Atlanta-based musician Michelle Malone is what's known as a lifer. She was signed to a major label back in the late '80s with her band Drag the River, and now—no matter what her commercial or critical fortunes—she soldiers on, making music because it's what she was born to do. "Other Girls"—the opening track of her 14th studio album, Day 2—contemplates how much easier it'd have been if she'd gotten married, had children, and lived the quiet life. But she knows it isn't in her being and that "the grass ain't greener, just a different color." Coproducer Shawn Mullins, a noted musician himself, refused to do more than add backing vocals to Malone's musical talents, preferring to let Malone and her stellar band of Chuck Leavell (The Rolling Stones), Randall Bramblett, Phil Skipper, Tom Ryan, and others get the job done as naturally as possible. From the sweaty ballad "Marlboro Man" to the full-on groove of "Wasted on You" (with its touch of Keith Richards in the guitars), Malone is an experienced veteran whose lyrics have been lived a thousand times over.