hill version. If you prefer the Hill version, you should love this album. I do not.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta Have It August 21, 2007
By Whimc
Format:Audio CD
I was introduced to Lori's work about a year ago through a friend who is a big fan and has enjoyed her sold out performances in the Boston area. I was immediately drawn into her songs, her songs are stories of life. The good, the bad and the ugly Lori makes them all beautiful works of musical art. I have anxiously awaited her new album release and was not disappointed. Lori is the real deal and she is poised to be a superstar.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars the poet laureate of the minivan set -- and then some January 28, 2008
Format:Audio CD
There are few stages more glamorous than the Allen Room of the Time Warner Center, with musicians performing in front of a floor-to-ceiling, 50-by-90-foot window wall. And on a chilly January night, with a full moon acting as a background light, it's impossible not to feel monumentally alive as you wait for a show to start here --- open to whatever the performer can bring you, eager to process that gift.

But what gift do I expect from Lori McKenna? I was young when I fled the suburbs, and I still shudder at the memory; the few songs of McKenna's that I've heard celebrate domestic life in `burbs like Stoughton, Massachusetts, where she grew up and still lives. My marital history is checkered; she has five kids with her husband of 19 years. But the sinking feeling doesn't really hit me until McKenna comes out in a nice-girl party dress, sensible grey patent heels and a small cross --- it's what she wore the first time she played the Grand Old Opry, but she could easily wear again if she chaperoned on prom night.

Why was I there? Because Lori McKenna, who didn't sing in public until she was 27, got hit with the lucky stick. Faith Hill put three of her songs on a CD, and then Tim McGraw, Faith's husband, produced Lori's new CD, "Unglamorous," for a big label with real money for promotion. And a friend heard her --- her fifth CD, that is --- and fell in love with it, and got tickets, and couldn't go, which is how I found myself, a few rows from the stage, looking more or less directly in Lori McKenna's eyes.

The questions of the evening:

Is Lori McKenna as good as her devotees --- she's got them, and they're fervent; just look at the comments on her web site or on Amazon.com --- say she is? If so, did she really get lucky when Nashville smiled on her?
... Read more ›
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Feelings August 1, 2008
Format:Audio CD
Lori McKenna's mixed feelings in her often very strong writing are about men, marriage, and relationships. My mixed feelings about this CD concern whether a polished Nashville sound produced by Tim McGraw is the right showcase for those songs. In the end, I think not for the bright but predictable arrangements more often undercut instead of enhance the emotions of McKenna's writings. Maybe being discovered by country superstars and having your first major label release is a mixed blessing. Still, there are plenty of keepers here including the title track and its unabashed celebration of love on a tight budget; Your Next Lover; the terrific Drinkin' Problem; and Confetti. Her shout out in the liner notes to Mary Gauthier makes me want to check out her earlier work too.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best I've heard in years September 24, 2007
By Atl cop
Format:Audio CD
I bought this CD after listening to a couple of samples and was absolutely blown away. The songs strike me as honest and easy to relate to. I heard Faith Hill's version of Fireflies and picked this up. I couldn't be more impressed-if you are a fan of great songwriting you will not be disappointed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars good songs not great vocals.
The vocals are not her best but this was an early effort and if Faith Hill likes her,that is more than good enough.
Published 29 days ago by mark isenberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
I know - not original - but it's a great album. She has wonderful delivery and phrasing. Putting more of her albums on my wish list!
Published 2 months ago by lulabelle91
4.0 out of 5 stars unglamorous, no way!
Lori is certainly underated. A pretty lady writes and always produces great songs. A classy woman we all love. Thanks again lori. Read more
Published 8 months ago by paparay
5.0 out of 5 stars Lori Mckenna Unglamorous
Lori Mckenna is the best!! My favorite song on this CD is "Drinkin' Problem"!!! I have all her CD's and love them all. All her songs are original and written by her. Read more
Published on October 9, 2010 by Lynne Chomka
5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy As It Sounds
Five of the tunes here caught my ear. The opener "I Know You" is a complete delight with the punchy rhythm section and catchy melody, "You love the sound of church bells, but you... Read more
Published on October 25, 2009 by Lee Armstrong
5.0 out of 5 stars Lori McKenna - the peoples' poet
I bought this album on the strength of "Bittertown" - my first exposure to Lori's view of the world. Read more
Published on August 15, 2008 by C. Pemberton
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic Recording That Emphasizes Lori's Talent
This CD is recorded with minimal sound--guitar, drums--and it emphasizes Lori McKenna's gutsy and true talent in a solid way that conveys to the listener her heart and passion for... Read more
Published on June 5, 2008 by Uncle Elmer
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! A talented songwriter!
This album is FANTASTIC! It's so refreshing in a world of lyrics that are completely ridiculous and often complete rubbish to hear someone who is so charmingly honest! Read more
Published on March 20, 2008 by Z. Carter
4.0 out of 5 stars Lori in Nashville
This is a good album, but while listening to it I can't help thinking that there are too many mainstream Nashville fingerprints all over it. Read more
Published on March 16, 2008 by Larry Kuttner
5.0 out of 5 stars a great intro to a great singer
I came across this on itunes and had not previously heard Lori McKenna. I fell in love with this album and jumped out to get her earlier work. Read more
Published on December 16, 2007 by Basking in the Ridge
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