Jo Dee Messina - Burn (2000)

Jo Dee Messina had established her own distinctive identity in country music by the time she released her third album, Burn, in 2000. Neither the down-home sweetheart type nor your standard-issue honky-tonk angel, she came across as an Everywoman determined to overcome heartaches and hard times. For the most part, Burn’s songs cast Messina as a feisty heroine battling the odds with defiance. Producers Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw fashion an aggressive sound for the album that’s more akin to Classic Rock than country, and it suits Messina well as she declares her independence in “Downtime,” plunges into the singles wars in “Saturday Night,” and weighs the cost of desire in “Nothing I Can Do.” She’s at her inspirational best in the title number (a call to personal excellence) and “Bring On The Rain” (a survivor’s anthem featuring McGraw on background vocals). There are downbeat moments as well, such as “Angeline,” a vignette about a troubled teenager. Messina delivers these songs with a brash, bring-it-on spirit, and it’s hard not to be won over to her cause as she blazes her way through these uplifting tracks.