Katrina Elam - Katrina Elam

With her eponymous first album, Katrina Elam delivers a likeable, promising contemporary country debut. While she's a little too firmly in sway to the Nashville music machine -- who have helped smooth out any rough edges in her music, making it go down easy and getting it ready for the radio -- she shows some flair as a writer, with sturdy melodies and a good eye for detail. She delivers these tunes with conviction that could have used the support of a little more grit in the production. When she does get a relatively rougher sound, as she does on the nicely randy "I Want a Cowboy," both her voice and songs sound fuller and more appealing. Elam has a nice, sweet voice and shows skill as a songwriter. Sometimes these are submerged a bit too much by the studio gloss, but there are enough moments on Katrina Elam to make it a good listen and it suggests that she'll be able to deliver a really good second album. Here's to hoping that she gets the chance to shake it up a bit next time around and let her personality shine through a bit more. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Amy Russell Mastering Anthony LaMarchina Strings, Vocals (Background) Aubrey Haynie Fiddle, Mandolin Bryan Sutton Guitar (Acoustic), Banjo, Mandolin Chip Davis Vocals (Background) Chris McHugh Drums Claudia Fowler Wardrobe Dan Tyminski Vocals (Background) Dana Tynan Photography David Angell Strings, Vocals (Background) David Bryant Assistant David Davidson Vocals (Background), Strings, String Arrangements Don Cobb Mastering Drew Bollman Assistant Eric Conn Mastering Eric Darken Percussion Gordon Kennedy Guitar (Electric) J.R. Rodriguez Assistant J.T. Corenflos Guitar (Electric) Jerry Douglas Dobro Jimmie Lee Sloas Guitar, Producer, Guitar (Bass), Bass, Audio Production Jonathan Yudkin Strings, String Arrangements Julian King Engineer, Audio Engineer Justin Niebank Mixing Karen Cronin Design, Art Direction Katrina Elam Vocals (Background), Percussion, Vocals Keith Urban Banjo, Guitar (Electric) Monisa Angell Vocals (Background), Strings Paul Franklin Guitar (Steel) Paula Jehle Turner Hair Stylist, Make-Up Richie Biggs Audio Engineer, Engineer Rob Ickes Dobro Robin Lee Bruce Vocals (Background) Shannon Forest Drums Shannon Forrest Drums Shawn McLean Assistant Steve Nathan Organ (Hammond), Piano Stewart Smith Guitar (Electric) Stuart Duncan Fiddle Susan Levy Art Direction Tim Akers Piano, Clavinet, Organ (Hammond), Hammond B3, Accordion Tony Brown Audio Production Wayne Kirkpatrick Percussion Wes Hightower Vocals (Background)