Manhattan Records; August 2008
Sophisticated and smooth, She Ain’t Me is the second release for this rising talent. Having just completed a tour supporting (and playing fiddle alongside) Alejandro Escovedo, Carrie Rodriguez seems to be keeping steady company with all the right people. Gary Louris and Mary Gauthier both appear on the album as cowriters, acting as the fill-ins for longtime Rodriguez collaborator Chip Taylor. The result is an album that cruises along at the pace of a freewheeling road trip. While the slick production works best on the bubbling intensity of “Rag Doll” and “El Dorado,” Rodriguez’s talent shines brightest on the album’s title track. This record ultimately captures a special place (somewhere in between Lucinda Williams and Kathleen Edwards) where rootsy worldliness meets a seductive talent.