CD - Reba - Duets
OK, now for my secret shame. Yes folks – I have a yearning for a little country, and even a bit of western. The missus ran off with the dog, the ute’s blown a gasket, it’s a long way to Nashville, and Reba McEntire has a new album on which she shares the pain & joy of all the afore-mentioned subjects, with the help of a few friends.
With a 30-year career, umpteen albums and a couple of TV shows behind her, McEntire is no flash-in-the-pan, and certainly no slouch in the warbling department. Reba Duets is an 11 track collaboration between good friends, mainly great voices, and some excellent songwriters. From the opening twang, Reba settles into very comfortable country territory. This is not an album that will extend the the boundaries of the genre but nor will it make even newcomers uncomfortable with the content. It may be “soft” country, yet Duets well demonstrates the craft of good song-writing and sound production. From the very start, the feeling of working together is palpable, and Reba’s balance of voice and lyrics with her co-artistes is exemplary. The selection of duet-ees is also of interest – the “safe” artists of “easy country” such as LeAnne Rimes and Trisha Yearwood, on the same album as Kelly Clarkson and Justin Timberlake. Hmmm. Who was thinking? And what?
After settling in with LeAnn Rimes for the solid opener of When You Love Someone Like That, there is much ground to be covered. The fiddle and steel guitar ring in Does The Wind Still Blow In Oklahoma, allowing Ronnie Dunn to take the 2nd verse into full Nashville mode. Not being a Kelly Clarkson fan, I was forced into lowering the gun I had set on her, and found that I could, in fact, sit through Because Of You just one more time. After the blame game, we get songs about divorce – Every Other Weekend, with Kenny Chesney building a bit of pathos; songs about alcoholism – Trisha Yearwood lending a hand with She Can’t Save Him; songs about heartache – Break Each Others Hearts Again with the indefatigable Don Henley; songs about holding on – Faith In Love with Rascal Flatts; and songs about nothing in particular – Everyday People with the surprisingly good (and not yet dead, as one friend thought), Carol King. Justin Timberlake facilitates The Only Promise That Remains by sounding like any other adequate backing vocalist required to walk up to the stand. And that’s good. The song that caused me issue was Sleeping With The Telephone. Beautifully supported by Faith Hill, this song of a woman whose man has gone to war reminded me of the deeply introspective nature of country music, where the fact that tens of thousands of women in a foreign country may already be widowed by an unjust illegal war, appears to have been overlooked. My partner, however, sees a very personal anti-war song. Same song – different opinions!
Released in the US on September 18, 2007, Reba Duets sold more than 300,000 copies in the first week, ensuring #1 position on both US pop and country album charts. The first single is the Kelly Clarkson duet (and song) Because of You. This became McEntire’s 30th top 2 country single, peaking at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, and is also her 5th top 50 single. This ties her with Dolly Parton for the record among female country artists.
Reba Duets is out through MCA Nashville
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meezon04
said ages ago