Regular Columnists

Artist: Chelsee Oaks
Album: "A Life Less Ordinary"
CD Review: Genre: Country
Sounds Like: ?
Technical Grade: 7
Production/Musicianship Grade: 8
Commercial Value: 7
Overall Talent Level: 7
Songwriting Skills: 7
Performance Skill: 7
Best Songs: A Life Less Ordinary, Nothing To Do With Love, Black Riviera, Look What I Would Have Missed
Weakness: Vocal Range
CD Review: Over the years I have I received many CDs from young aspiring Country artists who while talented for their age, weren't polished enough to professionally compete with established artists, and as a result, they didn't get reviewed. That wasn't the case with 17 year old Chelsee Oaks, a vocalist from Traverse, Tennessee. She turned in a 10 song CD that demands her share of the Country music spotlight and boldly announces her arrival as an up-and-coming star.

With songs that were carefully chosen and skillfully produced, she displays the vocals, phrasing, and emotional delivery that is characteristic of good Country music - new or old. The real gem on this CD is the radio-friendly lead track, "A Life Less Ordinary," which lingers in your memory like the smell of cigar smoke in your nose, but that should be expected considering the track was written and produced by Gilles Godard and the top-notch musical team from Curb Music studios.

Chelsee's aggressive vocal style is impressive, but at times leaves her sounding a bit fatigued ("Look What I've Missed," and a cover of Melissa Etheridge's "I'm The Only One"). Once she develops the upper registers of her voice and learns how to texture her vocals, she will be really special and ready to live a life that's even less ordinary.

Advice: Keep it up! You're in good hands and good company.

www.chelseeoaks.com