Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy (Dig)
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Free Music Notes for Call Me Crazy (Dig)
Free Music Review: Call Me Impressed!
Hit: 5 Stars
Three years is a long time to wait for new music from any vocalist. Many careers are made and quickly fade in that span of time. Sometimes too, the anticipation for something new doesn't always live up to one's expectations. Lee Ann Womack's Call Me Crazy manages to meet and exceed any and all expectations ten-fold. This could well be the finest album of her decade-and-a-half long career.
Indeed from the opening bars of her current hit single, Last Call, it's apparent that three years to recharge and refocus did Ms. Womack a world of good. Her voice is exquisitely lush and pure, proving that like fine wine, some things... even those that need no improving... DO improve with time. She's truly never sounded better, or more inspired than she does on this album. Her phrasing is impeccable. Her rhythm panache shows a skill and playfulness. Without a doubt, this is a fun album to listen to! Never over-powering, or over-bearing. Not in your face, but subtle. It's as easy on the ears as Lee Ann is on the eyes. And in addition to never sounding better, she's never looked better; sporting a newly svelte figure that I'm sure would be the envy of women half her age. Compile a list of country music's most beautiful women, and Lee Ann Womack is a must-include near the top. In a bold move, the front cover pose teasingly reveals just her gorgeous gams... and nothing else! The back cover pose more than makes up for the omission of seeing her pretty face under the album title. It showcases what a true beauty this country songbird really is!
The songs are all first rate, including four of the twelve (New Again, Have You Seen That Girl, If These Walls Could Talk, and Everything But Quits), which were co-written by Womack herself, showcasing yet another of her many talents. She is an eloquent writer and masterful storyteller. On Everything But Quits, the LAW is joined by one of her.... and all of country music's.... heroes, the legendary George Strait. Strait is an ageless troubadour, to borrow the title of his latest single. His style, his charm, and his talent transcend time. He was great twenty-five years ago and is even better today. Lee Ann was fortunate to have him grace her album with his presence. Their voices blend beautifully, and the lush string section on this song is reminiscent of the 1960's pop/country sounds of Eddie Arnold and Ray Price.
But not to leave George alone in the vocal collaboration department (of which Everything But Quits should win top honors at the CMA's), Lee Ann Womack corralled yet another country hunk, Keith Urban, to sing back-up vocals with her on The Bees, a song that grabs your attention instantly with its sensuous thumping bass /drum beat. This song literally begs for a music video, and would surely be a hit on CMT and GAC.
Bottom line is this; if you've never experienced the magic of Lee Ann Womack's angelic voice, Call Me Crazy is a great place to start. A true artist in every sense of the word, Ms. Womack stays respectful to traditional country, while retaining a current and contemporary sound. Her talent is a rare commodity, and one worth celebrating and enjoying. Give this album a chance and pop it into your CD player. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you hear! A+
Free Music Review: Sublime
Hit: 5 Stars
WOW! Lee Ann Womack's new album is simply sublime. "Call Me Crazy" is not quite as perfect as her previous album "There's More Where That Came From" (which is undoubtedly one of the greatest albums of the decade so far), but it is as good as her first two wonderful albums "Lee Ann Womack" and "Some Things I Know". Luckily Lee Ann picked up the pieces of the disaster that was "Something Worth Leaving Behind" and came back stronger than ever.
Sadly, Lee Ann is somewhat underrated and rarely mentioned alongside current country divas like Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, and this leaves diehard fans like myself living in constant fear that she will be dropped from her label and disappear into obscurity, alongside so many great talented shouldabeen super-stars (JoDee Messina, Terri Clark, Sherrie Austin, Tammy Cochran, Rebecca Lynn Howard & Chalee Tennison).
If Lee Ann had been around in the era of Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton & Barbara Mandrell, she (like the equally underappreciated Lorrie Morgan) would have been a super-star.
Stand-out tracks on this set include the lead-single "Last Call", but for me the best tracks are "The Bees", "I Think I Know", "The King Of Broken Hearts" & "Solitary Thinking". But really there is not a weak track on the whole album, just like her previous album.
My only two issues with this album (and yes I do have two problems), have nothing to do with the projects class and musicality. The two issues are:
1) Lee Ann's previous single "Finding My Way Back Home" is not included on this set. Even though it was not a huge hit and is from an un-released set that was due last year, to be fair to the fans who want to collect every track Lee Ann releases, it should have been included at least as a bonus or hidden track. This is a problem prevalent in the country music industry (Billy Currington's new album also omits his previous non-album single). This problem can be easily solved if the label includes the song on the next Lee Ann Womack "Best Of" CD, but if they truly care about the fan, they should ensure they do so.
2) The only other issue I have with this CD is the packaging. This CD comes in a white, cardboard digi-case. For true music collectors like myself, this is a real bug-bear, and no matter how much the labels harp on about being environmentally friendly, we all know it is solely a profit increasing motive and NOT an environmental one. This cover is going to quickly become dirtied, bent, squashed and ruined. I implore the labels to abandon this phony environmental practice and return to the safe and secure jewel cases.
Overall, if considered from an artistry and musicality level, this is a more than awesome product. 10 out of 10 and I cannot wait until the next Lee Ann Womack album, I only hope the next one arrives much quicker than this one did.
Free Music Review: Womack's CD: Call Us Satisfied
Hit: 5 Stars
Prime Cuts: Last Call, Everything But Quits (with George Strait), New Again
Lee Ann Womack does not just sing she creates. Assaying lyrically eloquent tales, Womack puts on display (via these songs) three dimensional characters who pulsate with red-blooded emotions just like each of us. Whether it's the emotionally dented woman (of "New Again") or the lonely tavern patron sitting alone with jukebox ("Solitary Thinking") or the distraught doormat who has reached her emotional dead end ("Last Call"), these are deftly painted stories with narratives that ought to resonate with anyone who has had been experience with the various permutations of love's entanglements. Teaming up again with hit producer Tony Brown (Vince Gill, Brooks and Dunn, Reba McEntire and George Strait) "Call Me Crazy" continues her honky-tonk-inspired country direction paved by her previous effort "There's More Where That Came from."
Talk about stories with a twist: lead single "Last Call" is most telling. With the accompaniment of surging, anguished twang and moan of guitars, steel and fiddle, "The Last Call" narrates the tortured story of a woman who finally made her last call on her man who always treated her as his last call. Also, check out the barely devastation she summons on "If These Walls Could Speak" a deliberate tale of love that has run its course. As the pedal steel moans with ascending ache, Womack offers up the deeply lonesome ballad "Solitary Thinkin'," in which she sits alone in a smoky bar with the jukebox ruminating about her heartache. Pain has never sounded so good.
Nevertheless, Womack does not leave us in total depravity: on the hopeful "New Again," with carefully nursed lines and a gorgeous tune, she offers hope for the emotionally scarred with that special someone who can make us whole again. The Dean Dillon co-write "Everything But Quits" finds Womack teaming up with label mate George Strait again. Befitting to the overwhelming status of the two superstars, "Everything But Quits" is one of the country's brightest spots beaming with encouraging lines over a slow heart-felt melody. With echoes of her big hit "I Hope You Dance," the gorgeous string-laden ballad "The Story of My Life" is a heartfelt advisory to embrace the poetry of life.
If there's any criticism it's that there are far too many ballads and the uptempo numbers do not stand up as well relative to the slowies, with the exception being Womack's cover of Jim Lauderdale's "King of Broken Hearts." Formerly cut by George Strait and also produced by Tony Brown, Womack could hardly go wrong with this infectious propulsive hit-to-be with its incessantly catchy hook. Overall, Womack has outdone herself this time: her nuanced and sensitive delivery add dimensions to these carefully chosen songs. With such a fine country record, call us satisfied.
Free Music Review: Talent Trumps All
Hit: 5 Stars
Disclosure. If you live in New Jersey and listen to country music chances are the windows remain rolled up tightly while you're driving. In the case of Lee Ann Womack this geographic bias does a grave disservice to a tremendous talent (It also doesn't help that the New York radio market hasn't fielded a country station for decades.)
Admittedly, I know very little about country as a genre and even less about Ms. Womack in particular, so stumbling across a few cuts on XM from her latest release, Call Me Crazy left me wondering just who the woman is behind the pipes. After buying the disc (and rolling up the windows) what I quickly discovered is a remarkable voice that in one minute can whisper a room full of pathos and in the next can literally shred your speakers. When you set your prejudices aside, it is clear that in the case of Lee Ann Womack talent is her genetic trump card.
That said, this is clearly not a feel good record, finding Womack in constant turmoil about one disastrous relationship or another - with Last Call, Either Way and If These Walls Could Talk (among others) hard-wired into 911. In fact, these are just the type of toxic reflections that run-of-the-mill bad relationships must talk about when they want to feel better about themselves. Some of us call lawyers while others drown their conflicts in a bar. Both have their virtues.
All that aside, what allows this release to transcend the material's Soap Opry inclinations is Womack's seemingly limitless vocal range. Each song goes to a real place that is unfailingly powerful, honest and tough-minded. Country or not - there's always room for that - even in New Jersey.
Highly recommended!
Free Music Review: Everything A Real Country Record Should Be
Hit: 5 Stars
On Call Me Crazy, Lee Ann's singing the material she does best; the songs are sometimes mournful, sometimes angry, always wringing with emotional depth and subtlety. To call this release old-fashioned is an understatement, yet it never feels dated. She covers topics like battered wives, broken marriages, and "cryin' in your beer" songs. The title track is now one of my all-time favorites by Lee Ann; its hauntingly beautiful and starkly realistic. The duet with George Strait, "Everything but Quits," is a Texas swing version of George and Tammy. This CD even features a fairly up-tempo, happy song, "I Found It in You."
The wait for this album was too long owing to the question of what direction LAW would take next with veteran hitmaker Tony Brown producing her for the first time. She's got a fine line to walk; her best material isn't radio-friendly and isn't likely to sell big. However, artistically this material is wonderful for her voice, and nobody can perform it the way she can. She tears the heart out of every note. Its refreshing for a lover of traditional country to hear these songs. I don't want her to change a thing. As far as accessibility goes, she'll never sell out. She's consistently declared it and even joked about it: "I hope this record works out for us," she said. "If it doesn't, I've got a plan. I'm gonna go pop...They might as well take one of ours, I guess."