Customer Reviews

On Your Way Home

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is just awesome...there's no other way to put it. Patty Loveless is single handedly keeping my interest in country music, and after one listen to this spectacular CD, you will understand why. That voice !!!...it's truly the 8th wonder of the world. No one can capture sadness, happiness and fun like this incredibly gifted artist. That she applies that voice to perfectly matched songs is down right amazing. Her choices are always immaculate and her heartfelt efforts shine like a beacon. My good people, I don't have to waste my time and critique every single song, for with any Patty Loveless album, it's beautiful and satisfying as a whole...it must be heard in it's entirety with each listen. I can not think of a single country artist of the past 20 years who has kept it all so real, for so long. With "On Your Way Home," Ms. Loveless has proved she is the best female counrty singer since Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. Her body of work since 1991's "Only What I Feel" has been a mind-blowing, staggering artistic acheivememt, and this wonderful CD only adds to her stunning output. If anyone wants "real" country music sung by a "real" artist," then pick up a copy of this CD. (or any of her CDs) With Patty, you just can't go wrong. A beautiful album indeed.

Patty Loveless has knocked this one completely out of the park. Nothing she has previously recorded compares to this set of extremely intelligent, funny, heart-wrenching, and explosive tunes. She and husband Gordy, Jr. should be recognized both critically and commercially for this recording. The toe-tapping first single "Lovin' All Night" is a smash, but flip over to the B-side of this one and you'll wonder why "Nothin' Like the Lonely" won't be released as a single as well. Surely deciding which songs will be released was a difficult task. The title track will likely be Patty's next number one hit, and remind even the most marginal of fans why she has left a lasting footprint on not only country music, but across every musical genre as well. Her voice is suberb, sweet, and crystal-clear, with her delivery profound and quite effective. It's no surprise that she is again nominated as the top female vocalist in country music. After listening to this CD, it would be futile to argue against such a declaration, and quite an easy position to defend. The music speaks for itself. Every music fan should treat themselves with this one in their CD collection. Thank you, Patty.

Patty Loveless new CD contains songs with depth, tears and joy. The music behind the lyrics makes this a must have for country, real country, music lovers. Awesome vocals, a trademark of Patty Loveless.

Now this is good country music...the real McCoy without the twang and so much better than what the music industry tries to pass off as country. There are lots of guitars, fiddles and pedal steel giving this CD a real down-home rootsy feel. Loveless possesses an excellent voice that emotes honestly. The one negative is that none of the songs are hers but she covers some great talent such as Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller and Rodney Crowell. The last cut is a real tearjerker called "The Grandpa That I Knew".

Patty Loveless returns with one of her best albums. Her follow up to the critically acclaimed 2001 disc MOUNTAIN SOUL. The first single from ON YOUR WAY HOME is her cover of Rodney Crowell's "Lovin All Night" which was a modest hit for her. The second single is the title track, which is CLASSIC Patty Loveless, reminiscent of past hits like "Here I Am". The sound on the album is a mixture of country and bluegrass. There's not one dud here. There's great uptempo tracks like "Draggin' My Heart Around", "Nothin Like The Lonely", "Looking For A Heartache Like You", some torch type songs like "Higher Than The Wall", "Born Again Fool", and some unbelievable ballads like the title track, "I Don't Wanna Be That Strong", "The Grandpa That I Know", and "I Wanna Believe". Overall another solid collection of songs from Patty Loveless!

Prime Cuts: Loving All Night, On Your Way Home, The Grandpa That I Know

Aside from her detour to bluegrass, every Patty Loveless CD release is an event in itself. Preceding each CD release, there would always be a sure fire lead single. In the past, classics such as "Try to Think of Elvis," "Chains" have paved the way, wetting our appetites for each of her album. This time Loveless doesn't disappoint. "Loving All Night," a top 20 hit, certainly is ranked as one of Loveless' best up-tempo songs. "Loving," written and once recorded by Rodney Crowell, is an unabashed ode to passionate love set to a rapid and arresting tune. Something only an exceptional tunesmith like Crowell could be capable of crafting.

However, "Loving" is not typical of the rest of the album. While "Loving" veers on the side of modern country-pop, the rest of the songs have a more down home possessing a rootsy feel to them. The best of which comes from the pens of the talented Tim Mensy and Shawn Camp, "The Grandpa That I Know." "Grandpa" is a moving lament on how the protagonist's grandpa had been misrepresented at his funeral: "They've got him layin' there in pinstripes, how'd they got him in that stuff... They say he looks so natural, but all I see is a cold dark hole. I won't commit this day to memory. This ain't that grandpa that I know..." "Grandpa" is just an exquisite, old fashioned moving ballad that you might want to keep your Kleenex nearby on every listen.

Equally emotive is Matraca Berg and Ronnie Samoset's title cut. Currently another top 20 hit for Loveless, the title cut is a dark pensive ballad sung from the perspective of a suspecting wife interrogating her husband if he had ever thought about her on his way home (apparently from his mistress' house). It reminds me of Loveless' "Nothing But the Wheel" and the same emotion she exudes on that classic is so prevalent here. Perhaps, only Loveless, with her mountain soul purity, could convey such piercing emotions.

Such raw expressions of loneliness are also transmitted to more up-tempo material like "Nothin' Like the Lonely," Marty Stuart's "Dragging My Heart Around" and the fabulous Jim Lauderdale's "Looking for a Heartache Like You." Mensy, who co-penned the excellent "Grandpa," has another entry here: "I Don't Wanna Be That Strong." Co-written with Tony Haseldon, "Strong" could easily be the third single off this album. It's melodic and by no means inferior to any up-tempo songs on country radio.

Though Loveless has a penchant for bluegrass music, and honest to say bluegrass isn't exactly my cup of tea, this is still a contemporary country record. And I find that Loveless would have done her contemporary country fans more good by the inclusion of more modern country songs. Songs like "Last in the Line of Lonesome" and "Higher Than the Wall" are far too rootsy for me. Thematically and lyrically, "Lonesome" resounds too much like Loveless previous song "Long Stretch of Lonesome." Hence, I find the recording of "Lonesome" redundant. Also, "Higher Than the Wall" could have been omitted, it sounds too much like a dirge. "Wall" could have easily been replaced with a more upbeat tune in the likes of "Loving All Night." Maybe that would increase Loveless' chance for another top 5 radio hit.

But such criticism is minor; overall "Find My Way Home" has my highest recommendation for being one of 2003's best country records from a female artist. Filled with integrity, raw emotions and memorial tunes; a worthwhile excuse for indulgence.

Patty Loveless always delivers in the singing department. The continuation of that pattern is the most encouraging part of this album. In fact, I think her voice is fuller and richer than ever before. I really like this CD, but I don't believe it is her best. At this point in Patty's career, I would think that she would be singing the best-written songs out there, but that just doesn't seem to be the case here. The song lyrics aren't terrible, but they are average, or even typical, Nashville fare. Admittedly, the songs are much better than what you will find on a Toby Keith or Shania Twain album, but that isn't saying much. Obviously, from reading the other reviews, not everyone agrees with me. What I would really like to see is for Patty to start recording more of her own songs again. That being said, I did really like her delivery of most of the songs on this album. The title track was the best song on the CD. It reminded me of her earlier hit, "Here I Am." And her voice on the faster, more light-hearted songs makes them fun and smart. Patty really hollers on some of these songs, and I mean that in a positive way. I love to hear her let loose with that amazing voice. All things considered, it's a great buy. I will listen to this CD many more times and will enjoy it. The extra DVD contained in the jewel case is a nice touch too.

Patty Lovless just has a great voice that could sing any kind of music and be popular. On this album she sings with emotion and the skill that she has been known for her entire career. I would recomend this album to every music fan out there.

One of my fave country instruments is the fiddle and this album has it in abundance!
Such as the catchy uptempo Nothin' Like The Lonely,the lovely hit ballad On Your Way Home and the fiddle fuelled Born-Again Fool.Another great ballad.
She also does a great cover of the Rodney Crowell song Lovin' All Night which was another hit.
But the real gem is the gorgeous ballad The Grandpa That I Know,I absolutely love the beautiful fiddle arrangement and the really touching lyrics to this.
This is one of Patty's finest albums from one of country musics best singers....

While Mountain Soul is undeniably my favorite of Patty's albums, this one is the most brilliant and satisfying mixture of traditional country and accessibility. All of her prior albums contain songs seemingly included to garner airplay to draw unfamiliar fans into her music, and they weren't always representative. "I Think About Elvis" comes to mind. None of that is present on On Your Way Home. On this one, Patty and husband/producer Emory have undoubtedly hit the perfect formula for her style and voice. To echo other reviewers, this is a "home run," and country music "can't possibly get better than this."

If you're unfamiliar with her work, "Lovin' All Night" and "Draggin' My Heart Around" will be immediately appealing. "I Wanna Believe" is uptempo fun in the same vein. No where has Patty been more emotive or plaintive than on the title track (my favorite). "Born Again Fool" would have fit on Mountain Soul perfectly. "The Grandpa I Knew" is reminicient of the earlier "Where I'm Bound" and "She Never Stopped Loving Him" or even her performance with Vince Gill, "Go Rest High on that Mountain." No contemporary artist conveys melancholy like Patty. Maybe it's her eastern Kentucky roots.

This is the perfect vehicle for her emotional resonance. It is inspired and inimitable; no other country diva expresses the range of emotions that Patty does. I admit to bias; I've been a huge fan for about 15 years, but her music just keeps getting better.