After recording a few albums with a couple different labels (and only seein' one of 'em get released), Billy Yates took on a DYI approach with his music and the results yielded a string of consistent mix of contemporary country albums. "That's Why I Run" is his 6th self-released album and, like his other ones, it's a pretty damn good record. "Like A Radio" is a rollicking track that displays Yates gift to mix metaphors well.
Over the course of her career with MCA Records, Reba has had well over 50 hits. To celebrate her career with the label, UMe (the re-issue label for Universal Music) partnered with Reba to compile “Reba – 50 Greatest Hits.” Spanning 3 discs, the compilation covers many of the songs that were on the #1’s album but, like any artist, Reba’s had many songs, like “Fancy” that never made the top of the charts. Others, like “She Thinks His Name Was John” weren’t even Top 10 hits. Yet, there is still a lot of love for many of these tracks.
This box set begins with “How Blue” and while some could argue that the label should’ve included the lone MCA top 10 hit not found on this disc (1984’s “Just A Little Love”), it would’ve forced the label to drop off something that fans know a lot more than that song. Also, that song featured some heavy strings and Reba didn’t like that. So, it makes sense that the 2nd album released from 1984, “My Kind of Country” would be the starting point for this collection, as Reba had taken the reins of her career by then. She was proven right when “How Blue” topped the charts and helped set up Reba’s career. “Somebody Should Leave,” was the second single from the album and it, too, went to the top of the charts. Back in these days, albums often only contained 2 singles (a trend we’re seemingly returning to nowadays) so Reba’s next two singles the ballad “Only In My Mind” and the up-tempo album title track “Have I Got A Deal For You” are featured on this set as well (both were Top 10 hits).
While both of those albums put Reba on the country music map (she started winning 4 female vocalist trophies in a row from the CMA Awards in 1984), her next album, “Whoever’s In New England” was her major breakthrough album. The title song was one of her first hallmark songs and it’s still played on country radio, 24 years later. Her follow-up single, “Little Rock,” was another #1 hit and it showed the playful side to Reba. Her second record released in 1985 was “”What Am I Gonna Do About You” and it produced three big hits in the title track, “Let The Music Lift You Up” and “One Promise Too Late.” The latter of the songs was released in spring of 1987 (giving the album a year and a-half chart run, a long time then) and it went on to become another #1 for her.
By this time in Reba’s career, she had settled into a fine groove as the go-to girl for country music. She also was shifting away from the steel guitars and fiddles of earlier releases to the country-pop that she once repelled earlier in her career. “The Last One To Know” signaled this shift and it was carried through Reba’s later 80s hits like “I Know How He Feels,” “New Fool At An Old Game” (From “Reba”) and “Till Love Comes Aain” and “Cathy’s Clown” from the “Sweet Sixteen” album. “Sweet Sixteen” was the first Reba album to produce four singles as well (only the #7 hit “Little Girl” isn’t featured here).
Disc two starts off with “You Lie,” the first single off of the gigantic release “Rumor Has It.” It was the first in a long run of albums produced by Tony Brown, who helped expand Reba’s sound into pop territories while keeping some steel guitar in the mix to help aid Reba’s voice in keeping the music country. Whereas Reba’s old producer Jimmy Bowen had repelled her idea of recording “Fancy,” Tony embraced it and the song became one of Reba’s signature singles, particularly stunning since it’s not her most successful charting singles (it barely made The Top 10) and it was a remake of an old 1969 Bobbie Gentry song. Still, it was one of four singles from the album, along with the title track and “Falling Out Of Love.”
Reba’s next album, “For My Broken Heart” was kicked-off at radio with the title track. This album was recorded after the tragic plane crash that saw a majority of her band perish. The emotion and hurt from the crash was felt in Reba’s vocal for the title track. The album also featured the empowering “Is There Life Out There,” a song about a woman who married young and wants to break out and experience life that never got to live, you know live for herself instead of her husband and children. A remake of Vicky Lawrence’s hit “The Lights Went Out In Georgia” was memorable, despite not being a Top 10 hit, and was followed up by the emotional “The Greatest Man I Never Knew.”
“Take It Back” “It’s Your Call” and the award-winning duet with Vince Gill, “The Heart Won’t Lie” are culled from “It’s Your Call.” The duet was the first duet Reba had in her MCA Tenure and it was a strong pairing of MCA’s superstar artists. Reba’s next duet was the smash hit single “Does He Love You,” a song sung about a man by his two loves, the wife (Reba) and the extra marital affair (Linda Davis). Linda was, at the time, one of Reba’s harmony singers on her tour and also a recording artist herself. The duet not only won a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year but also netted Reba and Linda a Grammy Award for Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1993.
Reba’s album “Read My Mind” was released in 1994 and it featured five singles. The singles were “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” (which featured an inventive video), “She Thinks His Name Was John,” “Till You Love Me,” “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter” and “And Still.” All were Top 10 hits except for “She Thinks His Name Was John,” which was probably not a Top 10 hit only due to its HIV/AIDS subject matter. Reba’s next album was a ‘classics’ album in which she covered some of her favorite songs. Two tracks from “Starting Over” appear on 50 Greatest Hits, the title track “Starting Over Again” and “Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands.”
Reba’s “What if it’s You” album produced four singles with the title track and “I’d Rather Ride Around With You” the most memorable. The two other singles, “The Fear Of Being Alone” and “How Was I To Know” are included on this collection. Reba’s duet, “If You See Him, If You See Her” became the title track to her (If You See Him) and her duet partner Brooks & Dunn’s (If You See Her) albums. It was a smash, hit award contending song that was followed by “Forever Love,” “Wrong Night” and “One Honest Heart.” These singles all were the first Reba tracks not co-produced with Tony Brown in 8 years and all showed Reba continuing her amazing path of superb song selection.
“What Do You Say” is a song that hit home for Reba as her son Shelby was at the age where children ask their parents questions about the world, and given an awkward situation, she pondered ‘what do you say in a moment like that?.” Tony Brown returned to the producers chair for the hit “I’ll Be.” A year later, they teamed up again for “I’m A Survivor,” the title track to Reba’s 3rd Greatest Hits album and also the theme song for her WB TV show. While the hits started slowing down after that, due to Reba’s successful TV and Broadway run, “Reba: 50 Greatest Hits” ends with “Somebody,” her last Number One hit, in 2004. “He Gets That From Me” was another song Reba sang with son Shelby in mind and it’s something parents can all relate to. The final track on this disc is Reba’s Top 5 hit duet remake of “Because Of You” from “Reba Duets.” The song was sung with its original singer and co-writer, Kelly Clarkson, who later toured with Reba.
While Reba: 50 Greatest Hits won’t be anything new for long-time fans, the album is packaged together quite nicely, the artwork and packaging are top-notch and the box set presents a nice ‘catch-all’ for Reba’s 25 year career with MCA Records. It’s a package that certainly deems all other ‘greatest hits’ packages (her 3 previous ones) pretty much redundant as this is a better, more concise package.
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