In the Country of Ashton

Where Country Grows is the long-awaited follow-up album to the 2008 debut by young American Country artist Ashton Shepherd and she brandishes her sharp twang like a weapon on the 10 tracks on this album.Her voice is distinctive and easily recognizable, but apart from her talent as a singer she is turning out to be a prolific songwriter as well, having written, or else co-written most of the ten tracks on this album.No doubt having spent time working with some of the top songwriters in Nashville since the release of her 2008 album has helped her hone her craft as a songwriter. She has co-written some of the songs on this album with Bobby Pinson who is one of the leading writers of New Country material in Nashville.One of the tracks, Beer on a Boat is co-written with Rhett Akins who is also a chart topping artist among the current crop of newcomers on the Nashville scene.The debut album Sounds So Good by Ashton Shepherd in 2008 earned her rave reviews in many publications including The Wall Street Journal which would not be a hotbed for reviewing product by Country artists.Back at the end of 2008 this influential publication stated that Ashton â€Ëœs album was 'the most promising' debut album of the year from this young woman from Alabama. It also dubbed her as 'a potential Loretta Lynn for a new generation'.So after such words of praise from that publication any young singer could expect to be topping charts everywhere but so far that has not happened for Ashton.However, she has been biding her time and now that her record label MCA have done a licensing deal to release her new album over here perhaps she will follow in the footsteps of people such as Taylor Swift or the trio Lady Antebellum into the Pop charts this side of the Atlantic.Already the new album has been getting good reviews in her native USA with one such review coming from another influential publication, The Washington Post.It has named Ashton as one of five new artists to watch out for in 2011. In a glowing review of the album it predicts that there is a bright future ahead for this young singer-songwriter.Her songs are very much in the Pop-Country vein but that could be a good omen as they have a better chance of success in the Pop charts than if they were Traditional Country. Gone are the days when out and out Country songs such as Jolene or Blanket on the Ground or Stand By Your Man could be Top 10 Pop hits around the world.Now after the success of Need You Now by Lady Antebellum or, some years earlier, Wide Open Spaces by The Dixie Chicks, there is a good chance that songs with similar Pop nuances, such as the self-penned I'm Just A Woman or Look It Up from Ashton's album could also have potential in the Pop charts.The title track of this album Where Country Grows has a more distinctive hard-driving Country beat than some of the other songs on the album. In a similar Country vein Rory's Radio will keep those who are into the more Traditional sounding New Country happy. Again it is a song that was written by Ashton.This young singer is lucky to have a major label, MCA, promoting her on both sides of the Atlantic and with a little luck and enough air plays on mainstream radio programmes she might be the next lady from Nashville to crack the Pop charts over here. â€â€ TG