Personnel: Jessica Simpson (vocals); John Shanks (guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar); Ilya Toshinsky, Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar); Troy Lancaster, Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Mike Johnson (pedal steel guitar); Johnathan Yudkin (mandolin, fiddle); Charles Judge (piano, organ, keyboards); Craig Young, Jimmy Lee Sloas (bass guitar); Jeff Rothschild, Shannon Forrest (drums); Hillary Lindsey, Brett James (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Luke Wooten.

With 2008's DO YOU KNOW, singer/actress Jessica Simpson wanders from her comfortable pop confines into country territory for a set of twangy crossover tunes. Born and raised in Texas, Simpson certainly has more built-in country cred than many performers, and she uses it to offer up an appealing album proudly in the Shania Twain/Faith Hill vein. Although many of these songs feature pedal-steel guitar, fiddle, and other telltale country instrumentation (see the lively opener, "Come On Over"), Simpson never pretends that these tracks are anything but Nashville-honed pop numbers. Simpson also uses DO YOU KNOW as way to return to her Christian-music roots, as most readily embodied by the celebratory "Pray Out Loud." The record's crowning moment, however, is easily the title track, both written by and featuring the legendary Dolly Parton, who helps to cap off DO YOU KNOW with an extra dose of energy and passion. While some country traditionalists may scoff at Simpson's Music City makeover, the album is remarkably assured, and stands as one of the pop star's finest outings.

Rolling Stone (p.112) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[D]igging into her country roots for DO YOU KNOW is the most strong-footed move that Jessica Simpson...has ever made....Simpson's tender voice exudes the realism of a gal who's taken a few knocks in her day."