Unchained Melody: The Early Years

LeAnn Rimes

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 1997)
• Original Release Date: February 11, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Curb Special Markets
• ASIN: B000000DGG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,877 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This album consists of material recorded prior to Rimes's best-selling 1996 national debut, Blue. The program includes such time-tested staples of Rimes's live show as "Cowboy's Sweetheart," "I Will Always Love You," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and "Unchained Melody." As amazing as it is to hear a voice this powerful and polished coming from a 15-year-old girl in 1997, it's even more amazing to consider that she was only 10 or 11 when most of these recordings were done. What's not so amazing are the five contemporary country numbers, which point to the problem Rimes continues to face in finding new material worthy of her once-in-a-generation vocal abilities. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible for one so young, March 24, 2003

By	Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

LeAnn was about 11 when these recordings were made, so she was still learning her craft. Even so, this is a fascinating collection that showcases her wonderful voice. Of the songs, there are five oldies, three of which are so well known that it is difficult to imagine that there is any adult in Britain or America who has not heard them countless times.

I will always love you is Dolly Parton's classic song that eventually became Whitney Houston's biggest hit ever. Yesterday is the Beatles song that has been covered more times than any other pop song. Unchained melody was originally a hit for several singers in the fifties, but is perhaps most closely identified with the Righteous brothers. They had a hit with it in the sixties but an even bigger hit in 1990 when it was featured in the Ghost movie soundtrack. Blue moon of Kentucky is less famous than those three, but this Bill Monroe classic has been covered many times, including by Elvis Presley. The oldest song, I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheart, on which LeAnn demonstrates her skills as a yodeller, was a million-seller for Patsy Montana in the thirties.

LeAnn stamps her identity on all those oldies, but also shows her skills on contemporary material, including Share my love, a song she co-wrote. To my ears, this is a wonderful album. Of course, it's not quite up to the standard of her official debut album, but anybody who enjoys that may be surprised at just how good this is.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is not my favourite LeAnn Rimes album, November 28, 1999

By	"the_jooster" (Australia) - See all my reviews

LeAnn Rimes is capable of better works.

For those who are fortunate to have th "All That" album, then maybe this one isn't good, and certainly for others who don't have "All That", it isn't that good.

LeAnn re-recorded most of the tracks she did for "All That". Her yodelling is good in "I Want to Be A Cowboys Sweetheart", the acapella portion of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and the song itself is fabulous, the song she wrote "Share My Love" is a great ballad that is fast and catchy. In "Broken Wing", she sings beautifully and that rendition is extremely heartfelt. I didn't like "I Will Always Love You" and "Yesterday". They are classics that she should have left out. They are good songs but they seemed out of place in this album. "Unchained Melody", the Grand Finalé is performed excellently.

This album is a good one, but isn't her best.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This album shows off her voice, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

After listening to this album, you could tell that it was designed to show off her voice, not the quality of the material. The songs are all remakes anyway. Obviously, she has the strongest and most confident voice in country today. She gladly shows off her versatile vocal ability with "I Will Always Love You" and "Unchained Melody." But aside from that, these songs do not convey emotion, or any type of depth whatsoever. This album is all about showcasing LeAnn's voice. Oh well. I suppose that's why it was released in the first place. By the way, the best song is "Unchained Melody." It's much smoother and more flowing than The Righteous Brothers' (Were they the ones who sang it?) version. It's a wonderful song to listen to over and over, plus you can hear LeAnn reach the hightest note I've ever heard from a country singer. She also shows just how long she can sing before having to pause to take a breath. Wow, what a song.