Country Universe writer and editor Jonathan Keefe has contributed to an awesome new project called Kicking the Canon. Put together by In Review Online, Kicking the Canon attempts to expand on what has traditionally been considered the definitive music and films of eras gone by.
Keefe’s take on Trisha Yearwood’s landmark 1992 set, Hearts in Armor has gone live:
Her self-titled debut may have spawned four top-ten singles, but it was on Hearts in Armor that Trisha Yearwood properly announced herself as one of the finest country artists of her generation. Informed by the end of her first marriage, the album explores both the subtle and the dramatic ways that a relationship can dissolve, and it allows Yearwood to lay bare hard-earned truths that lesser vocalists might have left hidden.
And that’s just the beginning! You can read the whole thing here.
The only other country album featured so far is Iris Dement’s My Life, but there are plenty more on the way. You can preview their 25 albums from each year (1960-1999) on their master list.
I would have to agree that “Hearts In Armor” is a better album than her debut album. No sophomore jinx for Trisha, one of my favorite country vocalists. When I bought the album back in the early 90’s, I didn’t know what Mr. Keefe points out, that her marriage had just ended. He says that “the album explores both the subtle and the dramatic ways that a relationship can dissolve, and it allows Yearwood to lay bare hard-earned truths that lesser vocalists might have left hidden.” (Love it – take that ML.)
My only quibble with this article is that Mr. Keefe doesn’t mention my favorite track on the album, a Tim Mensy – Gary Harrison collaboration, “Nearest Distant Shore”. It’s a song about getting out of a bad relationship. Other favorites of mine include “Hearts in Armor”, “For Reasons I’ve Forgotten”, “Walkaway Joe” and “You Say You Will”.