Shaboozey The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Shaboozey's The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales channels cinematic outlaw melodrama into a compact set of genre-mashing vignettes, and across professional reviews the record earns a cautiously favorable reception. Critics point to a 73.33/100 consensus score across three professional reviews, noting that the co
Bullets & Blades stands out for its big, strikingly beautiful duet and emotional power.
The album's strengths are vivid western imagery and recurring motifs of whiskey, guilt, and retribution.
Best for listeners looking for country crossover and outlaw narrative, starting with If I Was An Outlaw and Kissed By An Angel.
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Full consensus notes
Shaboozey's The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales channels cinematic outlaw melodrama into a compact set of genre-mashing vignettes, and across professional reviews the record earns a cautiously favorable reception. Critics point to a 73.33/100 consensus score across three professional reviews, noting that the collection's strengths lie in its atmosphere, narrative clarity on key tracks, and the way guest collaborations widen its sonic palette. "If I Was An Outlaw" repeatedly emerges as the album's emotional pivot, while "Kissed By An Angel", "Drunk", "Cowgirl" and "Sweet Revenge" are cited as standout songs that showcase Shaboozey's knack for blending country tropes with rap-inflected cadence and widescreen production.
Reviewers consistently praise the album's atmospheric brooding, revenge-and-redemption motifs, and small-town escape stories, commending moments where songs are allowed to breathe and genre fusion feels natural rather than forced. Praise centers on vivid, whiskey-soaked imagery and a nostalgic country vocal style that still makes room for hip-hop phrasing; critics noted that guest turns help the concept land and that tracks like "Sweet Revenge" add gospel-tinged heft. At the same time some reviews register reservations about the loose concept and occasional narrative ambiguity, arguing that the theatricality sometimes blurs perspective and undercuts cohesion.
Taken together the critical consensus suggests The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales is a rewarding, if imperfect, step in Shaboozey's evolution - a record with memorable set pieces and clear highlights that make it worth listening to for those curious about country crossover and storytelling-driven, genre-mashed songs. Detailed reviews below unpack where the album succeeds most and where its ambition overreaches.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
If I Was An Outlaw
3 mentions
"The Outlaw Cherie Lee is more purely country: If I Was an Outlaw has saloon-bar piano"— The Guardian
Kissed By An Angel
2 mentions
"Kissed By An Angel’ sees Cherie Lee’s love giving up wild ways over soft, introspective guitar"— New Musical Express (NME)
Drunk
2 mentions
"At their best, these tracks are darkly atmospheric and powerful - as on Drunk"— The Guardian
The Outlaw Cherie Lee is more purely country: If I Was an Outlaw has saloon-bar piano
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
The Outlaw Cherie Lee (with Jamie Foxx)
Til Sunday
High Noon
Hell Is Hot (with Jamie Foxx)
Sweet Revenge
If I Was An Outlaw
Cowgirl
Burn It Down
Death Of Jeremiah Walker (with Teyana Taylor)
Drunk
Ugly & All
Bullets & Blades
Don't Count Down (with Sam Elliott)
Lone Survivor
Bounty On My Head
Born To Die
Kissed By An Angel
The Worst of Them All (Interlude)
Coyotes Point
The Epilogue
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Shaboozey leans into the outlaw saga on The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales, and the best songs - notably “Cowgirl” and “Bullets & Blades” - show why. Petridis savours the album's stark, brooding mode and its darkly atmospheric moments, praising the power of tracks such as “Drunk” while noting the extra snap when Shaboozey slips into a hip-hop delivery on “Til Sunday”. The concept holds together, the guest turns land, and these standout tracks demonstrate both his pop instincts and his country ambitions.
Key Points
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Bullets & Blades stands out for its big, strikingly beautiful duet and emotional power.
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The album's core strengths are its cohesive outlaw concept, stark brooding atmosphere, and smart guest collaborations.
Themes
Sh
Critic's Take
Shaboozey leans all in on outlaw melodrama across The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales, and the reviewer's ear is caught most by “If I Was An Outlaw”, “Drunk” and “Kissed By An Angel”. The writing lingers on revenge and whiskey-soaked detail, praising how “Drunk” and “Kissed By An Angel” render guilt and yearning with plain, sharp images. The best tracks on the album feel like miniature westerns, with “If I Was An Outlaw” acting as the emotional center that ties drinking, violence and conscience together.
Key Points
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The best song, "If I Was An Outlaw," anchors the album’s revenge narrative and emotional core.
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The album's strengths are vivid western imagery and recurring motifs of whiskey, guilt, and retribution.
Themes
Critic's Take
Shaboozey leans into the dusty theatrics of The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales, and the best songs on the record underline that mood - the widescreen drama of “Sweet Revenge”, the jaunty anecdote of “If I Was An Outlaw” and the tender slow-burn of “Kissed By An Angel”. Watson’s voice celebrates how “Sweet Revenge” marries riffing guitars with gospel harmonies, while noting “If I Was An Outlaw” nails country’s flippant, anecdotal side, and “Kissed By An Angel” exposes the album’s vulnerability. The result is an album whose best tracks succeed as vivid set pieces even if the loose concept sometimes blurs who is speaking.
Key Points
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‘Sweet Revenge’ is the album’s best song for marrying riffing guitars with gospel harmonies to evoke desert distrust.
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The album’s core strength is its genre-blending country fusion and moments of genuine vulnerability.
Themes
Critic's Take
Shaboozey leans into the melodramatic outlaw yarn on The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales, and his best songs show why the concept works. The stomping “Cowgirl” and the rattle-and-boom of “Born To Die” are barroom-ready standouts, while the genre-bridging “High Noon” slips neatly between Nashville and Atlanta. His mournful duet “Bullets & Blades” and the plaintive “Kissed By An Angel” show the record's softer, more moving moments. Overall the album succeeds when Shaboozey gives the songs room to breathe and blend styles rather than pounding authenticity into every corner.
Key Points
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The best songs blend country and rap with stylistic flexibility, especially “High Noon” and “Cowgirl”.
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The album’s core strength is Shaboozey’s ability to alternate gritty outlaw tropes with tender balladry and genre-mixing.