Amazing Album

With all of the overwrought, overproduced material coming out of Nashville these days, it's incredibly refreshing to find an artist who is committed to making good music. Yearwood isn't traditional country by any stretch of the imagination: in some ways, she's even more pop than Faith Hill or Shania Twain in that she has a really diverse set of musical influences, all of which show up here. But Trisha is country by virtue of her ability to sing like she's living a song, and make the listener live it too.

Trisha has some amazing pipes, as she shows in "Where Are You Now," but she's so comfortable with her own voice and the incredible material that she lets the songs and the arrangements do the talking. The most affecting track for me is "Some Days," an incredible showcase for Yearwood's interpretative skills and Dan Dugmore's dobro. Her cover of "Sad Eyes" is so achingly sad and yearning that she can stop a listener in his/her tracks. "Too Bad You're No Good" is a refreshing change of pace, and Emmylou Harris really rips up the song with Yearwood. "I'm Still Alive" is surprisingly triumphant and shows a spark of tongue-in-cheek humor.

Unlike Faith Hill or Shania Twain, more bent on Cover Girl glamor or astronomical sales (and generally both), Yearwood seems comfortable in her niche, particularly in her bare-bones rendition of "Real Live Woman." And unlike phenoms like LeAnn Rimes or Lila McCann, she's lived life and is mature enough to sing about the "real stuff" without sounding out of depth or genre.

This is probably the strongest of Trisha's efforts, although she's made some pretty fantastic albums over the length of her career. I'm looking forward to more great stuff!

better and better every time...

it seems that with every album yearwood records she gets better and better, and not only her voice, she takes her music to new and exiting places. this album is such a thrill to listen to. as she opens with the song "WHERE ARE YOU NOW", and brings us her version of Springsteens "SAD EYES", and other WONDERFUL SONGS like matraca berg and Harlan Howards "Come Back When It Ain't Rainin'"

and Matraca Berg and Ronnie Samosets "When A Love Song Sings The Blues". Every song is as great as the last, just when you think it can't posobly get any better, it does... this cd is worth a listen.

One of her best, if not her best album yet.

On Yearwood's 2000 album REAL LIVE WOMAN, we find her in a more reflective mood. 1998's WHERE YOUR ROAD LEADS was very crossover country, this brings her back into a more folk atmosphere that is more gritty and raw in terms of sound and production than its predessor. There was only two singles on here, the title track and the opening "Where Are You Now". The title track was a mild hit that resonated with listeners, especially females. The song explains that she might not be a movie star, or not the perfect size, but she's ok with who she is. She does an inspired cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Sad Eyes". "Some Days" is a very sad, but real, ballad. Same goes for "I Did". She also does a great cover of Linda Ronstadt's "Try Me Again". Other standout ballads include "Wild For You Baby", "I'm Still Alive" and "When A Love Song Sings The Blues". There isn't much uptempo to be found here, but it's ok. This is just a great emotional album from one of the most talented vocalists in country music.