Customer Reviews

Suit Yourself

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Shelby Lynne's new CD builds on the unassuming honesty and elegance of her last release, "Identity Crisis", letting the solid songwriting and intimate vocals shine through. There is a quiet smoldering beneath the laid-back surface of her music that draws you in like a southern storm. A nice endpiece to the album is her sultry version of "Rainy Night In Georgia" (called "track 12" for some reason). Shelby's the real deal. If you liked "Identity Crisis", you will like this.

I've wondered why I have taken so long to write this review, and I think I have two legitimate reasons. First of all, when this album came out I honestly wasn't aware that you were permitted to review an album on Amazon, and secondly, I think I'm writing this because of my disappointment with Shelby's sister, Allison Moorer's latest release. Allison is a whole lot better than her new one shows, but that's for another time. We're here to talk about Shelby Lynne.

One of the earlier reviewers of this album asked in so many words,"Why hasn't someone told me about Shelby Lynne before this?" Well, I'm going to tell you why, at least in my opinion.Way back in 1989, Willie Nelson was making an appearance on one of the early morning talk shows, and there was a young girl with long brown hair sitting beside him on a stool, as Willie was. The interviewer was talking to Willie about his new album, and then proceeded to ask Willie who the beautiful young lady was sitting next to him. Willie said, "Well, this is Shelby Lynne, who has done a few songs with me, and I think has one of the best voices I'v heard come out of Nashville in quite a while. And she's going to sing one with me right now. They then sang one of my old favorites, "I Love You So Much It Hurts". To say the least Shelby blew me away. I went out and searched and searched for her album, and finally found it. It's called"Sunrise", and in some circles is very hard to find. Now, at this point of her career, Shelby Lynne was considered a "country" singer. And, that's what she was. You almost won't even recognize her on the cover of her first album. I'm serious.

What we weren't ready at that time for was all the changes that Shelby would go through in the next 17 years. regardless of what you've heard, please keep in mind that here's a young girl who had gone through probably the most devastating experience any young child could go through without just giving up on life itself. I'd prefer not to talk about it. If you don't know what I'm referring to I'll let you look into Shelby and Allison's past for yourself. It's that bad.

To try to express the talent that this young lady has I'm going to mention each and every title of all of her albums. Id like to do that, because I think that after you give a listen to "Suit Yourself", you're going to want more. And, please listen to "Suit Yourself" at least three or four times with an open mind before you really make up your mind. You're going to hear a voice that is so pure, raw, and real that you're going to say to yourself what the other young lady reviewer said. "Why hasn't anyone told me about Shelby Lynne before?" Being a fan for 17 yeaqrs, I'm going to tell why I think you don't know her. Shelby not only wants it that way, she likes it. She may come off as a little wild on the surface, but underneath is a very caring, quiet, private person, with one heck of a set of pipes. This girl can sing anything, and I mean anything. Starting with "Sunrise", you then have "Tough All Over, "Soft Talk", "Temptation"(a lot of torch type songs - getting a little away from the country roots), "Restless", "Love, Shelby(getting alittle into the rock vein), then the big change, "I Am Shelby Lynne". I'm going to stop here for a minute, because this album came out in 2000, and I'm hearing that Shelby has been nominated for a Grammy for best new artist! I'm saying what in the world are they talking about! She's been around for awile. Then, I find out that the Grammy people have nominated her in the best new Rock singer catagory. And, to top it all off, she wins! It turns out to be a great rock album. I'm shocked, but I say to myself, "Well, heck, it's a whole lot better than most of today's rock that I'm hearing!". Then comes her next two albums, "Identity Crisis"(why was I surprised by the title?), and the one I'm supposed to be reviewing, "Suit Yourself".

What I intended to say about this album has been said in a lot of different ways by the reviewers before me. I agree with almost all of the superlatives that everyone else bestowed on this artist. When you listen to this album, you're basically hearing it as it was being made. Personally, I love when an artist does that. They have the guts and confidence in the4ir ability to throw it out there at you, and if you like it, you do, and , if you don't, weel you don't. And, that's pretty much Shelby Lynne. What you hear is what you get. You're not going to get alot of backup singers that are there to simply attempt to coverup the lead singer's lack of talent that you get so much of in today's music, if you want to call it that. If you see Shelby, you're not going to have a gang of dancers behind her to distract from the talent that's not there. Because, believe me, with Shelby, the talent is there. If this girl wanted to be at the top of the charts, she'd be there. She doesn't care at all about that. She cares about ner fans and respects the integrity of what she does.

Lastly, I will tell you what tunes I think really stand out on "Suit Yourself". Actually the whole album is great, but in paricular, please listen to "Where Am I Now", I Cry Everyday", Old Times Sake", "I Won't Die Alone", Johnny Met Jane, "You Don't Have A Heart", "Iced Tea", and "Track 12"(which is actually Shelby's rendition of "Rainy Night In Georgia".

I've said a whole lot to bore you to death, but really, do yourself a favor. Give this girl a listen. She is one of the very best out there today. If you're waiting for her picture to be on the cover of the "Rolling Stone", you're going to be wasting alot of time. Thanks for your time, and sit back and enjoy!

Shelby Lynne's 'Suit Yourself' begins with voices talking in the studio. One of them says, 'All this talkin'...this is your record' and Lynne replies, 'Just keep doin' this 'til we get it right'. And indeed they do get it right. The album has 11 emotionally-driven country rock, blues and Lynne's characteristically funky songs, plus a surprise at the album's end. Produced by Lynne, the songs are pared back to acoustic guitar, bass and drums and minimalist support from electric guitar, slide, dobro and keyboards to create a live-in-the-studio efect throughout. There is not a weak track, but highlights include 'Go With It', 'Where Am I Now', the bluesy 'You're The Man', the wistful 'Old Times Sake', the Lucinda Williams-like 'I Won't die Alone' and the brief but wonderful 'Johnny Met June' - written immediately after Cash's death, and this will surely be covered by other artists. The album ends with 'Track 12', an excellent cover of Tony Joe White's 'Rainy Night In Georgia', on which Lynne enlists help from the swamp man himself to create a long jam full of guts and emotion. Shelby Lynne's 'Suit Yourself' speaks directly to the listener, it is full of honest emotion and effectively demonstrates why folks everywhere sit down to make music.

The title. SUIT YOURSELF, can mean a number of things. Yes, it can refer to selfishness. There may be a trace of vanity in this recording--especially when considering the two very odd numbers: the distinctly noisy and unpleasant opening, GO WITH IT, and the short and mystifying YOU AND WE. But, these two numbers amount to quibbles considering the quality of the rest of the cd. SUIT YOURSELF also refers to her ongoing search to avoid the pre-packaged and predictable and banal. In addition, the title also well describes the low-key, living room feel of many of the songs and the "caught in the middle of a rehearsal" sense of it all. That last use of SUIT YOURSELF is fairly important here. When listening, one gets a real sense of a work in progress and how such things are put together--i.e., getting the work to "suit yourself" (meaning Shelby, of course) and, in some cases, not finding the ideal solution. It feels spontaneous--partially an illusion, I know. Finally, of course, we are talking about the tough and tender Shelby Lynne, after all. It wouldn't be her if there weren't some strangeness, some wildness, and some lack of control. Fortunately, cigarettes and alcohol notwithstanding, her voice is as fine as ever--particularly intimate and moving on the many slow songs.

The two odd songs I mentioned above excepted, I like everything on this album. All of my favorites are quiet with minimal accompaniment but for a guitar, mandolin, dobro or piano. "Where Am I Now?, "Old Times Sake," "I Won't Die Alone," "Iced Tea," and "Sleep" are wonderful. When Shelby sings softly, she gets to me almost every time. Her smoky, delicate, twangy voice is irresistible on these numbers. Very simple and very moving. I liked but not loved "I Cry Everyday," "You're the Man" (an interesting take on her reaction to current events), "Johnny Met June" (maudlin but far from cliched), and "You Don't Have A Heart" (which echoes "If I Were Smart,"--that gorgeous number from IDENTITY CRISIS). Apparently, Shelby recorded the basic vocals in her living room and added much of the rest in the studio, including her own harmony work with herself. That often doesn't work but it does here. Shelby with Shelby with Shelby -- "suit yourself," again. The instrumental support is first rate and buoys this fusion of blues (a lot of blues), still a bit of R&B, and her alt-country sound. She's come a long way from commercial Nashville and good thing, too.

In case you thought I'd forgotten Track 12, no way! Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night in Georgia" is simply magnificent here. I wanted it to go on forever. Shelby's great singing, the jamming of her musicians. Wonderful! I left this album with that performance ringing in my head as was her moving words and sounds from "Sleep:"

SLEEP. PLEASE APPEAR.
SHOW TO ME YOUR FACE AND TELL ME IT'S OK TO REST.
SLEEP. HELP ME TRY.

How come nobody's told me about her before? This is a dynamic album! Every song - is - great. I can't wait to get to know the rest of her material. You can not go wrong with this one.

One major complaint: I had a hard time finding her CD. I went everywhere. I even went to Walmart for the first time in 3 years and there was this big, burly, gray-bearded homeless person right in the doorway. I almost turned and left. But I wanted Shelby. I got around him and sighed and then heard, "Welcome to Walmart." Fry a duck. I practically ran to the CD department. Couldn't find her anywhere. I checked Rock and Country and even stooped to asking this homely, little girl in a blue vest who was stocking Audioslave. I asked her where I could find Shelby Lynne. I swear, her eyes crossed momentarily and her bottom lip faded behind this really bad over bite. She just stared at me for a good 20 seconds. Then she said this: "She don't work here no more."

Three stores later I found Suit Yourself and it was buried and only 1 left. (So Capital is really behind her, huh? She better get some Vaseline...)

Of course I love Suit Yourself. Shelby is one of our national songwriting treasures. It's starts off with a poppy, up tempo rocker and never lets up. It doesn't seem quite as diverse as Identity Crisis but that's okay (I would have liked a pile driving blues number like there was on her last one-maybe next time...) But the band is first rate and adds a loose, openness to her songs that blend perfectly with the mood of the album. When Johnny met June is a beautiful ode to the Man and his wife and songs like I Cry Everyday and You don't have a Heart show Shelby can reach the same depths and with just as much punch as the Great Lucinda. (Add I won't Die Alone to that too...)

I even like the Just Got out of Bed and started writing this song Album Cover.

Shelby's vision is a great one and her expansive use of all her influences from Waylon to Willie and beyond leaves us all better off. While Identity Crisis carried with it a bit more intimacy and musical and lyrical weight, Suit Yourself is a joyous celebration of a song writer opening herself up to the possibilities of a real band.

(I bet her next album will be the best she's ever done.)

There was a time when Shelby Lynne had red hair and bounced around Nashville waiting to expose her music to the world. It has been twelve years since the release of her 1993 breakthrough record Temptation, the best of Lynne's first five albums under the country banner. In that time, especially the past six years, Lynne has been on a long journey of self-discovery, trying to find the right music that suits her well written songs. Along with a hairstyle to fit it.

Lynne's now a blonde. Maybe the change was a right move. Her 2000 release, I Am Shelby Lynne, proved she could explore different musical boundaries while maintaining a country passion. Her 2003 release Identity Crisis was, if not, the greatest country album of the year. And so, now, Lynne cuts deeper into her musical array and breaks from tradition to unload a new wrapped up package titled, Suit Yourself. Her fourth studio album in six years.

If your looking for a conventional studio album; I suggest you look elsewhere. This album drives more from a style of a one band jam session then an attempt to investigate the different walls of sounds. It's what sets this album aside from all her others. It's the same kind uniqueness that you can come to aspect from this influential and intelligent singer/songwriter.

The album begins with some chatter from Lynne and her musicians as they dropkick into the opening track, Go With It. The bar band type jam is quickly replaced as she breaks down into a Donavon-like folk style of Where Am I Now? Lynne could just about sing the textbook of popular music as she lets loose on tracks like, Old Time Sake, You Don't Have A Heart and Sleep. If your looking for her typical sincere honesty in her music, the tribute to the late Johnny Cash and June Carter, Johnny Met June, makes for some great listening. The song was written on the same day of Cash's passing and has the significant promise of devoted love and hope. Lynne can carry a tune unlike any these days. She's spices up a bluesy howl of Janis Joplin on the track, I Cry Everyday, and she's quite the Waylon Jennings on Iced Tea. What makes Lynne so appealing, is the simple fact that she doesn't care what music she plays. It just comes so naturally to her. It feels so right to listen too also.

Lynne has become much more of a musician's musician during her last couple of albums. She has a certain feel for music that not to many other established musicians have. With a wealth of musical knowledge and a pot of songs to her credit, Lynne is a one woman extraordinaire. She allows the listener to judge for themselves whether or not her music means anything to them. All she does is give out some great R&B, a dose of blues, a little bit of country, with a whole lot of sass. If you don't like it, well then, suit yourself.

Shelby's DIY approach is quite refreshing in these days of slick production, and to hear her voice is always a revelation. The elegy to The Man in Black and his saving grace, June, is a song all should hear--the lyrics and soul of Shelby's voice could make a cynic believe that there just may be love in this universe.....

When I read that the title of Shelby's new CD was 'Suit Yourself' I had a foreboding of something self-indulgent and not very appealing (a la Carly Simon in 'the bedroom tapes'). So after some initial reluctance I broke down and bought the CD based primarily on Shelby's past reputation. Then I played the CD and was knocked out. There isn't a bad or even mediocre song on the disc. 'Go With It' sets the context for what follows. No self-indulgence here, this lady has the confidence to want it her way! 'I Cry Everyday' is as good as anything she's ever written. And her cover of 'Rainy Night in Georgia' is incredible. She's simply made the song hers

I have to say I disagree with my fellow reviewer's opinion of "Love Shelby". That album was criminally underrated!
But on to the present album; "Suit Yourself" is typical Shelby Lynne: raw, honest and amazing! It's a true artist that can stick on studio chatter at the beginning or end of a song, as Shelby does throughout this disk, and make it seem completely natural and not contrived. It further enhances the feeling of intimacy this album radiates.
The lead-off track, "Go With It" is a very strong song, and right away you know that this isn't going to be your run-of-the-mill album. Once "Go With It" pulls you in, "I Cry Everyday" knocks you flat! Harmonizing with herself, Shelby's voice is so soulfull, it haunts you for the rest of the album! Other standout tracks are the aching "Old Times Sake", the sensitive "Sleep" and "Track 12" with its bluesy tone, but really, there are no bad tracks to be found, and by album's end, I was wanting more.
Once again, Shelby Lynne defies classification. Is she country? Is she rock? Is she blues? WHO CARES!!! This woman is so tremendously talented, she mixes all different genres like no other artist can! Because her style defies neat little categories, indeed, some people may not be able to handle her. You can't put this woman's music on, then go about doing something else. This music demands you sit and listen! But then again, all her music does. So, if you can handle pure, honest music by a no-nonsense artist, buy this album now!