Miss Lauren Marie - I'm No Good Without You (CD)

All Music Guide

Certain artistic temperaments were just not made for these times, and Miss Lauren Marie appears to be one of these on I'm No Good Without You. Luckily for her, she embraces this tendency, whether performing an old classic like "Careless Love" or one of several more contemporary ones like "Cheaters Cheat," by Billy Horton (who has also produced and played bass on the album). Broadly, one would refer to Marie's style of choice as country, though her approach is broad enough to embrace the intersection of honky tonk ("One Broken Heart"), rockabilly ("Cheaters Cheat"), Western swing ("What Have I Done That Made You Go Away"), and even a touch of pop ("Cracker Jack"). This probably works so well because despite her country roots and the spare arrangements, Marie's vocal style is closer to Patsy Cline's than Kitty Wells(though her approach, compared to Cline's, is thankfully much lower key). There's a good mix of ballads and quickerpaced material on I'm No Good Without You, which helps keep ...the listener's attention. The arrangements, a spare mix of steel, guitar, piano, and a solid rhythm section, provides an easygoing underpinning for Marie's vocal. When one adds all of these elements together on I'm No Good Without You, one is left with a down to earth album that's easy to like. - Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide Read more Less