Brandi Carlile - The Story

I picked this up because it was cheap (it was three cds for $10, and I already had two) and I remembered reading some positive things about it on the internet when it came out, and put it on in the background a few nights later while doing something else; about a minute into the second song, the title track, I was compelled to turn it up, caught by Carlile's sudden, dramatic soar into modern rock anthem territory, her voice rising suddenly as power chords crashed in while the song hit its spectacular chorus for the first time, and to keep it up loud for the rest of the record, as it became apparent that Carlile had the chops to make good on that early promise. The Story is a set of country/roots/rock delivered with more personality than is usual for this kind of music, and at times with a pleasant rawness. It's good - nowhere near great, but good.