Review - Jasper County by Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood is back on the market, well the music market, that is. And I say, welcome back, Trisha Yearwood. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s been well worth the wait. Jasper County is a great addition to both Trisha’s repertoire and the world’s music collection as a whole.
There’s little wonder why this woman captivates Garth Brooks. She is the epitome of the real girl-next-door that every country boy ever fell in love with. I could see myself having been a classmate of hers and getting together with her today for a cup of coffee and conversation. But it is her exceptional voice that makes her who she is today. Jasper County is a great showcase for that voice.
From start to finish, this CD balances great up-tempo rockabilly, with blues and power ballads that stick with the listener long after removing the CD from the player. It never gets bogged down in slow motion.
“Who Invented The Wheel” opens the CD and touches deeply and passionately on signature themes in country music. It’s a song about loss and longing and the desire to blame external factors for our unhappiness. Recorded as a blues melody, it is a perfect opener for the CD and one of the best on it.
Despite its unusual second line to set up a forced rhyme, “Pistol” is a great rockabilly song about falling in love with the wrong kind of man. Doing what a good country song should do, “Pistol” attacks a social issue with wit and humor.
“Trying To Love You” is the first of the two pop ballads that have already made a splash on country radio, the other being “Georgia Rain.” Both are marked by soulful and passionate lyrics over memorable melodies with strong lyrical and melodic hooks. While “Trying To Love You” can and possibly will be covered by many other artists, “Georgia Rain” is as personal to Yearwood as “Mississippi Girl” is to Faith Hill or “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is to Loretta Lynn. It is not likely to be covered by anyone else soon.
“Trying To Love You” explores the depths to which we will go to love someone. “Rain” is a great reminiscence of youth gone by done without any of the maudlin wishing to return to the old days. Both are capable of pop crossover success and offer a brief respite for the listener to catch a breath between rock and blues songs.
“Standing Out in a Crowd” is one of the better songs about difference written and recorded in recent years. Personal and not preachy, “Standing” makes its point without making accusations. In order to become one of the crowd, we must embrace our difference and enjoy our standout qualities.
Perhaps my favorite song on this CD is “Sweet Love.” This one is what sexy is all about. It is suggestive and provocative without being blatant. This is a hot song about a hot relationship. I love the arrangement and the sultry style on this one. It puts me in the mood. I love that Trisha invokes both Carly Simon with the line “Anticipation got me waitin’” and Dr. Hook with the ad lib spoken line, “You can leave your hat on, baby.” This is that kind of hot, sexy, sultry, steamy bayou song.
Garth Brooks lends vocal talents to the harmonies on “Georgia Rain,” but not to be overlooked is Ronnie Dunn’s distinctive voice on “Try Me.” This would have been a good song about sticking with it despite doubt without Dunn’s vocals, but with them it is a great musical piece. Not only lyrically and musically sound, but passionate and pleading because of the blending of these two rich soulful voices.
Not to be overlooked are the little traditional country gems “River of You” and “Baby Don’t You Let Go.” Both put one in the mind of sitting on the front porch on a Saturday night with the family singers playing and singing sad and fun songs while the kids dance barefoot in the front yard. Then there’s the pop-styled “Gimme The Good Stuff,” which positions Trisha to compete with Martina McBride for the title of “The Voice.”
Unlike so many CDs today that close with a thoughtful ballad, Yearwood closes this one with a fun rocking honky-tonk song, “It’s Alright,” which leaves the listener wanting to hear more. After listening to this one, I’m ready for my CD player to start all over again with “Who Invented The Wheel.”
After four years away from releasing new music, I’m surprised that there are only eleven songs on this CD. However, these are eleven solid songs. Too often artists put out fifteen or more songs on a CD with only five worthy of being played over and over. The introduction of the CD made me long for the days when artists put out an album with only nine or ten songs. All of those songs needed to be the best they possibly could be, so artists only put their best efforts on an album. Jasper County harks back to the old days of only releasing the best music possible on a concentrated collection and is well worth the brief time it takes to listen to.
Since originally writing this review, Trisha and Garth have recorded a duet, "Love Will Always Win," that will appear on both Garth’s CD of previously unreleased material and the re-release of Jasper County. I heard it twice today driving home from work from both my first and second jobs. I’m sad to report that it is not up to the same quality as the rest of the material on Jasper County. It is sappy and uninteresting. However, it will become a country wedding standard for decades to come.
**** out of ***** (for the original release) ***1/2 out of ***** (for the re-release)
There’s little wonder why this woman captivates Garth Brooks. She is the epitome of the real girl-next-door that every country boy ever fell in love with. I could see myself having been a classmate of hers and getting together with her today for a cup of coffee and conversation. But it is her exceptional voice that makes her who she is today. Jasper County is a great showcase for that voice.
From start to finish, this CD balances great up-tempo rockabilly, with blues and power ballads that stick with the listener long after removing the CD from the player. It never gets bogged down in slow motion.
“Who Invented The Wheel” opens the CD and touches deeply and passionately on signature themes in country music. It’s a song about loss and longing and the desire to blame external factors for our unhappiness. Recorded as a blues melody, it is a perfect opener for the CD and one of the best on it.
Despite its unusual second line to set up a forced rhyme, “Pistol” is a great rockabilly song about falling in love with the wrong kind of man. Doing what a good country song should do, “Pistol” attacks a social issue with wit and humor.
“Trying To Love You” is the first of the two pop ballads that have already made a splash on country radio, the other being “Georgia Rain.” Both are marked by soulful and passionate lyrics over memorable melodies with strong lyrical and melodic hooks. While “Trying To Love You” can and possibly will be covered by many other artists, “Georgia Rain” is as personal to Yearwood as “Mississippi Girl” is to Faith Hill or “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is to Loretta Lynn. It is not likely to be covered by anyone else soon.
“Trying To Love You” explores the depths to which we will go to love someone. “Rain” is a great reminiscence of youth gone by done without any of the maudlin wishing to return to the old days. Both are capable of pop crossover success and offer a brief respite for the listener to catch a breath between rock and blues songs.
“Standing Out in a Crowd” is one of the better songs about difference written and recorded in recent years. Personal and not preachy, “Standing” makes its point without making accusations. In order to become one of the crowd, we must embrace our difference and enjoy our standout qualities.
Perhaps my favorite song on this CD is “Sweet Love.” This one is what sexy is all about. It is suggestive and provocative without being blatant. This is a hot song about a hot relationship. I love the arrangement and the sultry style on this one. It puts me in the mood. I love that Trisha invokes both Carly Simon with the line “Anticipation got me waitin’” and Dr. Hook with the ad lib spoken line, “You can leave your hat on, baby.” This is that kind of hot, sexy, sultry, steamy bayou song.
Garth Brooks lends vocal talents to the harmonies on “Georgia Rain,” but not to be overlooked is Ronnie Dunn’s distinctive voice on “Try Me.” This would have been a good song about sticking with it despite doubt without Dunn’s vocals, but with them it is a great musical piece. Not only lyrically and musically sound, but passionate and pleading because of the blending of these two rich soulful voices.
Not to be overlooked are the little traditional country gems “River of You” and “Baby Don’t You Let Go.” Both put one in the mind of sitting on the front porch on a Saturday night with the family singers playing and singing sad and fun songs while the kids dance barefoot in the front yard. Then there’s the pop-styled “Gimme The Good Stuff,” which positions Trisha to compete with Martina McBride for the title of “The Voice.”
Unlike so many CDs today that close with a thoughtful ballad, Yearwood closes this one with a fun rocking honky-tonk song, “It’s Alright,” which leaves the listener wanting to hear more. After listening to this one, I’m ready for my CD player to start all over again with “Who Invented The Wheel.”
After four years away from releasing new music, I’m surprised that there are only eleven songs on this CD. However, these are eleven solid songs. Too often artists put out fifteen or more songs on a CD with only five worthy of being played over and over. The introduction of the CD made me long for the days when artists put out an album with only nine or ten songs. All of those songs needed to be the best they possibly could be, so artists only put their best efforts on an album. Jasper County harks back to the old days of only releasing the best music possible on a concentrated collection and is well worth the brief time it takes to listen to.
Since originally writing this review, Trisha and Garth have recorded a duet, "Love Will Always Win," that will appear on both Garth’s CD of previously unreleased material and the re-release of Jasper County. I heard it twice today driving home from work from both my first and second jobs. I’m sad to report that it is not up to the same quality as the rest of the material on Jasper County. It is sappy and uninteresting. However, it will become a country wedding standard for decades to come.
**** out of ***** (for the original release) ***1/2 out of ***** (for the re-release)
posted by Jovialities @ 1:07 AM
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