I'd accept almost any track on this album - with the exception of SYA. SYA has an inspiring message - but its music strikes me as overwhelmingly Pop (and it was written for a General Music audience, as a potential movie track). Releasing it now as a radio single would please Carrie's large Pop-leaning fan base, and those who want to see her branch out more beyond Country - but I would rather she relied on things like the Aerosmith collaboration and the Sound of Music to demonstrate her standing as a General Music artist. Releasing this song as a radio single would risk contradicting her reported statements about not aiming deliberately for Pop appeal, and might appear too much of a concession to developments like the Billboard "Hot Country Songs" chart and the industry's apparent admiration for genre blurring artists. I would prefer Carrie to stand her ground and follow the path she's chosen.
"Forever Changed" is perhaps the outstanding unreleased song - but it is arguably not top playlist radio material, and Carrie has virtually ruled it out, by saying that it is too emotional for her to be comfortable singing live.
I've tried hard to feel the enthusiasm for DYTAM - but it strikes me as one of the album's more lightweight and unadventurous songs. It's fine as a stylistically reassuring album track - but after the release of three bold and stylistically more adventurous lead singles, I feel it would break the momentum, and contradict the aim that "Blown Away" should be seen as taking Carrie's music to a new level. Carrie has included three songs reflecting on the loss of a past love (DYTAM, GIG and WAW), and if she should want one of those to be a single, I'd prefer it to be WAW, which is the strongest song, and the one most consistent with a "new level", both lyrically and musically.
OWT is a long way off my personal taste in music - but I would agree with those who say that it has considerable commercial potential. I have to say that I was disappointed that LBT (whom I love) had songs like "Little White Church" and "Shut Up Train" largely ignored by much of the industry, but then won applause for "Pontoon" (which they appear to admit is one of their less ambitious songs) Similarly, I was disappointed that the Court Yard Hounds, chose "The Coast", one of the lightest songs, as the lead song from their debut album. But, personal taste aside, there' s no doubt that these "feel good" holiday-themed songs are popular in the Mainstream, and I think OWT would be a success on radio.
As for the growing use of this theme, this new song, by North Carolina's Shannon Whitworth, timed for an early summer release, is one of the best of this type that I've heard:
High Tide - Shannon Whitworth on Vimeo
Since Shannon is a Roots artist, that song would be aimed at the AMA reporting stations and wouldn't compete directly with Carrie - but I think it shows why some critics are less enthusiastic about the Mainstream examples, which tend to be more lyrically cliched and musically formulaic. What helps Carrie though is that examples by solo women are so far more unusual, and that she does vary the mood, by introducing feisty lines, like the one about sticking it to the Boss. Although I can't say I find OWT one of her best album tracks, I do think it's new ground for her, and shows her willingness to explore different facets of the Mainstream format.
But the two songs I'd most like her to back as singles would still be LLA and CGAS. LLA is stronger musically than lyrically - but it's important as an example of Carrie's wiilingness to include more Roots influence in her music (an area that's been relatively neglected hitherto, and which should appeal to some of the voters who've tended to downgrade her as lacking Country stylistic breadth.) CGAS, though, arguably has more radio appeal. Its Country Rock feel is probably the area where Carrie comes most into her own. It's musically strong, and has some witty imagery in the lyrics.
I don't have very strong feelings about the order of those two songs - but since LLA is lighter, it could balance the earlier singles and be a good mid-era choice. CGAS could then be a rousing finish to the release cycle.