20 Comments

  1. While I agree that this is a great song I don’t think it’s flawless. I personally find that the production is just a tad too much, if they were to tone it down a notch then It really would be flawless.

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  2. The thing that fascinates me is that this song has such a quiet, unassuming sense about it that I almost have to wonder if it would be received this well without the “Trisha factor.” I think simply because her name is on it country connoisseurs were already poised eat it up, but I could imagine a less-revered (if still competent) artist like Sara Evans recording this and it getting virtually ignored. Of course, the “Trisha factor” isn’t just about the name; her delivery of the song gently unveils its nuanced beauty and intelligence in a way I can imagine only a handful of other artists doing.

    In short, this song needed a reputation like Trisha’s to get people to take notice of it and a performance like Trisha’s to unlock its full brilliance. I consider it nothing short of a modern country music miracle that it happened to get both. God bless this genre, and God bless Trisha Yearwood.

    And Carrie Underwood should take note.

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  4. Ah, but isn’t that the truth about a lot of things? There are plenty of songs that only do well because of the artist that’s singing it, whether their version is better or not. Such as Shiftwork by Kenny Chesney. Would that really be a hit without Kenny’s name behind it? I hope not.

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  5. Fun historical fact that correlates well with what Kent and Dan are suggesting –

    Bobby Braddock on his song “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, which has been cited at times as the best country song in history:

    “I thought it was really good, but not spectacular. George Jones’ performance and Billy Sherrill’s production have a hell of a lot to do with that record becoming a standard.”

    As for Trisha’s single, I think it would undermine the point of my original review to start discussing it at length, so I’ll just say it again. From my perspective, it’s flawless.

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  6. the thing about trisha yearwood is that no matter what song she is given, she makes it sound as good as possible. this is a really good song, defeniteley above average, but it’s her vocal preformance on it that really makes it what it is.

    i used to think that how good a song was depended on it’s tune, but i strongly disagree with that now. the way an artists sings something can really bring out a song.

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  7. I was on Karyn Rochelle’s (co-writer of “This Is Me You’re Talking To) MySpace page, and she has a fantastic demo of one of her other cuts on Trisha’s record – “Let the Wind Chase You” – recommended listening even on MySpace’s lo-fi audio.

    There are publishers all over Nashville who will tell you the demo version they own of a particular song is much better than the version recorded by a particular singing star. I’m not saying this is the case here; both versions of “Let the Wind Chase You” are EXCELLENT. There was a time if a song got hot many artists would cut it.

    These days an artist gets a hold on a cut and other artists are out of the loop to cut it first.

    I love going to Katrina Elam’s MySpace page, where she has posted her original recording of “Flat on the Floor,” which is now the opening cut on Carrie Underwood’s new album. Katrina’s album has been long-delayed by her label. The note in the player when this track says “uhh well hmmm.” It must be tough to fight that hard to get a solid cut, record it well, then to hear another artist get it out the door first.

    PS – KEVIN – What happened to including the writer information on your single reviews? ;)

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  9. Kevin, I disagree with your interpretation of the Braddock quote. I don’t believe that Braddock is saying “He Stopped Loving Her Today” became great because it was performed by George Jones, but because Jones’ performance and Sherrill’s production were so good. There’s really nothing redeeming about the lyric, performance or production of “Shiftwork.”

    Regarding this single, I agree that it is overproduced and this is something that I brought up in my review for The 9513. The live version posted on this site and others is superior to the single version, in my opinion, and that certainly argues against it being “flawless.”

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  10. Matt,

    I didn’t interpret the quote, I just shared it, and it was in reference to the conversation about Trisha being able to elevate a song into greatness, not Chesney’s “Shiftwork”, which I’m fairly indifferent to.

    The live version of Trisha’s song is quite beautiful, but I don’t prefer it to the studio version. I’m a big fan of the way that Garth Fundis frames Trisha’s vocals. So in short, your view of the production would argue against you deeming the single “flawless”, but not me, since I thought it fit the song and performance perfectly.

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  11. Just a note about Katrina Elam’s “Flat on the Floor”, since that’s come up: sucks that she got shafted – seriously, I’ve always liked her – but for the song’s sake, I’m personally glad Underwood’s performance is becoming the standard one now.

    …Although frankly they both sound like they might be seriously cribbing the vocal mannerisms of one Ashley Monroe, who co-wrote it and (guessing here) probably sang it on the demo.

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  13. Good call Matt – I’m glad Wrensong is allowing people to purchase their demo versions. 1. It monetizes masters they own (or co-own with the co-publisher). 2. It allows consumers to develop loyalty with their writers by owning the works in an early, yet polished form. 3. Publishers can’t always rely on labels to exploit their copyrights to the maximum potential, so sale and/or licensing of these studio-quality demos is crucial to a company’s future success – especially for indies.

    RE: Sam’s comment – Yes, the track is on Katrina’s sophomore album… which has yet to be released.

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  14. You people are crazy. This song is great much better then any other ballad on country radio right now… Although Josh and Trisha’s song Another Try is a close second.

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  15. It took me a while to actually get into this song, but although I disagree that its flawless it is probably the best song I’ve heard from Trisha in her past few albums. This sounds like the old Trisha, when she first came out. Not my favorite song but still a pretty good song. Trisha seems to be in a very common position for artists lately, seemingly high popularity among fans but not radio personel. I think this song may just change that and actually get her new stuff into the top 10.

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  16. I’d give it about a B+ or A- because it is a great song with excellent vocals. I like the production, mainly in the chorus with the strings and the steel, and I like the simplicity of how it was all put together. Since someone mentioned “Another Try”, I’d say I do like that one slightly better because it’s two great vocalists together (man, a duet woulda been even more spectacular).

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  17. I love this single. Yearwood gives a performance of her career. It can possibly be one of her best singles in a long time ( Not that she has had a bad single ) Even though I dont like the edited version of the song. It jumps too in to the song and you can kind of tell if you have the album.

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  19. This is a fantastic song, simple and elegant, sung with beauty by one of the best female vocalists/song interpreters of our time. While I don’t always enjoy the songs Trisha chooses, I am never disappointed with her vocal performances. This is a song where I think the combination of the song and the artist makes it shine brighter.

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  20. This song just keeps growing on me, and with the recent addition of a video, I imagine it will continue to do so. It is amazingly sung, and there is a great range to it. I don’t think the production is too much at all.

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