Van Lear Rose

Loretta Lynn | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B0001XASDA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (259 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,875 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #60 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana
  • #95 in Music > Country > Roadhouse Country
  • #97 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Nashville Sound

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Garage-rock hero Jack White producing honky-tonk legend Loretta Lynn? And Lynn comparing him to renowned Nashville producer Owen Bradley? Yes, we all know the world is rapidly shrinking, but now we've seen everything. Most stunning of all--they nailed it. For the first time, Lynn has written all of an album's songs, and her lyrics are as cutting and incisive as ever. On the powerful, biting "Family Tree," she brings her babies to the home of her husband's mistress so that they can see the "woman that's burning down our family tree." Throughout she cunningly tackles tried-and-true honky-tonk themes of love gone bad, drinkin', cheatin', and murder. Lynn even offers a compelling slice of theological fatalism ("God Makes No Mistakes"). White's production--mostly stark and atmospheric--ranges from more-traditional country to straight-up White Stripes, with most tracks falling somewhere in between. White duets with Lynn on the rousing one-night-stand story "Portland, Oregon," but he does not need to sing to leave his personal stamp. At 70, Lynn seems thoroughly engaged and delighted; at times she delivers some of the most emotionally potent singing of her career. A decade earlier, Johnny Cash turned to rock and rap producer Rick Rubin, and the move resuscitated Cash's career. Now, Jack White has done the same for Loretta Lynn, another country legend whose music is simply too raw and honest for the contemporary country crowd. Van Lear Rose exceeds all expectations--a bold collaboration in which artists from two different musical universes forge a memorable work that neither could have created alone. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Loretta Lynn "Van Lear Rose" Produced and Arranged by Jack White of the White Stripes

See all Editorial Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE REVIEWS??????? August 2, 2004

By a viewer

Format:Audio CD

There were hundreds of reviews for this CD but they have disappeared. Anyhow, I would like to reiterate that Loretta Lynn has released one of the most interesting and innovative country music collections in the history of country music. Admittedly, White Stripes is an acquired taste but the production is stellar, yet simple and heartwarming. Loretta sounds great and the CD cover is vintage Loretta. The songs are fantastic and class A material because Loretta wrote them all!! She is second to none as a songwriter. One only needs to hear the title track or "Miss being Mrs. Tonight" to understand this. Forget about country 'pretenders' like "Shania", "Faith", "Reba", "Martina"....Loretta is the real thing. She always has been. She always will be. She has never compromised just to "do what sells". This CD proves that point and I wouldn't be surprised if we see her at the CMAs this fall collecting a few awards for this project!! It is outstanding!!!!

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could give this CD more than five stars! August 7, 2004

By C. A Ross

Format:Audio CD

Too be honest- I have been in love with Mrs. Loretta Lynn since I was five and saw her on Hee-Haw. But at 39 her voice and lyrics have blown me away in manner that i was unprepared for in this life. I could fill this review with a great lines about how good the CD is. But I ask you to just listen and you will hear great music, great music- that has no bounds and yet is so country that you will wonder what CMT, GAC and the other nashville idiots who give us Toby, and Kenny, and Jimmy Buffet for God's sake are thinking. People if you really love country and not just the cute butt of Tim or Shania than this what it all about. Take from a man who found what was missing all along with this sweet. sweet woman!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Country Music Goddess January 25, 2005

By Music Addict

Format:Audio CD

AMAZING- the only word to describe this CD and that doesn't even do it justice. A refreshing and inspiring CD released at a time when country music is just about as commerical as you can get. Loretta Lynn & Jack White stay true to country music while adding a modern element without making it cheesy or pop sounding. Easily one of the best CD's of all time from a true American Icon.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars City boy raised on Metallica and Megadeth June 21, 2005

By J. Mayes

Format:Audio CD

I'll keep it short and to the point. I'm 28 and never imagined i'd be in line at the store with a loretta lynn cd. Well i bought it and i must say i am very impressed . Loretta is like 70 and sings like she's 20. The music, for the most part, is very country souding. Not mullets, nascar, levis, $1500 guitars, produced in a 50 million dollar studio cheesy brooks and dunn vegas pseudo country pop, but something so much more authentic. THis music went right through me, even all the slow songs. That's a first for a speed metal child.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Jack White for turning me on to Loretta Lynn... January 24, 2005

By Stephen Cabral VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Who would have ever thought that Loretta Lynn would even know who Jack White is...never mind collaborate with him on this masterpiece? Lynn is 70 years old and at times she sounds like a cross between Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. In addition, she wrote every song on this CD while White nicely produced and played various instruments throughout.

The best track here is "Portland, Oregon" which is possibly my favorite song of 2004 by anybody. Great arrangement and tasty slide guitar highlight this duet with White about a one-night-stand. Other faves are the spoken word "Little Red Shoes", the autobiographical "Story of my Life", the powerful lyrics of "God Makes No Mistakes", "Mrs. Leroy Brown" which causes me to wonder again how it's possible that this women is 70, and "Women's Prison" which is about a woman on death row for murdering her cheating husband (is there any other kind?). White plays some nasty guitar that's a representation of the woman's execution at the end of this song.

Sadly, something is seriously wrong with the music industry when the latest Shania Twain release is going to outsell Van Lear Rose by 20 to 1. Thank you Jack White for inspiring me to purchase my first Loretta Lynn album. Now I need to check out some of her catalog and see what I've been missing all these years.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakin' Up Music City April 29, 2004

By Shawn Kimbro

Format:Audio CD

For a couple of decades the world of commercial
country music has needed some shaking up. While there
have been occasional tremors, it's only fitting that
the artist most likely to turn Nashville on its top is
the same one that jolted it awake 30 years ago.
Loretta Lynn has just released one of the best records
in modern Country Music.

"You've got to have an open mind," Loretta writes in a
letter on her web site, "Van Lear Rose sounds a little
different from my other ones."

A little different indeed! But that's only if you're
not used to country laced with loud grunge guitars,
eerie cross-tuned fiddles, and dark moody lyrics:

"I'm sittin' here on death row / And Lord I've lost my
mind / For love I've killed my darlin' / And for love
I'll lose my life"

Listeners who've followed the progressive music scene
in the last few years have taken note of the
admiration Van Lear Rose's producer Jack White has
shown for Loretta Lynn. In 2001 he dedicated the
White Stripes' breakthrough disc "White Blood Cells,"
to her. Traditional music fans have also noted
White's forays into the roots of rural music with his
participation in the movie and soundtrack to "Cold
Mountain."

"He's got a lot of energy," Lynn says. "He's still a
kid, you know, so he feels like he can jump the river
and turn around and jump back over. He don't think
that nobody's any older than him."

No matter what his age, White has shaken open the

well-springs of country music with his production of
Van Lear Rose. There's a fresh, almost urban taste to
the original blue Kentucky girl's hillbilly twang.... All
thirteen songs, each penned by Loretta, flow and swirl
with original energy and emotional resonance.

From the the bare bones, garage-rock anthem "Have
Mercy On Me," thru the down-home sing-along "High On A
Mountaintop," to the spoken word surrealism of "Little
Red Shoes," Lynn shows us how much she's influenced
all those who've drank from her source. A sample of
her clear vocals on Van Lear Rose reveals the strident
earthy flavors of Iris Dement, Lucinda Williams, Nanci
Griffith and so many others.

Van Lear Rose is to modern Country Music what the New
Madrid fault is to the Mississippi River. Whether or
not it reverses the flow of Nashville's generic stream
of boredom remains to be seen. Nevertheless, there's
no doubt that Loretta Lynn has released a brave,
raucous recording that turns Music City upside down --
a disc that is sure to keep fans rocking and reeling
for years to come.

Enjoy,
-Shawn Read more ›