Tracey Ashley - Two First Names (CD)

In the course of a lifetime of people stating the obvious—“You have two first names!” “Your husband is white!” “You smell nice!”—Tracey Ashley has become remarkably adept at creating a series of surprises. She married into a family where the random exchanges range from open weeping to declarations of love for Oprah to fun facts about the incredible danger posed by the noble hippopotamus. She up and moved from Florida to Minnesota, she became a teetotalling comedian, she ventured into the wilds of North Dakota and let the random bar comments come a’rollin’ in. A witty though never acerbic stage presence, Ashley paints a montage of utterly relatable fish-out-of-water scenes set to the sweet, sweet sounds of her ice cream man’s insurance policy slow jams. Maybe it’s her mellifluous voice (Ashley’s one of the most recognizable voice-over artists out there), her deft ability to work “blue” without leaving a crowd cringing, or her choice to go with punched-up true tales (complete with “Barbeque!” callbacks)—whatever “it” is, it’s about to make you laugh twice, steal some jokes, and hope desperately that Tracey Ashley will pluck you, you special snowflake, from the crowd to enjoy a mocking tale over a mocktail. Unlikely, what with you listening from home, but it’s always worth dreaming. P.S. Track Seven? Totally a contender for the album name. Track Listing Where It All Started Break the News Hippopotamus Interracial Marriage Homeschooled DINKs My Favorite Word Trust My Guy Time for a Female President Happy Travels Two First Names My Trip to Maine Sugar Dealer The Pot Experience