It seems that 2009 has been a year of covers albums. Artists such as Aaron Tippin, Wynonna Judd, Tanya Tucker, and Rosanne Cash have all released worthwhile albums that have celebrated the songs of yesteryear within the last year. Now, to add to the list, Lorrie Morgan has just released her own tribute to tradition with a brand new project called A Moment in Time.
I don’t know about all of you, but this one almost slipped under the radar for me. As one of the middle tier female singers in the nineties, Morgan proved herself capable of singing various styles of music, but her love of and respect for traditional country music always lurked under the surface. So, this should be a welcome addition to the covers craze of 2009.
For an unknown amount of time, you can buy Morgan’s album of covers for just $3.99 at Amazon’s digital store.
I should add that it appears that Raul Malo and Tracy Lawrence are guest vocalists on the album.
Wow. Raul Malo sounds fantastic. And you only get a very brief second of them together but I’m getting this album just for that duet. Tracy Lawrence – feh.
I’m listening to it now. It’s not bad but it leans very heavily toward the countrypolitan style. Morgan’s voice is also showing some serious signs of wear and tear.
It’s worth the $3.99, but holy reverb!
I hate to say it, but this album is painful to listen to.
Lorrie Morgan’s voice has been showing signs of wear and tear for several years now. I first noticed it at the third concert of hers I went to, which was in 2006. On her older material like ‘Five Minutes’ and ‘What Part Of No’, she was just uncapable of staying in the high register she recorded the songs in and her vocals had taken on a raspy and almost Dylan-esque quality that is just not very pleasant.
I think it’s because she’s a heavy smoker. Ladies like Dolly Parton and Connie Smith still sound great, and they’re 10 years older than Lorrie Morgan. Plus Reba, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, and Tanya Tucker all are pretty much the same age (within 5 years one way or the other) and they are all still superb vocalists, so it’s hard to blame just age.
Connie Smith is nearly 20 years older than Lorrie Morgan
I actually really, really liked this record and I expected not to.
It could have been good if it had been done about 10 years ago before her voice was shot. I like most of the songs, but her voice has deteriorated so badly, it is really difficult for me to enjoy the album. I agree with J.R. that it is likely the result of too much smoking.
I just don’t see where her voice is horribly bad. Then again, It took an obvious track like “Gotta Be Somebody” for me to even hear blatant auto-tuning. I guess I just like the album the way it is ‘because’ of the way her voice is.
Go back and listen to her 90s recordings. The difference between then and now is quite obvious. It’s a shame because she chose some really good songs. Ten years ago she could have really nailed them. Now she can’t even give “Cry” the big finish it needs.
I’m with Matt on this one. I just don’t hear what’s so terrible about her voice. I think she gave “Cry” a perfect finish.
I don’t notice a difference in the voice either. I’ve been listening to try to hear it. I’d rate this album about the same as Tanya Tucker’s covers album, at about 3-stars. It’s nothing incredible, but it’s okay.
I guess I notice that her range has decreased, though I’ve never thought she had a Martina McBride range ability.
If you want to hear what Lorrie WAS capable of, go back and listen to her CHristmas album recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. While she was never in the Barbara Streisand / Connie Smith class as a vocalist, she was quite good
Actually Countrypolitan is probably the right way for Lorrie to go at this stage of her career, since she has lost some upper range but still sounds very good in her lower register.
Unlike the current musical accompaniments, which simply drown out the vocalists, the best Countrypolitan arrangements were designed to complemented the singer and to disguised vocal limitations. Billy Sherrill was quite effective at using banks of strings to cover notes Tammy Wynette couldn’t quite reach. Tammy’s limited range was obvious in live performance but never evident on her Sherrill-era recordings
Lorrie (or her producers) have picked an interesting selection of songs including some very rarely covered songs such as “Alright, I’ll Sign The Papers” (a minor hit for her father in 1964), “Lovin’ On Back Streets” (a Cashbox #1 in 1973 for Mel Street, one of the very few vocalists who deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as George Jones and Vern Gosdin), Haggard’s “I’m Always On A Mountain When I Fall” and the Faron Young classic “Wine Me Up”
I’d give this album a B+. If she’d stuck entirely with the more traditional stuff, it would be worth an A but on a few of the more modern (or more pop) songs the vocal degradation is more in evidence
Lorrie (or her producers) have picked an interesting selection of songs including some very rarely covered songs such as “Alright, I’ll Sign The Papers” (a minor hit for her father in 1964), “Lovin’ On Back Streets” (a Cashbox #1 in 1973 for Mel Street …
Thanks, Paul. I was planning to ask you who the original artists were for those songs, since I’d never heard either one before.
Paul,
I absolutely agree with you on Lorrie’s Christmas album. She really did sound superb on it. I think you’re right that she sounds good in the lower register. J.R. and Razor are right that her quality has deteriorated, but I think it’s more the lack of range that’s the problem. I didn’t notice it as much because of the arrangements, which is probably why I don’t like strings and reverb very much, because I know it disguises vocal limitations. I didn’t think it was painful to listen to though, because the song selection was good and she is still effective in her lower range.
I think these comments are a little too harsh. While it is certainly clear that Lorrie no longer possesses the power or upper register of her voice, hers is still one of country music’s true, unique voices. I think we all just really want to hear her let loose and hit the big, big notes. Absent that, if you listen very closely, she sings these songs with an incredible level of passion and authenticity that is missing from other albums that have come out recently. For me, I am just happy that she has come out with an album that she is clearly proud of and an album that sounds really good. The musicians and even Lorrie herself sound classic and timeless. The voice still possesses all of it’s emotion and clarity and her lower register is just as spine tingling as it always was. I prefer to celebrate her return.