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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A LITTLE PAST NASHVILLE, May 11, 2004
Not counting her Christmas record, Lee Ann Womack has only released four albums. So it is a little curious that we have a "Greatest Hits" collection so early in her recording career. Still, this is a solid, respectable baker's dozen plus one package. The songs are presented in chronological order with fair weight given to her pre-"I Hope You Dance" catalogue. In doing so, we can observe the attempted transformation of a honky tonk Texan into an international diva.Others have lamented Nashville's attempts to take respectable female country artists and transform them into crossover successes. The question always remains that while reaching for the elusive brass ring of multi-catagory success do "our" stars lose their grounding in anything remotely "country"? A common example is Faith Hill's recent work (2002's Cry) where her focus on glamour and torch songs was seen as turning her back on country audiences for the wider success of American pop radio. A more extreme example is Shania Twain's "Up!!!" album in which the listener is given two CDs with the very same songs on each. The difference between the two CDs is that on one Twain's vocal track is backed up by country instrumentation and the other she is backed up by more customary "pop" instrumentation. This only underlined the suspicions of many that much of what has recently been passed off as "country music" is nothing more than "pop" songs with a steel guitar thrown in to make it sound authentic. Lee Ann Womack began her recording career with two excellent country albums. This period is presented here as the first six cuts. This is the Lee Ann Womack I enjoy the most. "A Little Past Little Rock" and "I'll Think Of A Reason Later" are a part of country music at its best with the first expressing romantic sorrow and the second has the singer poking fun at herself. This is followed by her more recent catalogue beginning with "I Hope You Dance". "I Hope You Dance" was wildly popular on both the country and pop charts but it marked a change. Gone was the twangy Texan for a smoother, almost "little girl" voice. We also note the presence of heavy orchestration behind Womack. Worst of all is the most "un-country" like indulgence in saccharine sweet preachiness that tries to pass itself off as "older but wiser" wisdom. "Ashes By Now" returns the old Rodney Crowell well; but again Womack's vocal doesn't seem to marry well with the music. "Something Worth Leaving Behind" attempts another "I Hope You Dance" success but in retrospect was another reach for the proverbial pop music brass ring in which Womack only ends up falling off the horse. Much better is "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger". Here we come to a return to more solid ground as Womack confronts a philandering husband. Womack does a very nice turn with Willie Nelson in "Mendocino County Line" and the two new songs may signal that Womack is coming back to her real strengths as a country artist. "The Wrong Girl" and "Time For Me To Go" are two little gems that I like better than most of Womack's recent releases. In my tastes I am not so much as a "purest" as I am a "realist". By that I mean that historically all the different styles of American music borrow and steal from each other with impunity. I am not bothered by the fact that "rock" influences have been seeping into country music for years. Unlike Alan Jackson, I see nothing wrong with "rockin' the jukebox". But some things work and others do not. Country music does not need its best female stars try to emulate Celine Dion. And all signs indicate that this realization has dawned on Nashville. This collection is a good sample of Lee Ann Womack's music. Even with misgivings about her "middle" period, Womack is one of the best female country stars we have. If you are so inclined, you might also pick up her first two albums-of which "Some Things I Know" is an absolute treasure.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Music!, September 15, 2005
Something Worth Leaving Behind, Ashes By Now, Mendocino County Line...
Although the rest of this CD is fantastic, the first 3 songs I listed make this CD worth the price.
Every time I hear Ashes By Now I can't help but crank up the volume to get the full effect of her voice and the music.
She is one talented lady... {Gotta give a little credit to Rodney Crowell, who wrote Ashes By Now, That man writes the most kick ass songs in the world} Even without "I Hope You Dance". Which, by the way, is also a great tune.
I don't think I've ever listened to a better Greatest Hits CD from an artist that hasn't been around all that long.
You won't be disappointed spending your $$ on this CD
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Summation Of One Of Current Country's Top Artists, May 22, 2004
With the honky tonk lament "Never Again, Again," Lee Ann Womack and her adenoidal, Partonesque voice arrived on the country charts in early 1997. Follow-up singles on her first two albums, like the uptempo "(Now You See Me) Now You Don't" and "I'll hink Of A Reason Later," as well as the delicate ballads "The Fool" and "A Little Past Little Rock," then solidified her as a favorite of traditional country listeners.Womack's third album I Hope You Dance (2000) was far more eclectic. The Rodney Crowell scorcher "Ashes By Now" infused rock and tropical sounds, while "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" added bluegrass into her repertoire. "Why They Call It Falling" was a sparse, acoustic gem and the optimistic title track struck a chord with the nation and ultimately became a major pop hit. In light of the major crossover success of the "I Hope You Dance" single, it is not surprising that Womack's next album Something Worth Leaving Behind (2002) aimed for the masses again, this time with an overly polished and synth-laden sound. But aside from the title track (an "I Hope You Dance" knockoff), it was lacking in hits. "Mendocino County Line" - a Grammy-winning collaboration with Willie Nelson - followed soon after, its harmonious blend overshadowing the song's ambiguous storyline. Greatest Hits contains all twelve of Womack's top 25 country hits (including the aforementioned singles), plus two new tracks "The Wrong Girl" and "Time For Me To Go" that thankfully return Womack to her traditional roots. While I would have also included the toe-tapping single "Buckaroo" (which peaked just outside the top 25), Greatest Hits serves as a strong summation of Womack's first eight years as an MCA recording artist.
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