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| "Call Me Crazy" album reviews; Out Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 7 2008, 12:53 PM (2,952 Views) | |
| Whoa-mack | Oct 22 2008, 03:46 PM Post #16 |
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Arizona Buckaroo
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-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/ | |
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| Whoa-mack | Oct 22 2008, 07:51 PM Post #17 |
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Arizona Buckaroo
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Alright, I'm going to post my review of Call Me Crazy right here. It's going to kinda long, so sit down and enjoy your read. I don't normally do long detailed postings like unless it's for my blog : ------------------------------------- Call Me Crazy by Lee Ann Womack (Released 10.21.08) Review by CF ![]() If anybody knows me well, you know I'm a big Lee Ann Womack fanatic, and I've been waiting, intensely (and surprisingly somewhat patiently), for new music from my favorite female Texan songbird. After the unquestionable masterpiece that 2005's There's More Where That Came From was and is (and all her previous works), I was expecting the follow-up album to be just as good, or even better, though I knew it would be challenging to accomplish the same triumph. Back in late 2006, when fans were hungry for more L.A.W. music, a new single was released, called "Finding My Way Back Home" (buy on iTunes and listen to it here), and it was met with mixed reviews, but most people seemed to be disappointed and yearned for the more traditional sound that There's More and her past music had given to us. "Finding" comprised of a different and more Caribbean pop-country uptempo sound (a sound not too unlike one of her past radio singles, "Ashes By Now"), and people and radio did not flock to support it a whole lot. I personally think it's a good song, and I did what I could to promote the single and I thought the music video was pretty cool. I just think it failed in comparison to "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" and the other more recent songs she had, and people were expecting more like that, and songs that were not so mainstream-sounding like other "country" artists' music. Anyway, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on what you think) that single bombed, and led to a change of course and a big delay of a new album being released (which would have had the same title as the single). Lee Ann was not fully satisfied with the tracks that were recorded for that project, so a systematic evaluation had to be carried out (I like the way that sounds haha), and most of the originally planned songs were cut from, what would come to be, this latest album project, Call Me Crazy, and new tunes would take their place. From the songs that I heard and that were taken off, I will miss most of them (a version of Cindy Walker's "You Don't Know Me", a remake of Randy Rogers Band's "Down and Out", a very traditional cheating song called "Hide and Go Cheat", a co-written state-pride ballad titled "Take Me Back to Texas", a remake of Waylon Payne's"Her"...). There were a few others rumored to be on the album (you can read about them here), but one that I'm glad was left off was a cover of Johnny Rodriguez's "Love Put a Song In My Heart" (not the greatest song). All in all, even though those gems may be hidden forever, we all won out in the end with this new record. The track that introduces us to this new album is the first radio single, "Last Call". What absolute perfection and a stunning way to make a comeback again for Lee Ann. The song is, of course, about a man sitting alone at a bar who has a tendency, when he drinks too much, to phone up his past flame when the bar is closing down, and cry his sweet nothings. The girl he calls is smart enough to know that he only calls her when he's lonely and intoxicated and wants to be picked up. The jerk continues to burn her just like that Johnnie Walker Red he just downed. My mom commented to me that my dad was that way when he couldn't find anybody else to deal with him or take care of him, so in a way, it's relatable. I think thst "last call" double meaning is very clever and the song was written so well. Brilliant lyrics, vocals, and production. Classic Womack with a classic theme that's not too often told by woman on today's country radio. The music video, which is set in New York City is just as excellent, though the only thing that bothers me is that the guy does find another girl to go home with, just as the always-burned-ex shows up in a cab to "catch him when he falls", which is exactly the opposite of what the lyrics say. I think the female in the song is stronger-willed than that and based on her experience with the guy, doesn't want to deal with that kinda craziness anymore, so she wouldn't do that (except maybe in a moment of weakness and hard-core denial). Anyway, L.A.W. chose just the right song to get her back into the spotlight with fans and critics (and hopefully, radio plays it more, because it just hit the top 30). It's one of the highlights of the album. The second track is "Either Way", which is about a marriage in a heap of trouble, just on the edge of d.i.v.o.r.c.e. Lee Ann, of course, with her super-emotional vocals, lays her message across the table and confronts her husband of the issue at hand. The production is a cross between traditional country and R&B. I like it a lot. This one is the only song that survived from the previous planned album release, too. The next track is "Solitary Thinkin'", which is written by Lee Ann's friend and country artist, Waylon Payne. I first heard this on an album leak on Lee Ann's official website a few weeks ago, and I enjoyed it. It's a song that's basically the opposite of "Last Call", still from a woman's point of view, but she's the one doing the "solitary thinkin' and lonesome drinkin'" at the bar (I just love that phrase...haha) and with that heartache. Production wise, it's quite different than what Womack's done before. It immediately made me think of the production on Alan Jackson's Like Red On a Rose album, with its bluesy, R&B, kinda funky groove to it, like on Alan's song, "Don't Change On Me" (which coincidentally or not, Lee Ann contributes her harmonies to). The only song I can think of that is reminiscent of this, musical-arrangement-and vocal-wise, from her catalog is her remake of Patsy Cline's "She Got You". This is definitely one of the highlights of the album for me. I still think her cover/remake of Waylon Payne's "Her" (or "Him" as she, renamed it) would have been excellent to add, but it didn't make the cut. No worries because "Solitary" is groovy, in its own right. Number four is "New Again". I approve the message to this song: making something old into some new again (maybe it's the environmentalist/conservationist in me? lol). This is one of the four songs that Lee Ann co-wrote, and it is pretty good. Overall, I can't quite place it, but I think there are some weak parts in the song, which makes it my least favorite song on the album. Her vocals are beautiful, though I'm thinking that this song could have used a more exciting production. It is more acoustic-sounding than the other songs, I guess, and that's usually a good thing, but I would have liked a little more. The fifth track is "I Found It In You", which is definitely the most mainstream country radio-friendly song on the CD. The chorus is somewhat heavy on the drums and guitar like most pop-country songs. In fact, production-wise, it's basically a pop love song, but Lee Ann can do those quite well, too. It's kinda with "When You Get to Me" on the last album. Seemed out of place, but it's a great song. The lyrics in "Found" are about how people find their main reason for going on with various things, but she herself found her motivation through love. I love Lee Ann's Texan accent, so I couldn't resist this one, and I love the way she sings "youuuuuuu" haha. Her voice is what makes the song country, and her delivery, of a song that would sound cheesy with anybody else, sells this. "Have You Seen That Girl?" follows as song number six. I've seen reviews mention that this one is similar, lyrically, to "Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago", in that it's like a personal diary entry that looks back on the past and the directions her life has taken. Both songs were co-written by Womack (and Dean Dillon and Dale Dodson), and both show the same honest conviction and emotion that conjures regrets and wrong decisions made in life. "Girl" may not be the better of the two, but it's plenty good and I am loving the use of aching steel guitar in the chorus. It's full of Tammy Wynette-like spirit throughout. Now, onto "The Bees". I gotta say: this is one of the reasons that a new album tracklist was a good idea... just might be my favorite song on the album. I listened to co-songwriter's, Natalie Hembry's version of the song on her myspace and wow, that really made me excited for this (her's is a bit folksy and has less drum). It's pretty cool how Keith Urban joined Lee Ann as the background vocals. "Bees" is very relaxing and hopeful in its lyric. A child dreams about a better life in the future, one that isn't so depressing, and she seems to find her calling in the simplicity of bees. I may not have worded that the best way, but the song is just like sweet poetry and just mesmerizing (even though, I may not be fond of bees, though their honey is good). I think this could be a big hit for Lee Ann if she released it. It's not radio friendly, but for some reason, it seem like it'd work, especially with Urban's name on it. The usage of the drums may be slightly too much, depending on what you think - that's what I thought on my first listen some weeks ago - but now I'm loving all of the production. The fiddle and steel guitar is beautiful. Pretty alternative country, if you ask me. Beat-wise and I guess, mood-wise, it is similar to Chely Wright's stunning "The River". If you're gonna check out just one song on this album, listen to "The Bees". I think fans of country, traditional and mainstream, would appreciate it equally. Name-checking Keith Whitley, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny and June Carter Cash, "I Think I Know" continues on with track number eight. Based on the 30-sec clips I heard the night before the release date of Call Me Crazy, this is the song that perked my ears up the most. It reminds me of the '90s Lee Ann and sounded so country, traditional yet modern. The lyrics claim that not only the alcohol and old age killed these country legends, but it was the pain and sadness that they sung about so well that was the main culprit. Heartache is a real slow fatal shot to the heart and can be stronger than other killers. Lee Ann's voice shines throughout, just like the mandolin in the production. Wes Hightower adds his great harmonies. "If These Walls Could Talk", the ninth song, is the third that Womack had her hand in writing on. Pure traditional hard-core country at its best! If the purists had to choose one, they'd most likely go with this one. This lonesome and pain-charged tune sounds like something that would be on Womack's second album, Some Things I Know, and it similar to "When the Wheels Are Coming Off" in its style and aching lyrics. The house that sheltered all this broken love and fiery relationships could not bear to stand its contents. Just like Patty Loveless, not many can sing so well about lonesome and heartbreak. Now, again, Womack is given another immense double-shot of fun in her career with another duet record with country music's best, and fellow Texan, George Strait, on track #10, with "Everything But Quits". I was thrilled to find out about their second duet, because as a huge fan of both (Strait is my number one) and my dream that they'd duet together someday, their first duet, "Good News, Bad News" was good, but failed my expectations somewhat. When I saw some reviews that compared "Quits" to George and Tammy's duets, I was even more stoked to hear it, and even more so, because Lee Ann co-wrote their duet like the first one. Lee Ann is one of two women who have ever recorded a duet with Strait (the other, of course I mentioned in the last paragraph: Ms. Loveless), so to have two duets is remarkable and very lucky. When I first heard this duet, I admit, I was slightly disappointed (I'm picky lol), because I guess I was expecting something way pure traditional country like "Murder On Music Row" or something. I'm totally fine with it now and enjoy it a lot. It's not the type of song you hear everyday, and that Nashville/Countrypolitan sound mixed with traditional makes this a classic. Now, when I listen to it, it just makes me smile and brightens my mood up. They sound incredible together with the steel, fiddle, strings, and piano (does that fiddle kinda remind anybody else of Alan Jackson's "Right On the Money"?). Classy song and optimistic. With #11, we're back to sad songs lol... Lee Ann's version of "The King of Broken Hearts", which is a cover of Strait's 1992 tune, is fantastic, in my opinion. I wouldn't necessarily call it "better" because you can't outshine a king, but it's a nice satisfying tribute to the man. I'm sure when she sang it for him at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he loved it. The closing and twelve track is "The Story of My Life", which includes background vocals by Lee Ann's ex-husband, Jason Sellers, and their daughter, Aubrie, making it even more personal and meaningful. I can see how this is similar to "I Hope You Dance" in message, and it has mainstream appeal, but the thing about this one is it sounds more to the side of traditional country mixed with some contemporary arrangement. Definitely more fiddle and steel than "Dance", and more simple. You can hear the more pop-style to it later on in the song, but no denying it's a country song. The message is hopeful and like good advice, can never do you wrong. On my first listen of the whole album when I received it, I admit, I was slightly disappointed. I was expecting a twin or more to the previous album, but that's a hard feat to obtain. I'm realizing that after more listens and really soaking it all in, I truly appreciated it and enjoyed it more and more (it took me a while to do the same with her Something Worth Leaving Behind album). Just like with the album cover. When I first saw it, I seriously thought "wtf?" because it was weird and it was just legs and no upper torso in a retro '70s chair lol, but now I'm fine with it, and it is a crazy cover, just like the title. I still think the production in some songs and certain points could have been improved but over time, I'll be fine with it, as is. It may not be her best album (or at least, I don't consider it that for the time being, but who knows, I might change my mind). Lee Ann Womack is always better and more talented than most of her contemporaries and radio never really shows her the respect she deserves (that's really the case with most talented artists, though.) This album is really one of the highlights of the year and I think it brought us fans some more great music. Oh man, I write a lot, and this took hours to write it seems... I guess I cannot be concise or shorten down my thoughts when I want to say a lot (you can literally call me crazy). You deserve a very big gold star for reading it through. Anyway, I'd rate this album about 4 out of 5 stars. Not her very best, but better than the works of most artists. Believe me, I wouldn't have spent so much time writing this, if it was terrible. Now, sit down, press "play" (or turn that turn table on, if you've got the vinyl version) and enjoy. Link back: http://s8.zetaboards.com/LAW_Forums/topic/8023522/2/?x=0#post8000357 |
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-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/ | |
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| Whoa-mack | Oct 23 2008, 04:54 PM Post #18 |
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Arizona Buckaroo
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-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/ | |
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| Whoa-mack | Nov 7 2008, 07:56 PM Post #19 |
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Arizona Buckaroo
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-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/ | |
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| Whoa-mack | Nov 9 2008, 11:41 PM Post #20 |
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Arizona Buckaroo
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-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/ | |
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