If You're Thinking You Need To Go Back To This For Shania's Beginnings, Don't!

The Good: Production. . . I suppose
The Bad: Bland pop-rock, Some truly terrible lyrics, Short, There is a version with more songs.
The Basics: Terrible and less material than the (slightly) less exploitative Jomato Records release by the same name, Beginnings exploits early Shania Twain pop recordings with little value for fans.


For those who follow my many reviews, it might seem like I have already reviewed Eilleen Shania Twain's Beginnings. In a way, I have. I've reviewed Beginnings (1989 - 1990) here! That album was a twelve-track album by Jomato Records that exploited the early Shania Twain recordings from her earliest works at Limelight Records. It is, rather ridiculously, a different exploitative album than the Eilleen Shania Twain album Beginnings released by BCI Music four years later.

The fundamental difference between the two albums is simple: Beginnings, the BCI Music release has only ten songs and has no charitable benefits. The Jomato Records release was, at least in its own claim, a charity album designed to exploit Shania Twain's celebrity with her embarrassing early recordings to make money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Kid's Cafe/Second Harvest. BCI Music, like the producers of The Complete Limelight Sessions (reviewed here!) is simply out to make a buck off of dust-covered recordings of Shania Twain's initial pop attempt that did not sell in the late 1980s because by the early part of the new millennium, Twain was a hot property.

So, if one feels the need to support a company in exploiting the limited talents of a young woman, I'd recommend picking up the Jomato Records release; it has two more tracks (albeit the same song done twice) and it might be helping two charities. Buying this recording, in addition to being an auditory nightmare that makes the works of Milli Vanilli look like Mozart, helps encourage those who have access to early materials to lease them out without the consent of the artist at the time of their release. As it stands, Beginnings is one of the most generic pop-rock albums I have heard in some time and it is not recognizable as the works of Shania Twain for those who are simply looking for more by her. Her Country music fans especially will be deeply disappointed by how this work is such a departure from all that came after. As an unknown, Eilleen Shania Twain was looking to become the next Pat Benatar or one-woman version of The Bangles. She failed and went a different route to superstardom.

With only ten tracks Beginnings occupies less than forty minutes on compact disc and is a very bland, overproduced pop-rock album that illustrates some early talent from Eilleen Twain. Twain wrote all but one of the songs; a cover of "Half Breed," which was popularized by Cher. To her credit, Twain performs all of the lead vocals and most of the backing vocals. She does not, however, play any of the instruments and she was not at all involved in the production of the album.

Beginnings is pure pop-rock without any real hint of Country or even the pop-Country that Twain later became associated with. "Wild And Wicked" opens with almost the identical instrumental riffs as Melissa Etheridge's "Bring Me Some Water" and "(Don't Gimme That) Once Over" borrows instrumental and vocal bits from the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," down to the fact that Paul Sabu backs her with his clearly male vocals to support her! The derivative quality continues on "Hate To Love," which sounds like a plausible late-80's era Madonna impersonation.

But this is pretty generic guitar and keyboard-driven pop-rock with no real spark. So, for example, on "Half Breed," there is no character, no sense of the wrenching pain caused by the type of racism the musical protagonist sings about. And instrumentally, it does not hold a candle to Cher's version which had a force to it this version lacks. The generic and unmemorable becomes unfortunately laughable when Twain presents her song "LUV Eyes," though, which promotes dumbspeak and is so sugary-pop that it is likely to make fans of decent music anywhere cringe. The overall sound of Beginnings is very '80's pop and Twain actually nails the sound spot-on.

Twain hints at her range on Beginnings, though she seems much more committed to sounding tough than sounding good. As a result, she works in the lower range of her ability, seldom venturing into her soprano range. Instead, she keeps her notes generally short and low, like on "Send It With Love," where the Madonna analogy holds vocally as well as with her instrumental backing.

But Twain's writing abilities make it clear why she was not a success at this point in her career. Songs like "Rhythm Made Me Do It" are so bad that one imagines a teenage girl scrawling the poetry in the margins of her spiral-bound notebooks at school. Indeed, it is hard to believe that such a powerful adult sex symbol emerged when she used to write lines like "I am the taker you are the chance / This is the rule of romance / I am the seeker you are the find / Together we are two of a kind . . . / I can be happy you can be sad / Together things aren't so bad / You are the sailor I am the sea / The treasure of eternity" ("Two Hearts One Love"). One wonders what Lange saw in lines like that that made him say "yeah, I'd love to work with her!"

I suppose some of the lyrics are more mature, though most do focus on nervous, young ideas of love. Twain is plagued by a very basic sense of rhyming, which comes across in virtually all of her songs. While she has a sense of fun when she is being ridiculous on songs like "Rhythm Made Me Do It," even that song is painful to listen to. Indeed, even the thought of Twain today cannot sell listeners on the value of her rhymes "He's walkin' real slow and I know he's checkin' me out / Officer please can you tell me what this is about / You're doin' 105 and I'm lucky that you're still alive / He says baby get behind the wheel / I wanna make your tires squeal / Hey baby like to make some noise / Turn it on, turn it up" ("Rhythm Made Me Do It").

I suppose the best track is the straightforward rock of "Wild And Wicked," but the low point is such a tough call between so many of the remaining tracks.

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Shania Twain
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Up! (Country mixes)
Up! (Pop Mixes)
Greatest Hits

0/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Arguably One Of The Worst Pop Albums Ever, Shania Twain's Early The Complete Limelight Sessions Bombs!

The Good: Some catchy pop beats.
The Bad: Overproduced, Musically derivative, Vocally underwhelming, Lyrically idiotic, Short
The Basics: A terrible recording which seems to mostly be exploiting Shania Twain's first recordings, The Complete Limelight Sessions disappoints.


I will be the first one to admit that I am a big proponent of artist's rights. I loathe copyright infringement and I am a champion for the rights of the artists in cases of digital medium infractions (pirated music from on-line sources). So, when I come across an album like The Complete Limelight Sessions by Eilleen Shania Twain, I have some real issues. The content of the album is enough to "not recommend" it, but when reading through the liner notes, I became positively queasy and actually pleased that I had not paid money for this (I borrowed it from a library as part of my monthlong study of Shania Twain).

Yes, Eilleen Shania Twain is THE Shania Twain and The Complete Limelight Sessions is a recording, released in 2001 of Twain's original pop recordings from before she even had her studio debut Shania Twain. The Complete Limelight Sessions is a collection of Twain's pop songs released to the market after Twain had become an international success by producer Harry Hinde and Limelight Records, which owned the rights to the recording. One of the most troubling aspects of this album, though, is the apparent lack of participation that Twain actually had in producing or releasing this album. Indeed, as a writer on this album, Shania Twain is credited as "Eilleen Regina Lange," which is a designation I've not seen in any other notation for the artist . . . anywhere.

Of course, if Twain wanted to distance herself from this material, it is perfectly understandable. With seventeen songs clocking out at 59:21, The Complete Limelight Sessions is just terrible and hardly indicative of the talents of Shania Twain. Twain sings all seventeen songs as the primary vocalist, though she has some serious help on "Rhythm Made Me Do It." Rather oddly, Twain is credited as the co-writer of all but three songs with guitarist Paul Sabu in the liner notes. I write "rather oddly" because one of the songs, "Half Breed" is not one of the three songs Twain is not credited with writing, despite the fact that it was popularized by Cher probably before Twain was born (other recordings have it properly credited to other writers). "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore," "The Heart Is Blind," and "It's Alright" are credited to other writers, but most of this is Twain (or, as she is credited, Lange) and Sabu's writing.

While Twain provides all of the lead vocals, she does not play any instruments on the album. Nor does she have any production credit on the album and the liner notes do credit Harry Hinde with the production, though Milan Bogdan completely remixed the album. The point in addressing all of these production irregularities is that it seems this recording is very much away from the control - and probably musical vision - of artist Shania Twain.

It would be no surprise for the Country-pop artist Shania Twain to want to distance herself from this work. The word "terrible" cannot be used too frequently to describe this generic, overproduced pop-rock which could have been made by virtually any female artist who went into the studio in the late 1980s. The Complete Limelight Sessions has Twain backed by guitars, bass, keyboards and drums on virtually every track and the sound is busy and overproduced. Rather obnoxiously, almost every track ends with the same style fade out as Twain renews the song's refrain.

Vocally, Shania Twain is almost unrecognizable here. Twain, in her raw form on songs like "From This Moment On" or "You're Still The One," has a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice that is distinct, perfect in pitch and requires no remastering. One wonders either what Hinde got in the studio or what kind of producer he is to so mangle Twain's voice on this recording. On "Two Hearts One Love," Twain's vocals are robotic at best, on "LUV Eyes," she sounds positively hypnotized. "Half Breed" lacks the spark of vocals, like Cher was able to bring out and the song dies without vocal passion to it. Moreover, there is no fun or spontaneity to Twain's vocals on songs like "Wild And Wicked."

Largely, though, Twain does not have much to sing about, so it is unsurprising that the vocals are so lackluster or produced to be drown out by the instrumental accompaniment. After all, the best track on the album has Twain singing "Kickstart the rhythm pull out on the road / Relyin' on an overload / I need some baby blues reflectin' in the mirror / Tellin' me all the things I wanna hear / Loved and lost / I paid a painful cost / Feel my love / I've reached the point of no return / I'm wild and wicked / Wild and wicked for love" ("Wild And Wicked"). But even though the poetry might not be terrible, it is not the most complicated or smart song going.

But some of the songs are just inane. Indeed, the Shania Twain who had a sense of fun to write and sing "That Don't Impress Me Much" must cringe to be associated with a stupid musical storysong like "Rhythm Made Me Do It." Another song where her natural voice is almost completely mangled by production elements has her delivering the lines "Got the wind in my face and I'm ready to take on the night / Not a worry in sight the DJ is rockin' me wild / Things are startin' to shake so hold on 'cause I ain't gonna break / Red light in the rear view mirror / (Well hey you pull it over here) / He says miss just step away from the car / (Hands on your head move and you're dead) / But officer / The rhythm made me do it / The rhythm got me high" ("Rhythm Made Me Do It").

It might be tempting for fans of Shania Twain's works to look up The Complete Limelight Sessions, but the Twain many people like or love is completely absent from this recording. There is no evidence of the talented singer songwriter who later emerged and more than enough to suggest her early works are just being exploited.

None of the tracks are worth crediting as worst or best.

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Beginnings (1989 - 1990)
Shania Twain
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Up! (Country mixes)
Up! (Pop Mixes)
Greatest Hits

1/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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I Suppose She Always Wanted To Be A Pop Star, Eilleen Shania Twain's Beginnings (1989-1990).

The Good: Vocals, Production. . . I suppose
The Bad: Bland pop-rock, Some truly terrible lyrics, Short.
The Basics: Obvious, poorly-written and not utilizing the vocal skills of the artist, Eilleen Shania Twain failed to break out with Beginnings.


Sometimes, there is something pretty wonderful about coming across an artist later in their career than what might be considered their peak. Such is as it is with me and my exploration of Shania Twain, my October co-Artist Of The Month. I'm not big on the hype of any artist and I pretty much avoided Twain during what might now be considered her heyday (she never actually has to produce anything more to remain rich beyond most of our dreams). So, in going back and studying her works I was very surprised when my library managed to get in Beginnings (1989 - 1990) by Eilleen Shania Twain. And popping it in to listen to it and review it, I was pretty psyched; this was not an album mined over by virtually everyone else in the music-listening world! It does, however, confirm some of my suspicions about Shania Twain.

It is worth noting at the outset that there are two versions of Eilleen Shania Twain's Beginnings. This release, from Jomato Records, is a twelve-track album and according to the liner notes was leased special to make money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Kid's Cafe/Second Harvest, though Twain's actual participation in the album is limited. It appears a company leased the Limelight recordings, pressed the c.d. with no real involvement from Twain. This becomes somewhat interesting in reading the liner notes where Twain's original producer, Paul Sabu, makes such dubious comments as "The time I spent with Eilleen was special to me. She was, and I suppose still is, a kind, sweet, gracious, and thankful woman . . ." It's the "I suppose still is" that makes me think Twain might not be terribly involved in this project. All but one of the songs on this album are on The Complete Limelight Sessions, which I suppose does not live up to its name then. There is a virtually identical Beginnings that is missing two of the tracks. So, if one feels they absolutely must have Beginnings, this is the version to get, as opposed to the ten-track version.

But, there is little reason to pick up Beginnings, even to help a charity out. This is one of the most generic pop-rock albums I have heard in some time and it is not recognizable as the works of Shania Twain for those who are simply looking for more by her. Her Country music fans especially will be deeply disappointed by how this work is such a departure from all that came after. As an unknown, Eilleen Shania Twain was looking to become the next Pat Benatar or one-woman version of The Bangles. She failed and went a different route to superstardom.

With a dozen tracks (eleven songs, one which is repeated with a marginally different mix) Beginnings (1989 - 1990) occupies a paltry 44:47 and is a very bland, overproduced pop-rock album that illustrates some early talent from Eilleen Twain. Twain wrote all but two of the songs, with her presenting two different versions of "For The Love Of Him" and a cover of "Half Breed," which was popularized by Cher. To her credit, Twain performs all of the lead vocals and most of the backing vocals. She does not, however, play any of the instruments and she was not at all involved in the production of the album.

Beginnings is pure pop-rock without any real hint of Country or even the pop-Country that Twain later became associated with. "Wild And Wicked" opens with almost the identical instrumental riffs as Melissa Etheridge's "Bring Me Some Water" and "(Don't Gimme That) Once Over" borrows instrumental and vocal bits from the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," down to the fact that Paul Sabu backs her with his clearly male vocals to support her! The derivative quality continues on "Hate To Love," though for the love of all that is good, I cannot place why that song sounds so familiar to me right now.

But this is pretty generic guitar and keyboard-driven pop-rock with no real spark. So, for example, on "Half Breed," there is no character, no sense of the wrenching pain caused by the type of racism the musical protagonist sings about. And instrumentally, it does not hold a candle to Cher's version which had a force to it this version lacks. The generic and unmemorable becomes unfortunately laughable when Twain presents her song "LUV Eyes," though, which promotes dumbspeak and is so sugary-pop that it is likely to make fans of decent music anywhere cringe. The overall sound of Beginnings is very '80's pop and Twain actually nails the sound spot-on. She could have been big, like any number of women trying to sound like Madonna at that time (I'm thinking "Hate To Love" sounds like that era Madonna).

Twain hints at her range on Beginnings, though she seems much more committed to sounding tough than sounding good. As a result, she works in the lower range of her ability, seldom venturing into her soprano range. Instead, she keeps her notes generally short and low, like on "Send It With Love," where the Madonna analogy holds vocally as well as with her instrumental backing.

But Twain's writing abilities make it clear why she was not a success at this point in her career. Songs like "LUV Eyes" are so bad that one imagines a teenage girl scrawling the poetry in the margins of her spiral-bound notebooks at school. Indeed, it is hard to believe that such a powerful adult sex symbol emerged when she used to write lines like "This friend of mine, he looks real good / He drives a fast car and lives in Hollywood / He treats me like his little sis' [yeah, that made me cringe!] / I gotta let him know I want more than this . . . / I got L-U-V eyes looking at you / I got a B-I-G heart made for two / You could feel the same if you only knew / I got L-U-V eyes looking at you" ("LUV eyes"). One wonders what Lange saw in lines like that that made him say "yeah, I'd love to work with her!"

I suppose some of the lyrics are more mature, though most do focus on nervous, young ideas of love. Twain is plagued by a very basic sense of rhyming, which comes across in virtually all of her songs. While she has a sense of fun when she is being ridiculous on songs like "Rhythm Made Me Do It," the rest of her songs have an earnest quality that is somewhere between painful and laughable. Indeed, even the thought of Twain today cannot sell listeners on the value of her rhymes "Yeah I run straight home I got a hot date tonight, yeah / I got a chilled champagne for dinner by candle light / He's gonna be here soon and everything will be alright (sic) / I get a call, Guess who's on the other line / I can't make it tonight, Can we do it another time yeah / Oh the nerve, I'd like to give him a piece of my mind" ("Bite My Lip").

I suppose the best track is the straightforward rock of "Wild And Wicked," but the low point is such a tough call between so many of the remaining tracks.

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Shania Twain
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Up! (Country mixes)
Up! (Pop Mixes)
Greatest Hits

3/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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The Pop Version Of Up! Does Exactly What It Claims!

The Good: Good lyrics, Good vocals, Duration
The Bad: Some obvious rhymes/repetitive quality to some lines.
The Basics: A reasonably good, if thoroughly unchallenging, pop-rock album, the pop version of Up! allows Shania Twain to surrender to her desire to be a pop star without any pretense of Country.


There is something amusing about Shania Twain's attempt to straddle the Country and Pop music worlds and it is nowhere better epitomized by her album Up! Up! is available in three forms - a pop version, a country version (reviewed here!) and a two-disc set that has both albums together. The funny thing about it, though, is that all that differentiates the Pop and Country versions of Up! is the production and truth be told, the vocals, lyrics and instrumentals even make for a far better pop album than Country one. As a result, the pop mixes of Up! actually make for a far better album than the country ones.

Where the Country version of the album is plagued by inconsistencies with what one expects from a country album, the pop version is exactly what one would figure they were getting from a pop album. The songs are catchy, have a bassline to dance to and sound remarkably mainstream. This is both a selling point and the only real detraction of the pop version of Up! The album is produced such that it sounds like it could be virtually any musical artist or performer presenting the work.

With nineteen songs occupying a full 72:55, Up! is an ambitious use of the compact disc medium and a decent example of the talents of singer-songwriter Shania Twain and producer-songwriter Robert John Lange. Twain and Lange have been working together for years and Lange's producing is largely what creates the Country Mix of Up! (as well as the pop mix of the same). Together, Twain and Lange wrote all nineteen songs on Up! Twain performs all of the primary vocals and Lange does all of the producing. Neither one plays any instruments on this album, but it does seem to be their creative vision.

Here, though, Twain and Lange seem to be in a bit of a creative rut. Up! is a pop album, dominated by electric guitars and keyboards with little imagination instrumentally. Thematically, the album is pure pop without any regard - outside, possibly, the reference to "She praises the Lord" in "She's Not Just A Pretty Face." Songs like "Up!" and "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" are the archetypal pop-rock songs with oft-repeated lyrics that insinuate themselves into the listener's subconscious and leave little overall impression. Still, Twain gets a lot of credit for the lyrics which have some interesting twists, especially on "Nah!" The album is written to be smarter than most pop albums.

Largely, though, Up! is an upbeat album that is danceable and has memorable tunes to it. It is dominated by the drums, keyboards and guitars. The bass is heavy on songs like "Waiter! Bring Me Water!" but otherwise, the album is lighter, enthusiastic and filled with recognizable (once one has heard them) melodies and catchy jingles. Songs like "Nah!" and "Ka-Ching!" which could thematically be worked into a more Country sound are presented here as upbeat pop numbers that work very well, offering a higher lyrical standard for pop-rock artists who were radio-played at the time.

The vocals are lovely and Shania Twain has an amazing voice. She presents all of her lyrics with a straightforward, well-articulated vocals that are clear and enthusiastic. She is a mezzo-soprano and largely she stays in a comfortable range that is very listenable. One supposes that it helps that

Largely, Up! is a fun pop album that trades well on not being overly complicated. Songs like "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" are repetitive and have obvious rhyme schemes like "I'm gonna getcha while I gotcha in sight / I'm gonna getcha if it takes all night / You can betcha by the time I say "go," you'll never say "no" / I'm gonna getcha, it's a matter of fact / I'm gonna getcha, don'tcha worry 'bout that / You can bet your bottom dollar, in time you're gonna be mine / Just like I should - I'll getcha good . . . I'm gonna getcha baby I'm gonna knock on wood / I'm gonna getcha somehow honey yeah, I'm gonna make it good." This is hardly amazing poetry and the simplicity of the rhymes suggests Twain wants listeners to simply shut off their brains and dance and for that, the song works.

But not all of the album is simple. I have been continually impressed by the way Twain worked out the lines to "Nah!" The song interestingly explores the breakup of a relationship and the way Twain mixes a doctor's visit with the desire to get called by the ex works wonderfully. Indeed, it is more clever than most of her contemporaries in pop music the way Twain writes "You won't find me / Naked and cold justa sittin' / On the doctor's table / Waitin' to be told justa why / I'm no longer able / To feel my heart beatin'-- / Give me a good reason why! / I kinda went numb just around / About the time you told me / You were movin' on, and you / Said that you were gonna phone me / It's been so long, and there / Ain't nothin' wrong with the line" ("Nah!"). Treating the relationship like something that can be deconstructed and repaired is heartbreaking, but Twain presents it with a decent sense of irony as well as pathos.

And most of the songs on Up! are love songs. These range from the songs about losing love ("It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing") to the somewhat mindless pop tracks that simply repeat the idea of what love is. So, for example, on "Ain't No Particular Way" Twain writes and sings "Love has a way to find ya / Sneaks up right behind ya / There ain't no particular way / You don't know when it's gonna / Come runnin' 'round the corner" and the idea that love is all around us is simple stated and not explored with any real depth. This, however, is more par for the course than a real disappointment for listeners of pop music.

For anyone looking for a reasonably good pop album, one with generally better lyrics than those sung by, say, Britney Spears, then the pop version of Up! is very much the way to go. Despite the repetitive quality to many of the songs, they are danceable and fun and pop has a tendency to be fun. The ballads are sufficiently direct and emotive to sell those songs as well, making for a fairly good balance on the album.

The best song on this album is "Nah!" and the low point is the mediocre pop presentation of "Juanita."

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Shania Twain
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Greatest Hits

7.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Almost All The Best Of Shania Twain In One Place: Shania Twain's Greatest Hits Pops!

The Good: Good vocals, Some good lyrics, Memorable songs
The Bad: A few decent songs missing from the collection.
The Basics: Fun and enduring, Greatest Hits offers all of Shania Twain's most recognizable songs alongside a trio of new (now) hits.


Shania Twain, as I quickly learned when I chose her for my October Artist Of The Month, is an incredibly successful but not terribly prolific artist. Her music has basically become popularized by her collaboration with Robert John Lange, whom she married, and were it not for that, she might have dwelt her life in obscurity at Mercury Nashville. There is, perhaps, no greater evidence of this than the fact that Shania Twain's Greatest Hits is comprised only of songs worked on from the three albums Lange collaborated with her on.

In truth, Shania Twain's Greatest Hits is a simple compilation of the most recognizable songs from Twain's albums Up!, Come On Over, and The Woman In Me, with three new songs (one done twice) special for this album. One of the songs is a Lange-written song ("You Win My Love") and this is a very poppy album overall. Fans of Shania Twain are likely to fall for the album to have a complete collection of her radio played hits, but those who like her albums are as likely to find songs missing that are equally enjoyable. So, for example, the more I listen to this album the more I miss Twain's songs "In My Car (I'll Be The Driver)," "Nah!" and "It Only Hurts When I Breathe." Twain escapes any real responsibility for those being on this album by the fact that they were never "hits." If this were a "Best Of" album, I'd take more issue with that. As it stands, there is enough of an issue with the fact that Twain puts two different duets (Country and Pop) of her new song "Party For Two" on the album proximate to one another. This is a poor way to arrange the album. Generally, though, the album is well arranged with her recent singles leading the listener back to her earlier ones.

With twenty-one tracks clocking out at 77:08, Greatest Hits is an ambitious collection that does an excellent job of putting together Shania Twain's most recognizable pop-country songs from the three diamond-certified albums that made her a household name. This album is truly the collaboration of Twain and producer Lange as they co-wrote all of the songs, save "You Win My Love." Their talents as singer and producer make for a collection of easy-to-listen-to, largely pop-sounding songs that are as fun and relevant today as they were a decade and a half ago when they were originally released. There is something to be said for a meteoric rise to fame.

Twain might be a decent co-writer, but she plays none of her own instruments. She sings all of the primary vocals and given that Lange is her creative partner, one suspects that his production of the songs meets with her standards. For those curious, the three songs from Up! are split: two from the pop album ("Forever And For Always," "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!") and one from the country mixes ("Up!"). Twain seems content to lean more toward pop with her Greatest Hits, even choosing the pop radio edit of "That Don't Impress Me Much" for this album.

That said, this greatest hits collection is largely pop anyway. The primary instruments are guitars, bass and keyboards and songs like "That Don't Impress Me Much," "From This Moment On" and "Forever And For Always" lack anything that might define them as Country musically, thematically or in the vocal presentation. In fact, all that seems to be required in the Twain/Lange version of Country is the presence of the pedal steel and/or fiddles - like on "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" Anyone who likes good pop music will find this fits the bill more than adequately and those who have only heard Twain's radio hits on pop stations are likely to find most of the album familiar (though, ironically, not the songs released just on this album).

Shania Twain is a mezzo-soprano and her voice is clearest and most impressive on the album's slower songs, like "From This Moment On," "You're Still The One," and "Forever And For Always." Songs like "You Win My Love" allow Twain to show her abilities to articulate at speed, as opposed to over an extensive tonal range. In general, Lange produces the vocals to be at the forefront of the songs, but on a few - like "Honey, I'm Home" - there are moments where the instrumentals drown out the vocals.

Thematically, Greatest Hits is largely a collection of love songs. Twain does take on a few other topics outside love and loss, like the daily strains of life on "Honey, I'm Home" and for the most part she tackles them well. Still, the more one listens to this albums, some of the more predictable rhymes like "feet/eat/treat" on "Honey, I'm Home" grate on the listener. So, too, does the simple repetition of the same lines over and over again, as in the song "You Win My Love" where Twain repeats the refrain beyond most listener's ability to even fake caring.

That said, Twain and Lange are able poets. It is easy to see how she perfectly pulled the heartstrings of listeners with lines like "They said, 'I bet they'll never make it' / But just look at us holding on / We're still together still going strong / (You're still the one) / You're still the one I run to / The one that I belong to / You're still the one I want for life / (You're still the one) / You're still the one that I love / The only one I dream of / You're still the one I kiss good night" ("You're Still The One"). Twain uses simple, direct language to sing about the simple bliss of monogamous commitment and endurance of relationships and she makes it sound good.

As for the new songs, they illustrate Twain's willingness to sing about her own endurance ("I Ain't No Quitter") as well as more universal themes, like her desire for relationships to work out. While "Party For Two" has an inviting, playful, new relationship feel to it (both versions on this album), her song "Don't!" is much deeper. On that new song, she plaintively sings "Don't fight.. don't argue / Give me the chance to say that I'm sorry / Just let me love you / Don't turn me away.. don't tell me to go / Don't.. don't give up on trust / Don't give up on me.. on us / We could just hold on long enough / We can do it.. we'll get through it" ("Don't") in ways that anyone who has ever clung to a relationship can and will likely appreciate.

The only real problem with any of the lyrics on this album is Twain's tendency to lean toward the singsong rhymes. Her song "Come On Over," for example are particularly irritating in the rhyme scheme. On that song, she has a surprisingly common and dull vocabulary that leads her to rhymes like "grip/trip," "seat/feet," and "star/are" that are disappointingly simply when one listens to the album over and over. Unfortunately, "Come On Over" is not the only song like that, but it is a good example.

The album is not bad, though, and it is a good collection for fans of the radio-played Shania Twain. Anyone who likes pop rock with a feminine flavor - both the soft and the assertive - will find more than enough to enjoy on Shania Twain's Greatest Hits to justify purchasing it. But those who want Twain as a Country artist or who want a well-rounded view of her best works are likely to miss what is not here more than enjoy what is.

The best song is "You're Still The One" and the low point is the utterly unmemorable "No One Needs To Know."

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Shania Twain
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Up! (Country mixes)

8.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Short And Unremarkable, Shania Twain Is Distinctly (If Boring) Country Music.

The Good: Moments of voice, A few good lyrics
The Bad: SHORT, Somewhat obvious instrumentals, Mostly forgettable.
The Basics: Boring and unoriginal, Shania Twain is an unremarkable album that has Shania Twain trying to cover other artists as if she were Linda Rondstadt.


Before she was one of the all-time best-selling female artists (of any genre), Shania Twain was a Canadian with a dream of becoming a County music star. Her eponymous album is a short collection of songs that people more into Country music than I am tell me is chock full of Country music standards. The fundamental difference between the Shania Twain of Shania Twain and the current incarnation who has pretty much stormed the world with her music is that this Twain is distinctly country/inspirational and the lack of her writing/producing partner Robert John Lange.

Lange appears to have been the influence that made Twain break out; there is not a single song from Shania Twain on her Greatest Hits album. As I have often noted of many female pop-rock artists, there is a distinctive sound which instantly calls to mind one woman with a guitar at open mike night at a smoky club. The songs on Shania Twain, like "When He Leaves You" evoke an image in one's mind's eye of a woman at a small Nashville bar singing her heart out while people dance, walk around and drink. The songs have the net effect of being filler, background noise that is drown out by conversation, glasses clinking and pool balls smacking one another. In other words, there is little distinct or original on this album.

With only ten songs occupying 30:45, Shania Twain is a short album which is a poor use of the compact disc medium. The only reason to pick it up is to hear a bunch of songs that did not make the a-list (radio airplay or her Greatest Hits album). The songs are largely repetitive lyrically, bland instrumentally and derivative vocally. Twain performs her own vocals, but considering her range is used like other, more famous, artists, one wonders how much of her performance is even her own desired interpretation of the songs she performs. Twain only co-wrote a single song - "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That" - and she plays no instruments on the album. As well, she is not involved in any aspect of the production of the album. All in all, Twain is easily able to divorce herself from this work and one suspects that she had little creative control over the album.

That said, Shania Twain is far more mediocre than it is bad. The songs are more bland, boring and generic than actually poorly performed or presented. But none of the songs have a particular spark and the net result is an album that falls flat, especially when one has it in high rotation. So, for example, the keyboards and synthesizers on "You Lay A Whole Lot Of Love On Me" are overbearing and drown out Twain's voice at parts. As well, those used to hearing Shania Twain carry the vocals on the majority of her songs are likely to be unpleasantly surprised by how overbearing some of the background vocals - like the male accompaniment in "You Lay A Whole Lot Of Love On Me" - are.

But for those looking for something Country, Shania Twain delivers that. The pedal steel, references to "two-stepping" and the twang in Twain's voice on songs like "Dance With The One That Brought You" are very much what one expects from Country music. Songs like "There Goes The Neighborhood" - which laments the fall of neighborhoods into poverty and divorce - and "Still Under The Weather" are very typical Country ballads and Twain performs them with the soulful drawl of one out on the prairie (or tundra, one supposes from the artwork on the album).

As for Twain's vocals, here one hopes that this was more the product of the studio's demands than Twain's wishes (which seems likely given how unlike her vocals her voice is on this album as opposed to every other one I have heard). Shania Twain has an amazing mezzo-soprano voice. There are very few moments on Shania Twain that she vocalizes using her natural voice and the high range that she is capable of and comfortable with using. She is compelled to sing lower on several songs and on "What Made You Say That" and "Crime Of The Century," the direction is clear. Shania Twain is being set up to be the new Linda Rondstadt. Twain's vocals - especially on those two songs - sound almost indistinguishable from those of Rondstadt, in fact even on her own song ("God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That") Twain sounds like she is in the Stone Ponies. It is one thing to sing outside one's range when it works for them, but on Shania Twain, the whole sound of her vocals is that of one extended Linda Rondstadt impersonation.

Lyrically, the songs are largely about relationships and living in the world (social observations). Songs like "Dance With The One That Brought You" are familiar and set forth country wisdom which is basically "stick with the one who will stick around." Variations on that, like "There Goes The Neighborhood" explores the consequences of the disintegration of relationships (basically the whole society crumbles, in this worldview). The songs are largely wholesome and inoffensive . . . and unmemorable.

In fact, the only real hint of the Shania Twain many people have grown to love is in the song she co-wrote. The defiance and eagerness to revise the absolutism of country mores is present only on "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That." Twain sings lines like "Won't you let a lady buy you a cold brew / Loosen you up a little more than you dare to / Maybe take a ride in my Cadillac / God ain't gonna getcha for that / God ain't gonna getcha for that / He's much too busy with the guys in the black hats / There's nothin' wrong with a man and a woman flirtin' with a honky-tonk moon / God ain't gonna pay no attention / If we're just makin' use of his invention / Come on, baby don't hold back / God ain't gonna getcha for that" ("God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That") with enthusiasm and energy absent on most of the rest of the album. She pokes fun at traditional gender roles and the assertiveness of her vocals offers a glimpse into the Shania Twain of later albums.

But that peek is hardly worth hunting this album down for. Shania Twain is dull and hardly inspired. Instead, the listener is dragged along a listless course of mediocre interpretations of classic Country standards and that we can do without.

The best track is "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That," the low point is "Forget Me."

For other Shania Twain album reviews, please visit my reviews of:
The Woman In Me
Come On Over
Up! (Country mixes)

4/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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The Awkwardness Of "Country" Up!: Shania Twain Tries To Straddle Two Worlds With Mediocre Results.

The Good: Good lyrics, Good vocals, Duration
The Bad: Not definitively "country."
The Basics: A disappointment to fans of Country, labeling aside there is just enough to recommend the "Country" version of Shania Twain's Up!


The nice thing about reviewing Shania Twain as my October Artist Of The Month is that she threw me a real bone with her album(s) Up!, which I have been listening to in high rotation since Sunday. Up! is released in three forms: a Country album (the green disc), a pop album (the red disc) and together as a two-disc set. The thing is, the content of the green and red discs is identical, save some instrumental changes for the backing of Twain. As a result, Twain tries to play nice with a two-disc version, but also allows those who despise pop and love Country (or vice versa) to get only the album in the form they desire it separately. So, this review is for the green disc Up! mixed to be "country."

It is worth noting that I actually enjoy Up! and I like the ambition of the idea of selling oneself to both Country fans and pop fans the way Twain is doing with this album. The problem is that the Country version of Up! is not particularly "country." The lyrics are rightly identical to those of the pop version of Up!, but the vocals are seemingly identical as well, which just makes the instrumentals the source of the "Country mix" label that defines this version of Up! And while the pedal steel might be largely only used in Country music, it seems like it ought to take more than that to make it Country.

With nineteen songs occupying a full 72:31, Up! is an ambitious use of the compact disc medium and a decent example of the talents of singer-songwriter Shania Twain and producer-songwriter Robert John Lange. Twain and Lange have been working together for years and Lange's producing is largely what creates the Country Mix of Up! (as well as the pop mix of the same). Together, Twain and Lange wrote all nineteen songs on Up! Twain performs all of the primary vocals and Lange does all of the producing. Neither one plays any instruments on this album, but it does seem to be their creative vision.

Here, though, Twain and Lange seem to be in a bit of a creative rut. Up! (the Country mixes) is essentially a pop album with the presence of occasional fiddles and the pedal steel. Thematically, the album is pure pop without any regard - outside, possibly, the reference to "She praises the Lord" in "She's Not Just A Pretty Face" - to anything remotely Country. In fact, the only song that sounds definitively Country is "Thank You Baby! (For Making Someday Come So Soon)" and even that track has soaring crescendos with guitars more familiar to pop-rock music than Country. The presence of fiddles and pedal steel fit with Twain's voice to sell it as Country somewhat better than other songs on the album as well.

Largely, though, Up! is an upbeat album that is danceable and has memorable tunes to it. It is dominated by the pedal steel, drums and guitars. The bass is heavy on songs like "Waiter! Bring Me Water!" but otherwise, the album is lighter, enthusiastic and filled with recognizable (once one has heard them) melodies and catchy jingles. Songs like "Nah!" and "Ka-Ching!" which could thematically be worked into a more Country sound fall flat on the Country album. "What A Way To Wanna Be!" sounds just like any number of other pop songs, despite the muted instrumentals - the drums and guitars make it sound far more "pop" than Country.

The problem here is also one of the album's strengths. The vocals are lovely and Shania Twain has an amazing voice. The thing is, whatever lilts or accents one might assume or have heard from Shania Twain The Country Artist are missing from the Country version of Up! So, for example, "I Ain't Goin' Down" lacks any sense of drawl or Western flavor (and yes, I am aware that Twain is a Canadian) that might define her as a Country artist. Instead, the album relies entirely on the instrumentals to carry the connotation that the song is Country.

Here Twain - or, more reasonably, Lange - fails horribly. The album does not have any sense of Country from the lyrics and vocal presentations. As a result, the instrumentals alone cannot carry the concept to its successful realization. Instead, Twain simply broadens the perceptions of what pop music is in on this album and listeners are left with a sense of disappointment. There is no resemblance here between classic Country and only a mild resemblance to what many would consider Country now. Instead, this is exactly the type of pop-masquerading-as-Country that has sprung up since Billy Ray Cyrus charted with "Achy Breaky Heart." Fans looking to Twain to return to Country with this album will be largely disappointed.

Still, it is hard not to like this album, as it has decent (if not particularly Country) vocals and lyrics. Twain is an energetic singer who gets around some fast-paced and fun lyrics on several of the songs. "In My Car (I'll Be The Driver)" illustrates Twain's sense of independence, her ability to sing lines fast and a great range. She sings moderately high before going purely soprano for some of the inarticulate accents. Still, the song is largely fun and that she gets out "It's all right if you sleep with / your socks on--oh, babe! It's okay! / And you can hurt my head with / your favorite rock song / I don't mind--yeah, that's fine . . . But in my car--I'll be the driver / In my car--I'm in control" ("In My Car (I'll Be The Driver)") with a significant speed is impressive.

Not all of the songs are fast, though, as the final track illustrates well. In addition to "When You Kiss Me," Up! has the ballad "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing." "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" is a pretty standard song about the loss of love with lines like "I'm not surprised just how well I survived / I'm over the worst, and I feel so alive / I can't complain--I'm free again / And it only hurts when I'm breathing / My heart only breaks when it's beating / My dreams only die when I'm dreaming / So, I hold my breath--to forget." Twain performs is beautifully with a slow sense of anguish that she connotes perfectly through her vocals. It stands out because it is unlike so many of the other more energetic songs on the album.

Arguably the most recognizable song - at least to mainstream audiences - is the hit song "Forever And For Always." That song has very little that makes it country, though it does have the instrumentation on this album that makes it more passable for those who have an affinity for classic Country. "Forever And For Always" gets a lot of points for its sheer charm as a fun little love song. When Twain sings "I can still hear the words you whispered / When you told me / I can stay right here forever in your arms / And there ain't no way-- / I'm lettin' you go now / And there ain't no way-- / And there ain't no how / I'll never see that day / 'Cause I'm keeping you / Forever and for always / We will be together all of our days / Wanna wake up every / Morning to your sweet face--always" ("Forever And For Always") it is hard for anyone who has ever experienced the excitement of love to not feel excited.

But for those looking for an album that sounds Country, the Country mixes of Up! are likely to disappoint. These are only slightly less pop than the "pop" versions and many who buy this album are likely to feel like they have simply succumbed to good marketing as opposed to good music.

The best song on this album is "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" and the low point is the undeniably pop "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

For other Artist Of The Month album reviews, please visit:
Break Every Rule - Tina Turner
Album 1700 - Peter, Paul And Mary
"The Power Of Love" (single) - Celine Dion

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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It May Be Considered An Audacious Crossover, But Come On Over Is More Average Pop.

The Good: Good vocals, Some decent lyrics, Some memorable instrumentals, Overall production.
The Bad: Some thematic monotony, Some singsong lyrics
The Basics: Leaping from Country to pop, Shania Twain broke through to the mainstream fully with Come On Over, which is an easy album to listen to and enjoy.


The nice thing about broadening one's horizons is that they can grow and overcome their preconceptions about a given topic or idea. I have, for example, loathed Country music following the pop-breakthrough success of Billy Ray Cyrus's Achy Breaky Heart. It opened up the pop-rock charts to Country music songs in a way that made virtually every emerging Country artist want mainstream pop success the way Cyrus had. Arguably the Country artist who benefited the most from this phenomenon was Shania Twain.

Twain, my female Artist Of The Month, impressed me with her album The Woman In Me (reviewed here!). Twain seems to have capitalized on her looks, sass and the public's willingness to accept Country music anywhere in the country. Of course, it is not hard to believe that Twain would be able to launch a successful career on the pop charts; she defied the obvious stereotypes of the Country music star and she sang pop songs that bore little resemblance to those of many traditional Country artists, at least the classic ones. Her album, Come On Over was a huge crossover success as her legions of Country music fans made it an instant success and radio airplay on Top 40 stations and VH-1 airplay of videos like the one for "That Don't Impress Me Much" led to extraordinary sales and a mainstream mass culture celebrity. Looked at now, though, it is almost tough to see why; the novelty of the crossover artist aside, much of Come On Over is remarkably average pop-rock music.

With sixteen songs occupying over an hour on the compact disc, Come On Over reaffirms the strength of the artistic pairing of Shania Twain and Robert John Lange (sorry, I refuse to call him "Mutt" the way I refused to write anything about Libbey calling him "Scooter"). "Shania Twain," the recording artist appears to be the title for the vocals and half the writing of Shania Twain along with the production and half the writing talents of Lange. Twain performs almost all of the primary vocals - "From This Moment On" is a duet with Bryan White - and Lange produced the album. Neither played any of the instruments on the album, but the pair co-wrote every song.

So, this does seem very much like it is the musical vision of Shania Twain and it is largely good. In this version of Country music, there are limited story-songs, more setups for singing about love or musical explorations of emotions. Come On Over is preoccupied with love as half the songs are directly about love and attraction. Twain tries some thematic diversity with songs about women having fun on a girl's night out ("Man! I Feel Like A Woman!"), leaving abusive relations ("Black Eyes, Blue Tears"), and a surprisingly metaconscious view of the album itself ("Rock This Country!"). Still, having the album on high replay for days becomes quickly tiresome as there is a thematic unity where love creeps into so many of the songs that it is irksome.

As well, much of Come On Over is surprisingly simple pop-rock with few nods to Country. Country, in our times, seems to be harder to define than it once was. There are few musical storysongs like the classic Country/folk tradition. Even the more obvious instrumental changes - use of violins (fiddles) and/or the pedal steel - are minimized on this album. I understand there is a specific rhythm pattern for Country music, but there are no obvious hoe-down type songs on this album that clearly separate these songs from pop-rock for listeners. In many ways, it is more pop than it is country.

So, for example, "I'm Holding Onto Love (To Save My Life)" is a pure pop number where at least three guitars drown out the pedal steel and make a song that needed less reworking for the pop charts than Twain's hit "That Don't Impress Me Much." The title track is a drum-dominated pop track that seems only considered remotely Country by the presence of fiddles (I originally guessed accordions). Similarly, "Love Gets Me Every Time" is a pop-Country number where the vocals have a slight twang of a Western/Country accent which seems to connote "I'm still Country!" "When" does not even have those musical or vocal pretenses.

The point here is that Come On Over is a very traditional or obvious late-'90's pop album and on that level it works. Twain precedes the Blonde Revolution with songs that have strong vocals that illustrate her obvious talents as a writer and singer. Songs like "When" have her illustrating just how powerful her lungs are. In addition to singing in the soprano range, she holds notes for decent stretches. She has wonderful lung capacity and she is able to show it quite well on that song. Her vocal abilities are flexed by illustrating powerful longing in her voice - not just the lyrics - on "From This Moment On." She also has a decent ability to sing fast and still emote, as she does on "That Don't Impress Me Much."

In fact, there are very few places where Twain's vocals are not immaculate. She sounds strangely bored as she sings "Whatever You Do! Don't!" The song, which has a pretty hypnotic, lilting melody is plagued by a set of singsong rhymes like "You got my heart under attack / You give me shivers down my back / D'ya have to walk the way you do? / I get weak just watchin' you / Whatever you do... / Don't even think about it! / Don't go and get me started! / Don't you dare drive me crazy! / Don't do that to me baby" ("Whatever You Do! Don't!") which tire the listener pretty quickly. In fact, it is entirely possible that with the simplicity of the lyrics Twain simply sleepsings her way through the song.

Unfortunately for listeners and Twain, the somewhat obvious rhymes are not limited to one or two songs. While "When" has a wonderful sense of irony to it, its rhymes are troublingly predictable for anyone who was raised on pop music. Even "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" has some pretty obvious rhymes, which start the album off with some very low pop expectations. Twain mixes it up on "If You Want To Touch Her, Ask!" when she combines "If you wanna get to know her / Really get inside her mind / If you wanna move in closer / Take it slow, yeah take your time / You must start from the heart and then / If you wanna touch her / Really wanna touch her / If you wanna touch her, ask!" Here the lines are sufficiently complicated and presented with such a delicious sense of irony and humor that it is easy to overlook the few obvious word choices.

The album is not anywhere near all duds, though! Come On Over entertains with songs like "Honey, I'm Home" and the daily tragedies that befall the musical protagonist on that song. As well, Twain has a perfect song about longing, love and gratitude with "You're Still The One" and she maintains her projected persona of a strong, independent woman on "Black Eyes, Blue Tears." That later song, one of the few on the album that was not an overplayed hit on the pop stations, explores a woman standing up for herself. Twain empowers women by singing "I'd rather die standing / Than live on my knees / Begging please-no more / Black eyes-I don't need 'em / Blue tears-gimme freedom / Black eyes-all behind me / Blue tears'll never find me now / Definitely found my self esteem / Finally-I'm forever free to dream" ("Black Eyes, Blue Tears"). My partner - who has gotten me into Shania Twain's music - has told me of several country artists who were ridiculed for singing songs about child abuse, so I am unsure how the Country demographic appreciated "Black Eyes, Blue Tears," but from a mainstream feminist perspective, it is a worthwhile song.

Predictable rhymes aside, Come On Over is a fun album and as such, it is very easy to recommend. But it is important to know what one is getting into and this is much more a pop album than it is anything resembling Country. This is good for those who do not - traditionally - enjoy Country, but might be a detraction for those who do. And as far as pop goes, it is a little better-than-average.

It was actually too tough to pick a "best song" on this album - many of the radio-played tracks are indicative of the overall quality of the album - but the song that impressed me least was "Rock This Country!"

For other former Artist Of The Month artists, please check out my reviews of:
Break Every Rule - Tina Turner
The Singles Collection (boxed set) - Britney Spears
Album 1700 - Peter, Paul And Mary

7.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Revising My Views On Country Music: Shania Twain Is My Next Artist Of The Month!

The Good: Good vocals, Some memorable lyrics
The Bad: Short, Instrumentals are somewhat lackluster.
The Basics: A good, but short and musically sedate, album, The Woman In Me introduces me to Shania Twain and makes me want to share her works with others!


A few days ago, I ran into quite a conundrum. I had chosen an Artist Of The Month to immerse myself in whose first album left me with such an antipathy toward their work that I could not justify spending a whole month on them. That artist was Roberta Flack and the album was Roberta and when I opted against devoting the month to her works, I found myself in a bit of a quandary as to who to spend the month on. My wife suggested I branch out a little and try some Country music (she's a fan) and she recommended Shania Twain. A quick investigation of the discography of Shania Twain revealed that she did not have a terribly extensive body of work, so for the month Co-Artists Of The Month are . . . Shania Twain and Sheryl Crow!

My first experience with a Shania Twain album - I have only heard her works previously as part of her pop music crossovers on the radio - was The Woman In Me. This is a pretty poppy Country album and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, though I do believe that the album is much more average than many reviewers find it. There is a repetitive quality to the lyrics and instrumentals that nullifies some of the impact of some of the better lines on the album. Still, for those who might not traditionally enjoy Country music, The Woman In Me is an easy album to strongly recommend.

With only a dozen songs, clocking out at 48:05, The Woman In Me is short for a compact disc, but it does seem to illustrate the artistry of Shania Twain and John Lange. Twain wrote only one song on her own on this album, as did Lange, but the pair collaborated on the other ten. As well, because Twain performs all of the vocals and Lange produced the album, it seems they have a pretty decent balance between them. Lange provides harmonizing vocals on several of the songs and Twain does as well. As for instrumental artistry, the best Twain is credited with is handclaps and footstomps. This is hardly an album that illustrates much in the way of musical talent for Twain.

And the instrumentals are not the most extraordinary ever heard or produced. Most songs have a pretty heavy and danceable percussion section, like "Any Man Of Mine" and "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!" There are a few country ballads, like "The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You)" and "Is There Life After Love?" and the fundamental difference between the songs on this album and traditional pop-rock tracks is the lack of keyboards and electric guitars and the presence of the pedal steel and violins. Musically, though, there are any number of bored, predictable runs that sound like other artists. So, for example, the pianos and closing to "The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You)" sounds remarkably like the Bonnie Raitt song "I Can't Make You Love Me." In fact, despite the quality of many of the lyrics, most of the instrumental accompaniments to Twain's vocals are lackluster and unmemorable. I've listened to the album over a dozen times now and I can't recall the tune to "No One Need To Know," for example.

Similarly, songs like "If It Don't Take Two," with the prevalence of fiddles and Country twang infused into the vocals sound exactly like what one would expect a Country song to sound like based upon rumor and hearsay.

As for the vocals, Twain is a mezzo-soprano and this album illustrates the quality of her voice, if not an extensive range. Shania Twain can sing and she does it with beautifully sultry tones on "Is There Life After Love?" and a happy energy on "You Win My Love." In fact, more than any other artist I've listened to in the recent past, Twain actually sounds like she enjoys what she is singing. Her tones often sound like she is smiling as she sings, there is such a vibrancy to her vocals.

Most of the songs on The Woman In Me are pretty wholesome Country ballads musing on the nature of love and relationships. Songs like "Any Man Of Mine" illustrate an uncommon sense of musical humor with lines like "Any man of mine'll say it fits just right / When last year's dress is just a little too tight / And anything I do or say better be okay / When I have a bad hair day." Shania Twain performs with clear, articulate vocals that enunciate all of the right words and keep her lyrics at the forefront of the listener's ears. There is no easy way to qualify Twain's musical protagonists; she is clearly presenting the image of a strong, independent (Western) woman but with little asides that have her characters seeking a man's approval (very Country). There is a reinforcement in her lines of traditional gender roles, but she presents her lyrics with a forthright strength that is anything but traditional feminine.

I think the strong woman wins out on this album. The Woman In Me is more about empowering women to take charge of their circumstances. Twain does this by being the dominant voice on "You Win My Love," where she determines the conditions of a partnership. And on "Leaving Is The Only Way Out," she plaintively sings "When late nights and long lies came knockin' / You just invited them in / And our voices got too loud for talkin' / Then my heart hit the floor / But your feet just kept walkin' / And if cryin' is the only way you hear me hurtin' / For the lovin' that I can't live without / And if lovin' ain't the only way into your heart / Then leavin' is the only way out" and has a strength to her that is both powerful and feminine.

And for fans of pop-rock, there is little intimidating on The Woman In Me. Sure, there are a few very County Western references, like the sensibilities that come with "I know I'm not the only / Girl you run to / I know about Lolita / Your little Spanish flame / I've seen you around with Rita / The redhead down the lane / Whose bed have your boots been under? / And whose heart did you steal I wonder" ("Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?") but largely the references are more universal than esoteric to the genre. For the most part, anyone who likes a strong female vocalist will find a lot to enjoy on The Woman In Me, a love album filled with anthems for strong women finding their voices.

The best track is "Is There Life After Love?" and the low point is "No One Needs To Know."

For other Country music reviews, please visit my takes on:
50 Greatest Hits - Reba McEntire
Something To Talk About (single) - Bonnie Raitt
Little Bit Of Everything - Billy Currington

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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