No matter what you think of Rimes’ individualized direction with a covers album, it’s difficult not to enjoy this wonderful country album. Vince Gill and Darrel Brown produced it for Rimes, and they have brought the “Blue” singer back to the traditional country sounds that first attracted so much attention to the artist’s vocal talent.
Even though many of these songs are significantly testosterone-soaked, Rimes gives them an expressly feminine feel. For instance, Rimes takes “The Only Mama That’ll Walk The Line,” originally “The Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line” for Waylon Jennings, and gives it a spunky, Loretta Lynn vocal.
Merle Haggard’s influence hangs conspicuously over this project. Rimes opens the album with a cover of John Anderson’s “Swingin’,” although her take on it features a rhythm that owes more to The Hag’s “Workingman Blues,” than to Anderson’s original. Later, Rimes closes with “The Bottle Let Me Down,” one of Merle’s better drinkin’ songs.
It just does the heart so much good to hear Rimes, with that still-strong voice of hers, dig deeply into John Conlee’s “Rose Colored Glasses.” With its layered fiddles, dobro and clunking bass, it’s a honky-tonk delight. And that girl, Rimes, just stands up and sings it like a true pro. It’s the sort of performance that might make mature mammas shout aloud, ‘That girl can sing!’
Rimes makes plenty of great choices when it comes to the track list on this work. Nevertheless, nobody should really try to cover “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” It’s like volunteering to pray in church when Jesus is in the congregation. Artists, even the really good ones like Rimes, should just leave well enough alone. It’s also difficult to figure out why Rimes reprises “Blue” on this album. Granted, she sounds fantastic doing it – especially those yodels on the chorus – but why couldn’t she have come up with something else that’s not so clearly associated with her own career? It’s fine; it just doesn’t fit this work.
This album is at its best when Rimes takes smart chances. These are not chances where she renders songs unrecognizable. Let’s not get crazy here! Rather, it’s when she takes a song like “16 Tons,” and turns into a swinging big band track with Chris Isaac-styled retro guitar and jazzy horn solos. Her take on Haggard’s “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down” is also effectively re-imagined. Instead of doing it as a barroom rave-up, as it appeared in its original incarnation, Rimes slows it down to a spooky crawl.
Lady & Gentlemen is so good, it may make you wish Vince Gill would produce Rimes’ albums from now on. It also matches one of country’s best singers, with some of the genre’s greatest songs. Best of all, it finds Rimes at the absolute top of her game.
Buy: Amazon mp3 ($5) | Amazon CD ($9) | Amazon Vinyl | iTunes
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