From There to Here: Greatest Hits

Lonestar

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2003)
• Original Release Date: June 3, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bna Entertainment
• ASIN: B00009EIQF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,353 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Set, June 11, 2003

By	J. M. Zuurbier (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Lonestar is truly a great country band. Their songs are engaging and the harmonies are superb. This collection takes a look at their early career, and brings you right up to date with their current music too. It's been an interesting career for them. For their first two albums, the selftitled one and CRAZY NIGHTS, it was the 4 members plus John Rich who later left the group. With their third album LONELY GRILL, they found huge crossover success with "Amazed", which secured their place in the world as superstars. With their last album "I'm Already There", it built on that success and then some. The lead single for the collection is the uptempo "My Front Porch Looking In", a fun uptempo that has a great chorus. Another great new song is their remake of Mark Cohn's "Walking In Memphis", which hopefully becomes a single. The hits are worth celebrating too. The softer side is shown on songs like "Amazed", "Smile", "I'm Already There", but they kick it up a notch or two on the uptempos like "You Walked In", "What About Now", "With Me", "No News", etc. This is truly a must have collection for any fans, old or new, of Lonestar.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great band + Great music = GREATEST HITS!, June 3, 2003

By	DanD - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I have just two questions for the guys of Lonestar: What about "When Cowboys Didn't Dance?" What about "Unusually Unusual?"

Other than that, this is a pretty good CD. Personally, I've been waiting awhile for a greatest hits from this foursome; ever since I purchases their self-titled debut a few years ago, I've waited anxiously for their music to come out. They have heaps of talent, they really do; they are truly one of the best bands in country music today.

On with the music.

Taking a look at this album, you can see that Lonestar enjoy a good ballad; "Tequila Talkin'," "Everything's Changed," "Amazed," "Smile," "Tell Her," TWO versions of "I'm Already There," and "Not a Day Goes By." But their best stuff is, really, when they're cranking it up; "No News," "You Walked In," "What About Now," and "With Me." Their earlier stuff, too (found near the beginning of the album) is best; you know, back when the guys wore belt buckles and hats, and John Rich was still around. Not that I'm complaining. Just reminiscing.

Let's take a look at the new stuff, shall we? You've heard "From My Front Porch Looking In," a rowdy little happy-go-lucky number. "I Pray" is a bit more on the serious side; a ballad of a bad Christian's plea to his God for forgiveness and all that. "Walking in Memphis" is an engaging song about a man going to Memphis to cope with depression and heartache and so forth, and following the ghost of Elvis through the streets. And the new version of "I'm Already There" ("message from home" version) is interlaced with radio messages from family members of soldiers out on call. It really is an emotional number; I felt a tear come to my eye.

Okay, you've waited for it, and here it is: the end of this review. (Or, more correctly I hope, Lonestar's "Greatest Hits".) Subtiled "From There to Here", this album covers the beginning of a great career for a great country music band. If you're a Lonestar fan, you gotta have this album. If you're not really a Lonestar fan, then you should buy this album as a great introductory course into their music. Either way, you should buy this CD so, a few years later, we can have another GREATEST HITS from these guys!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Overview Of A Constantly Evolving Group, July 7, 2003

By	James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This seventeen-track collection charts the dramatic evolution of Lonestar as a country act. For their first two albums - 1995's Lonestar and 1997's Crazy Nights - Lonestar was a quintet. Decked out in western wear, up-tempo stompers like "No News," "Come Cryin' To Me," and "You Walked In" as well as the occasional gritty ode like "Tequila Talkin,'" established Lonestar as competent honkytonkers.

By the release of their third album - 1999's Lonely Grill - Lonestar had undergone significant changes. Bassist and occasional lead singer John Rich left the group for a solo career (which has yet to take off) and the western wear was dropped in favor of hip, Gap-type duds. The honkytonkers were largely replaced by sentimental ballads such as "Amazed, "Smile" and "Tell Her" that effectively utilized lead singer Richie McDonald's emotional, elastic tenor, and appealed directly to droves of female listeners. 2001's I'm Alright There with its touching title smash and its follow-up "Not A Day Goes By" repeated this winning formula.

In addition to the aforementioned country hits, From There To Here also includes three new recordings. The perky leadoff single, "My Front Porch Looking In," with lines like "there's a carrot top that can barely walk with a sippy cup of milk" that effectively zero in on its soccer mom demographic, has already topped the country charts. "I Pray" is an inspirational ballad that's melodically reminiscent of "Smile," while their energetic remake of Marc Cohn's "Walking In Memphis" - a longtime concert staple - is one of the best recordings they've made in awhile. The latter successfully incorporates sentiment and grit, a combination Lonestar should strive for more in the future.