Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.99 You Save: $0.99 (7%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $3.56 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Van Lear Rose
Free Music Review: Brillant Album
Hit: 5 Stars
Loretta Lynn's lyrics and voice over Jack White's (The White Stripes) production equals pure brillance. Loretta Lynn is a really great songwriter as she shows here because all the songs were written by her. Her voice is really good still even for age. The music that Jack White creates is bizarre and beautiful especially with Lynn's voice. The songs are very personal and her duet with White is one of my all time favorite songs. Favorites include Van Lear Rose, Portland Oregon with Jack White, Trouble on the Line, Family Tree, God Makes No Mistakes, Mrs. Leroy Brown, Miss Being Mrs., and Story of My Life. Highly Recommended. Free Music Review: Not bad, but by no means great!
Hit: 2 Stars
The critical success that 'Van Lear Rose' has received is, in my opinion, an example of the fact that today commercial country is so poor that anything with any merit or old time feel is blown completely out of proportion. 'Van Lear Rose' is by no accounts a bad album, but its certainly not great. This unusual partnership of Country veteran Loretta Lynn and rock producer Jack White instantly brings to mind the partnership of Johnny Cash and Rap Metal producer Rick Rubin under his American Recordings label (perhaps the Cash/Rubin success was the inspiration for Lynn and White). This coming together from different musical backgrounds however is where the similarity end. This album is not even in the same league as anything released by Cash and Rubin, granted that that it is a very hard task. Although even judged on its own merits, the album is fundamentally flawed.
While I'm not over familiar with Lynn's earlier work what I have heard is too commercial and 'Nashville' for my liking, although this effort is somewhat a breakaway from that. Arranged and produced by White, the album has a refreshing, pleasant aura and impressive overall sound to it. Whereas Lynn's earlier work was polished and largely overproduced, 'Van Lear Rose' has a raw, country rock oriented, almost live sounding feel.
The problem with this album is essentially the quality of the songs. Lynn has been applauded due to the fact that all the songs in this album were self penned, although as far as Im concerned this is the downfall. The vast majority of the songs are weak to say the least with the exception of 'Miss Being Mrs' which is the only track on the album that stands up to repeat listening. Most of the songs are shallowly pleasant enough such as'Van Lear rose' or 'High on a Mountain top' but overall the album is quickly forgettable. There are even a few tracks on the album that leave you thinking if not for White's rock arrangements that there would be nothing left at all!
The songs also strike me as distinctly contrived. Yeah sure, Loretta Lynn has come from your classic deep south, country roots backgrounds but these songs sound as though they have been written using a country songwriting ticklist (cheating, Murder, mountain life) and come off sounding unauthentic.
Again 'Miss Being Mrs' deserves a mention as a truly redeeming feature as this acoustic ballad about Loretta's life as a widow is seering and powerful. Although however special this song maybe, it does not save a whole album.
In conclusion, you an lie back, play this album and its a nice, easy listen...but nothing more.
God knows, its superior to most of the crap that is passed off
as country music today (not hard) but by no means does it deserve the unconditional praise it has been receiving. I hope this review evens it out
somewhat.
Free Music Review: I Sure Hope This Wakes Somebody UP
Hit: 5 Stars
If you are trying to decide whether you like this album, take the following quiz and you will know whether this is for you:
1) Back in the 70's:
A. Did you love to sit in front of the tube at night and see Jim Reeves and George Jones crooning the Nashville Sound at the grand ole' opry? ...or...
B. Did you practically soil yourself when Waylon dropped "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean" in 1973 and it became clear that somebody was tearing Nashville a new one?
2) Back in the 90's:
A. Did you love line dancing to Achy Breaky Heart and feeling that nervous exhiliration as you wondered whether an increasingly puffy Garth Brooks was going to snap his harness as he soared over the crowd like an eagle? ...or...
B. Did you say a prayer of thanks when Johnny told Nashville to shove it and invited Rick Rubin over to his house to record a few songs?
If you answered B to each: Buy this album.
If you answered A to each: Go get the new Shania album.
If you answered A to one and B to the other: Go see a therapist.
Free Music Review: City boy raised on Metallica and Megadeth
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll keep it short and to the point. I'm 28 and never imagined i'd be in line at the store with a loretta lynn cd. Well i bought it and i must say i am very impressed . Loretta is like 70 and sings like she's 20. The music, for the most part, is very country souding. Not mullets, nascar, levis, $1500 guitars, produced in a 50 million dollar studio cheesy brooks and dunn vegas pseudo country pop, but something so much more authentic. THis music went right through me, even all the slow songs. That's a first for a speed metal child.Free Music Review: Just lovely
Hit: 4 Stars
I got into country music when my dad bought Johnny Cash's last studio album, The Man Comes Around. This was the second country album I bought and I have to say that this extremely easy on the ears. She's got this southern belle kind of voice that's so charming, you can't help but get hooked into her songs. Unlike so many "plastic" country musicians that's been coming out of the woodwork lately (*ahem* Toby Keith), Loretta Lynn has an earnesty about her that so few musicians have nowadays. Now I am not really familiar with her early recordings (I've read that she's been around for quite some time), but judging from this album, I've got to say, Ms. Lynn, please make another album and soon.