If
you miss the days of real honky tonk country, then this album is
exactly what the doctor ordered. Tanya Tucker's first studio
project in seven years, aptly titled My Turn, is an
incredible collection of classics that will almost let you hear
the clink of glasses at the bar and smell the cigarette smoke
and the sawdust on the dance floor. The album is a tribute to
her dad, who was a fan of the music that drew out the emotions
and made you feel like you were living the song. Tucker teamed
with producer Pete Anderson, who produced most of Dwight
Yoakam's albums, for that honky tonk sound with a California
twist. It was co-produced by Jerry Laseter and released on
Saguaro Road Records.
The minute I popped the album into the CD player I knew it was a
keeper. The twelve songs Tucker chose to include on the album
are all songs I grew up with and love. She takes favorite hits
from some classic country giants and makes them hers. Very few
female artists can pull off the true country honky tonk sound
and make the lyrics believable; but Tucker nails each and every
song with an emotional pull that makes you believe you are
living the song. Each time I listen to some of my older albums,
I am reminded of what so many of today's lyrics are missing out
on. Most modern lyrics will just touch the surface of life
instead of digging deep into the emotional pull of living. And
it isn't just the lyrics, but the music as well. I miss the
fiddles, the steel guitars and all the real music that was
behind the lyrics. Today, so much of it is electronically
engineered that you miss a lot of the individual instruments. It
all just blends anymore.
With My Turn you get it all, solid lyrics, fiddles, steel
guitars and amazing vocals are found in abundance. Like fine
whiskey, Tucker's voice only gets better with time and her
unique style makes her instantly recognizable whether she is
singing a brand new song or an old favorite. A combination of
Dwight Yoakum style guitar playing and guest vocals by Jim
Lauderdale made "Love's Gonna Live Here Again" an instant
favorite with me. I've always liked the Buck Owens sound and
Lauderdale sounded enough like Owens to make me check the CD
insert to make sure this wasn't an electronic duet. Tucker did
an excellent job on this Buck Owens hit.
She did a great cover of Merle Haggard's "Ramblin' Fever." A
self proclaimed connoisseur of the Hag songbook, she says she
would get on stage years ago in Printer's Alley and sing a
straight 45 minute set of nothing but straight Hag. With so many
songs to choose from, it was a hard call to find the one to do
for this album, but I think it was a great choice.
Tucker was joined on "After The Fire is Gone" by The Grascals.
The vocals blended smoothly on this Conway Twitty and Loretta
Lynn duet. You can even hear a little bit of Loretta in Tucker's
voice through some of it.
You can't have a good honky tonk album without a little Cajun
sound. Jo-El Sonnier joined with Tucker for a fun version of
"Big, Big Love." This 1961 hit from Wynn Stewart makes you want
to get up and move. Also included in this terrific album are:
Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me," Faron Young's "Wine Me Up," Hank
Williams' "Lovesick Blues,' Ray Price's "Crazy Arms," Lefty
Frizell's "I Love You A Thousand Ways," George Jones' "Walk
Through This World With Me" and Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know
Me."
This is a great album and it was nice to have something 'new'
from Tanya Tucker as well. She truly is one of the greats in the
industry.
