“Until They Don’t Love You”
Reba McEntire
Written by Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna and Josh Osborne
The sophomore single from Reba McEntire’s current album Love Somebody is built around an age-old conceit: sometimes you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it.
Or as it’s here put, “Sometimes you don’t love somebody until they don’t love you”. The hook connects solidly by using plainspoken phrasing to convey a deeply relatable truth, causing the listener feel for a narrator who is not immediately sympathetic.
The lyric exudes angst and regret while the production pulses urgency. Interesting touches such as a pounding piano, snaky guitar licks and a bass breakdown give the arrangement more color than the typical wall-of-sound Nashville production. Though the arrangement is very busy, McEntire holds center stage with her spitfire vocal – a dynamic, commanding performance from a country music legend still in excellent form.
Grade: B+
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Last spring, my daughter and I drove from our home in Boston to western New York state (we drove into icy cold and snow at the end of April!). I downloaded Reba’a album, Love Somebody, specifically for the trip. We listened to it multiple times driving to and back. Reba has never disappointed over the years and this album really delivers on what a great artist like Reba McEntire can be. Until They Don’t Love You along with others such as Just Like Horses (released now, I think, as a single and video, and Going Out Like That really fill the stage with a wonderful voice, lyrics and songwriting. Just Like Horses will bring tears to anyone’s eyes. Reba’s duet with Jennifer Nettles really satisfies as well. The album has only one track, Pray for Peace, that left me not fully satisfied. Yet, that’s a matter or personal taste. It’s wonderful though to see Reba back in force with this wonderful and classy album.