Terri Clark’s potential as a songwriter worth really listening to has been present on albums like Fearless and Pain To Kill but it is on The Long Way Home where her dynamic ability to write compelling songs really stands out. Case in point is the album’s first single “Gypsy Boots.” The song serves as an allegory for her career on the road as a travelling musician who moves from town to town. The melody rocks, the lyrics are solid and the production choice to use a horn section on the track only makes the song better with each successive listen while “If You Want Fire” sounds like anything you might hear on the radio these days with the added bonus of having the clever hook “If you want fire, it better be worth the burn.” In other words, life’s only worth living if you’re willing to take a chance with something, even if it hurts.
Another beautifully written (and performed) song is the ballad “A Million Ways To Run.” Featuring strumming acoustic guitars and mandolin and slight percussion, Terri singes a lyric of a woman who is has realized that whatever she’s been hiding herself from cannot go ignored anymore. This song, which really feels like it could be a big radio hit that impacts far more than just a few people, was solely written by Terri as she dealt with her own personal demons. Even when the song title of “What Happens In Vegas (Follows You Home)” seems to be something recalling the old Terri Clark of the 1990s, the song features a thoroughly modern banjo-driven production backing a lyric about finding something where you least expected to find it.
“The One You Love” was originally on that Pain To Kill album and while it was washed in layers of guitars and processed ‘emotion,’ Terri smartly has revisited this well-written song with a much less bombastic production and features harmony vocals from the always stellar Vince Gill. “Poor Girls Dream” is a tong-in-cheek song about a woman who wishes for a better life ‘where it may not sound like much but that’s the stuff that makes up a poor girl’s dream.’ Acoustic and organic sounding, the relationship ballad “You Tell Me” is a duet between Terri Clark and Canadian superstar Johnny Reid and the two blend their voices quite nicely, which a surprise is given how different they are. This song could be a big ole hit on both country and AC stations if ever released to radio.
If anyone needed proof that an artist, a true artist, can make a great record when left to their own devices, Terri Clark serves up The Long Way Home as a shining beacon and perfect example of just that. The Long Way Home’s very much the work of an artist who has made what very well could be the best album of her career.
You can support Terri Clark by purchasing this album at iTunes | Amazon | iTunes (Canada).
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