Believe me now or believe me later, this woman is a star. She write's 'em like a pro and sings 'em like a soul queen. This is simply a magnificent performance, with the kind of conviction that sends chills up and down my spine. - Music Row Magazine

***

What she offers is solid, well-performed music that nurtures as much as it entertains. A delight ! - Alanna Nash, Country Music Magazine

***

Staley has an intriguing voice, drenched in emotion, and it perfectly conveys the sentiment of each song on this impressive first outing. - Billboard Magazine

***

Staley is as compelling a performer as the best selling acts that keep her in publishing royalties. She not only co-produced her album, but wrote all of it's material, which has more depth than the breezy ditties that now dominate the airwaves. - The Washington Post

***

This album suggests the work of a mature country singer and songwriter, one who knows how to turn a phrase. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

***

One of Nashville's more successful writers, Staley penned all 11 tunes on this release including a couple of "new hot country" songs that should earn radio play. With or without radio, her talent is plainly evident. - The Pittsburgh Post Gazzette

***

This is, in effect, the announcement of the arrival of a first-class talent. - Ralph Novak- People Magazine

***

In this impressive recording, Staley proves herself to be a power vocalist, singing her own material with a veteran's confidence. - USA Today

***

Her vocal ability is nothing short of amazing, with the shear strength of her voice fueling each track along. In the collection's closer " God Is In Control", she brings down the house with an on-fire gospel vocal that will leave you short of breath.- country.com

***

This woman has a hurricane in her vocal chords that she can release at will, and she writes her own material too; lyrics that kick and melodies that stick in your mind after a single listen. - The Daily Californian

***

Staley is one of Music Row's most-respected songwriters. She had a brief stint on MCA several years ago that failed to ignite her artist career, but the word in town is that she's always had the potential to find success singing her own songs. In the meantime, she's been penning hits for Faith Hill ("Take Me As I Am," "Let's Go to Las Vegas"), Tracy Byrd ("Keeper Of The Stars"), and numerous others, as well as performing on Hill's tour. Staley has an intriguing voice, drenching in emotion, and it perfectly conveys the sentiment in this poignant ballad about the life of a stripper. It's a well-written song, the production is understated, and Staley turns in an affecting performance. The only problem is, Will country radio really play a sad song about a stripper? It's great art, but it may be a little too gritty and real for happy, rush-hour music. - Billboard

***

Staley, the best country singer-songwriter you've probably never heard of, has built a 15-year Nashville career on her ability to write and sing uncommonly literate, infectious pop tunes. This album includes "That's the Bad Thing About a Good Memory," a song about the sometimes unfortunate persistence of happy recollections, and "Half Over You," which describes a lover's troubled mind after ending a romance. As a singer, Staley displays a Bonnie Raitt-like, tough-but-vulnerable style that allows her to tackle everything from bluesy, honky-tonk romps to sentimental ballads. Obviously, all her years as an opening act for other stars weren't wasted. Only the songs that Staley once sold to people such as Faith Hill ("Take Me As I Am") or Tracy Byrd ("The Keeper of the Stars"), she now sells to audiences herself. Bottom Line: Nashville songsmith shows she can sing with the best. - People Magazine

***

Power and truth. Things like this make me proud to be a country-music fan, proud to live in this songwriting community and proud to know someone this talented. Strippers and prostitutes are human beings, too; Karen becomes the first to sing on their behalf. - Music Row Magazine

***

On Fearless, Karen Staley pumps so much vocal power and passion onto the disc, if it were released on vinyl, the needle would literally jump out of the grooves upon playing it.

The Pennsylvania native has long been one of the best singers in Nashville as well as one of its best songwriters. Her success as the latter is undisputed with hits such as Tracy Byrd's "Keeper of The Stars" and Faith Hill's "Take Me as I Am" to her credit. This new release gives the powerhouse singer a chance to put her voice into her own songs with dazzling results.

The collection opens with the title track, a revved up anthem that puts Staley's voice right in the listener's face. Her vocal ability is nothing short of amazing, with the shear strength of her voice fueling the track along. Perhaps even more impressive is the track immediately following it, the evocative "That's The Bad Thing About A Good Memory." It's not only impressive as a finely crafted song, but also as an example of Staley's tender vocal side. This juxtaposition continues throughout the disc as she romps through a campy ode to an ex-lover's best asset in "Hindsight Is 20/20," then comments on women as sex objects in the heart breaking "Somebody's Child." Both songs are filled with equal passion for their subjects and a genuine celebration of Staley's gift as a songwriter.

Elsewhere on the disc, Staley pleads for compromise in the guitar driven "Cross The Battleline," and stands up for her rebellious nature in "Breakin' All The Rules." She brings the album to a close with two remarkable songs that are proof positive of her incredible talent. "With You," she confidently states her love for a partner with a vocal that is both soulful and sweet, and in the collection's closer, "God is in Control," she brings the house down with an on-fire gospel vocal that will leave you short of breath.

Staley produced the disc herself with help from Justin Niebank and Mike D. Chute. Lending their voices to the proceedings are Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Trace Adkins and Anita Cochran. The packaging is top notch, and a grateful Staley thanks scores of folks in the liner notes for whom she is indebted to, including a certain "Keeper of The Stars."

Amen to that. - country.com

***

Among the plethora of female talent to come out of Nashville in the last 10 years, Karen Staley has enjoyed steady success as 'a writer of hits for such artists as Tracy Byrd ("Keeper of the Stars") and Faith Hill ("Let's Go to Vegas"). But other than doing studio and live background vocal work, her skills as a singer went largely unnoticed until she toured with Hill in 1996.

Now comes Fearless, Staley's Warner Bros. debut, where she shines as a performer with five new songs and six from her repertoire, including "Wicked Ways" and "Half Over You," both familiar to fans of Patty Loveless. In fact, Staley resembles Loveless in spunk and attitude, as the strong but vulnerable woman trying to make sense of the frenetic world around her.

Vocally, Staley has no standout quality, like Reba McEntire's Okie tonality or Kathy Mattea's warm contralto, that will make her immediately recognizable on radio. But what comes across on Fearless is the surprising power of her voice, her ability to successfully embody a variety of styles, and the consistently high quality of her songs. Written from a comtemporary point of view, they're informed by country's past and present configurations--bluegrass, rockin' blues, gospel, country-rock, r & b, and ballad.

As both a writer and a performer, Staley particularly succeeds at getting the feeling in the grooves, whether it's the adrenaline rush of falling in love on "Can't Get Enuff," or the stirrings that come from seeing a well-turned derriere in a pair of tight jeans ("Hindsight is 20/20"). But she also knows how to convey heartache. The ballad "Good Memory" evocatively captures the melancholy ache of emotional wounds that refuse to heal, and "Somebody's Child" passes on a worthwhile lesson about human dignity.

In a time when aural lap dancing seems to sell the most records, Staley isn't about to become the next Shania Twain. What she offers is solid, well-performed music that nutures as much as it entertains. A delight. - Country Music Magazine

***

Although this is her debut album, singer/songwriter Karen Staley is no stranger to country music. After writing hits like "Keeper of the Stars," "Let's Go to Vegas," "Take Me As I Am," and winning an ACM award in 1995, she is finally making waves on her own.

Fearless opens with a fast-moving title track. As she moves through the 11 songs, Staley proves a natural talent for music in general, whether ballads like "That's the Bad Thing About a Good Memory," mid-tempo tracks like "Cross the Battle Line," or straight from the congregation gospel with "God Is in Control," complete with full choir. There's usually nothing worse than "white people" gospel, but Staley shatters that stereotype in three minutes.

She's also quite the lyricist, whether telling the tragic story of a woman working the street in "Somebody's Child," setting a realistic tale about the wife of an alcoholic to an upbeat melody in "Wicked Ways," or mastering the double entendre in "Hindsight is 20/20," which has nothing to do with vision, and everything to do with Levis!

Fearless is primarily a women's album, but Staley takes age-old themes and puts them in fresh perspective with intelligence and integrity. Her wonderful liner notes accompanying each track were a brilliant idea, endearing her to the listener with the intimacy of a close friend. - countryspotlight.com

***

Whether you realized it or not, you already know the music of Karen Staley. She has written mega hits such as Tracy Byrd's "Keeper Of The Stars," Faith Hill's "Let's Go To Vegas" and "Take Me As I Am." Along with writing hit songs, Karen also spent time doing studio and live background vocal and guitar work for a number of artists in Nashville. These days she's celebrating the release of her Warner Brother debut, Fearless.

"When I was 17, my music teacher gave me a guitar and I got hooked on it," Karen recalls fondly." I would go down to the basement and sing to records." Karen continued singing throughout her college years and the young artist secured a record deal in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, she saw it vanish when the label folded. Just a short time later however, she was encouraged by her parents to enter a talent contest at the world famous Wheeling Jamboree. After walking away with the top prize, Karen soon found herself opening shows for The Judds and Reba McEntire; they advised her to move to Nashville. Motivated by such stellar counsel, the Pennsylvania starlet made the move in 1984. "My life changed as a result. I came to town to be a singer and then just kind of fell into songwriting."

Karen wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, including the title track. "I wrote 'Fearless,' 'That's a Bad Thing About A Good Memory,' 'With You,' and 'Breakin' All The Rules' within a four day period specifically for the project." She also pulled from her extensive repertoire to complete the collection. "The good thing is that I've got hundreds of songs to choose from. I went back through them and found some of the ones I really liked, including 'Wicked Ways' and 'Half Over You.' Those have always been two of my favorites to play live." - Dance Card Magazine

***

Under the Spotlight…the best new names in country music…

Having penned hit songs for Patty Loveless, Tracy Byrd, Faith Hill and Confederate Railroad, KAREN STALEY has finally released her long awaited second solo album to critical acclaim

Karen Staley

by Alan Cackett

For the past fifteen years, Karen Staley has been one of those anonymous names you read on album credits. If you have albums by Patty Loveless, Faith Hill, Tracy Byrd, Reba McEntire, Confederate Railroad, Suzy Bogguss, Michelle Wright or Terri Clark, the chances are you have come across her name.

Last November Karen released Fearless, her second album and long-delayed follow-uo to her 1988 debut album, Wildest Dreams. A powerful collection of self-penned songs, Fearless includes backing vocals my Melodie Critttenden, Trace Adkins, Patty Loveless and Vince Gill, and has gained rave reviews in such prestigious American publications as Time, The Washington Post and USA Today. The first single, Somebody's Child, was a brave and unusual choice. Dealing with prostitution and stripping, it failed to connect with country radio, being deemed politically incorrect for the safe and morally upstanding middle-Americans who make up country radio's core audience.

'The thing about half my stuff like that is that it is the tradition of country music,' Staley explains. 'That songs would talk about real life things was kinda why people made fun of us. Everybody went through divorce, cheating, drinking and all that stuff, but nobody else would talk about it. They were just too proper. In country music we would lay it all out there.'

When she went out on the obligatory radio tour to promote Somebody's Child, hundreds of listeners would call in after the record had been played, and most of the djs admitted it was the biggest response they had had for a new record in months. Yet the programme directors were still afraid to add it to playlists.

'The stripper and hooker thing people just giggle about, because they are so nervous about it,' she explains. 'But after so many conversations with men, they would kinda take it lightly. Then I would say, "If that was your daughter, your sister or your mother," and they'd freak out and think about it differently.

A steelworker's daughter from rural Hookstown, Pennsylvania, on the West Virginia border, Karen has been playing music since she was a young girl listening to classic '70s rock and roll before being turned on to country music. She came to Nashville via Los Angeles and the Wheeling Jamboree. After graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan College having completed a course in social work and psychology, she was set on a musical career but hadn't decided just what to do.

When she moved to Nashville in 1984 she had no aspirations to be a songwriter. 'I came to town to be a singer and then just kind of fell into songwriting.' Her first cut came when The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cut Tennessee. Soon after Patty Loveless recorded Lonely Days, Lonely Nights, Half Over You and Wicked Ways; then came the first major hit, A Face in the Crowd, a duet recorded by Michael Martin Murphey and Holly Dunn that made the Top 10 in 1987.

The following year, after spending the summer on the road as a backup singer with Reba McEntire, Jimmy Bowen signed her to MCA. She co-produced Wildest Dreams, a fine collection of self-penned songs, but Bowen jumped ship to Capitol Records, and Karen's album sunk without trace. She continued writing, regularly played the Nashville clubs and worked on her demos, which were among the best in Music City.

By the mid-'90s Karen found her songs dominated the country charts. Faith Hill scored with Take Me As I Am and Let's Go to Vegas, Tracy Byrd hit with Keeper of the Stars, Confederate Railroad had She Took It Like a Man and Rick Trevino cut Just Enough Rope. While touring with Hill in 1996 Karen garned notice as a charismatic performer, entertaining the crowd with her own compositions during the star's costume change.

Signed to Warner Bros. Nashville in early 1996, she was given total freedom to co-produce Fearless. The recording was completed in November 1997, but like many labels, Warners sat on the album for almost a year before setting a release date. Its lush ballads are as fresh and staunchly country as ever, her hell-raising songs breakaway, wide-open, exhilarating sagas, as much about motion as emotion.

'I wrote Fearless, That's The Bad Thing About a Good Memory, Breakin' All the Rules and God Is In Control in like four days,' she says. 'Then I wrote With You not long after that. It was very tempting to pitch some of these songs, especially That's The Bad Thing, to someone like Patty Loveless, and I kept thinking, "Oh my God!" But then I thought to myself, "Well, I can give it a shot, and if it doesn't work, I can pitch it to her later."'

That's The Bad Thing About a Good Memory is possibly the best song that she has ever written. Her vocal styling, especially on the first verse, is something to behold--not to mention the killer song itself. 'It was December,' she recalls. 'Oddly enough, we don't have very many snowstorms here in Nashville. But there was one then, and I was holed up for a couple of days, started feeling sorry for myself and wrote that song. That's the beautiful part about the music business; you can take whatever emotions and turn them into something positive.' - Country Music International

***

The country charts are littered with the failed records of Nashville songwriters who, no matter how many hits they've written for others, can't seem to achieve any in their own right.

Karen Staley, who wrote Tracy Byrd's "Keeper of the Stars," as well as Faith Hill's "Take Me As I Am" and "Let's Go to Vegas," tries to buck this trend with her debut, FEARLESS. She wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on the album, and is particularly adept at heartfelt lyrics about relationships. She also has a big, powerful voice which serves her well on rollicking numbers like "Breakin' All the Rules" and "Can't Get Enuff," as well as the gospel shouter "God Is In Control."

On FEARLESS, Staley seems determined to show us the full range of her songwriting abilities, so we get the goofy "Hindsight is 20/20," an ode to the male posterior, as well as the social commentary of "Somebody's Child," which condemns the exploitation of women. Despite its serious topic, the latter song is a standout, with a gorgeous melody and harmonies by Vince Gill and Patty Loveless. Staley also recruited Trace Adkins, Anita Cochran and Diamond Rio's Jimmy Olander to help out on this occasionally audacious CD. - cdnow.com

***

After 15 years in Nashville as a successful country songwriter and backup singer, Staley makes the move to solo artist. Here, she stands out front on her own talents, writing or co-writing all 11 of the songs.

While she may not yet be as well-known as the stars for whom she penned big hits, like Tracy Byrd ("Keeper Of The Stars") or Faith Hill ("Let's Go To Vegas" and "Take Me As I Am"), her time is coming. She may even have here a few numbers, such as "Hindsight" or "Somebody's Child," that will be bigger than her previous writing creations.

Staley's voice is clear and powerful, perfect for delivering with emphasis the thought-provoking lyrics that make her music worth a close listen or two. "Fearless" is a fine package that mixes hard-edged ballads with rocking, honky-tonk fare. - Naples Daily News

***

Staley `Fearless' in her music
Karen Staley embodies the title of her new Warner Bros. album, ``Fearless.''

At 38, this child of the Pittsburgh steel mills is bucking a Nashville star-making machine preoccupied with youth. Having invaded the Music City 15 years ago on her own, she has survived by writing Patty Loveless' ``Half Over You,'' Faith Hill's ``Let's Go to Vegas'' and Tracy Byrd's award-winning ``The Keeper of the Stars.''

Plus for her new album's first single Staley chose ``Somebody's Child,'' a song she wrote about one of the world's most scorned and exploited occupational groups.

``To me, country was always the genre of music that talked about real life -- divorce and cheatin' and drinkin','' Staley explains. ``People make fun of you, but all the high-class people are divorcin' and cheatin' and drinkin', too; they just don't want to talk about it.

``We're honest enough to talk about it.''

``Somebody's Child'' goes beyond divorce, marital infidelity and incipient alcoholism, focusing on nude dancers. Staley says the song resulted from ``years'' of ``talking to men'' and wondering why they ``giggle'' about females who disrobe to support children and/or drug habits. Her lyric turns the light of reality onto that shadowy world, viewing the denigrated lust objects as people.

``Most'' patrons of the topless bars ``are not dirty old men,'' but ``just everyday people'' who ``don't think,'' Staley suggests. If one of them discovered his sister or daughter working in such a place, she says, he probably would hustle his fellow bar patrons outside and ``beat 'em to a pulp'' for ``disrespecting'' the relative.

Writer's proceeds from ``Somebody's Child'' have been earmarked for Magdalene House, a Nashville recovery house for ex-prostitutes, and Staley's long-obvious courage seems capped by her choice of this song as her album's first single. It was shipped to country radio stations often run and staffed by men -- some of whom, Staley says, may go to strip clubs on their lunch hours.

The song has yet to crack Billboard's top 75 country singles chart and probably won't, but it has produced ``all-positive'' listener reaction, Staley says, adding that she felt it should ship first because it's so different, and attention is the most immediate goal of a struggling artist. - Tribune Media Services

***

A listener from WV wrote, "SUPER!!!! Excellent from beginning to end! Karen's voice and songwriting are incomparable. I bought the album in December, 1998 and haven't stopped listening to it. Her live performance of the songs was just the icing on the cake. Keep 'em coming girl!!!!"

A music fan from Pittsfield, MA writes, "It's about time!!! We recently had the pleasure of seeing Karen live at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. We were so impressed with her performance, we bought the CD the next day. If you ever have the opportunity to see Karen live-DO IT, if you can purchase this CD- DO IT!!!!!!!!! It's about time Karen started performing her own songs, nobody does it better!!!

A music fan from Florida writes, "About time we had something fun to listen to! Where has she been all this time! I like country again."

A music fan from South Florida writes, "Excellent, loved every note of it! Karen has a way with words that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Some of my favs are 'With You,' a beautiful love ballad that could very easily be a Christian song. 'Somebody's Child' touches the heart and brings attention to a need in our society. And 'God Is In Control' is a reminder of a better way. I love this album and would highly recommed it to anyone who loves country music."

A music fan from US said, "Emotional, exciting, fun! Karen's voice can take you through every emotion imaginable. Her songs are real, and this album is a joy from beginning to end!" - amazon.com