2003 | Peak : #4
Shania Twain reached her creative peak on Up! , and it’s reflected in the singles released from that project.
Completely drenched in just the sweetest steel guitar, producer “Mutt” Lange manages to get a gorgeous pop sound out of the most country of instruments.
Yet it’s easy to overlook the instrumental perfection, thanks to what still stands as Twain’s finest vocal performance ever committed to tape. Even her most ardent fans had always praised her for vocal style more than range. But unless you were familiar with “Amneris’ Letter”, you’d never have suspected she could pull of something so dynamic.
A beautiful song, a powerful vocal performance, and so country by today’s standards that you can’t imagine country radio playing it now.
Written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain
Grade: A
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I adore this song. The steel guitar has such a sweet warmth to it – I rarely listen to the pop mix. And it is indeed one of Twain’s absolute best performances – She’s rarely sounded finer.
You sure nailed it with regard to Up! being Twain’s artistic peak. I love all three of her successful albums, and I enjoy her debut for what it is, but Up! is the one I come back to most often. Besides it being the first Twain album I listened to, it’s the one I enjoy the most from beginning to end (despite it being by far her longest album with a whopping 19 tracks).
I thought “Come on Over” was Shania’s peak, but admittedly I never bought “Up!” So I’m going just on the singles (I bought Come on Over and Woman in Me). For me, the “Up” singles were so so at best. I liked “Getcha Good,” but “Up!” had that line about growing a beard that hugely turned me off. None of the other singles interested me enough to buy the album. Though I’ll admit I do like “Party For Two” from the greatest hits and I watch the video on youtube now and then. But for me, I lost interest in buying a third Shania CDthanks to the singles released on country radio.
This is my favorite Shania song. <3