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Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, “Any Man of Mine”

July 29, 2011 Ben Foster 16

1995 | Peak: #1

By now, “Any Man of Mine” has become such a familiar Shania classic that it’s easy to take for granted what a bold artistic move it was at the time.

Though feminist viewpoints previously had surfaced in country music at times through the likes of Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells, they were the exception rather than the rule in 1995. In the early to mid-nineties, it was more common for female artists like Reba to be topping the charts with sad songs that often cast the woman as the victim.

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iPod Playlist: Originals And Covers

July 14, 2011 Leeann Ward 19

As I’m sure the rest of you do, I make playlists all the time. Many of them are lists of individual artists, but some of them have a concept.

My latest playlist is of covers. First, I have the original version (or the one that’s famous for being the original) followed by my favorite cover of it. My only rule is that I have to like both versions. So, songs where I like the cover but not the original won’t make the list.

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Retro Single Reviews: An Introduction

June 20, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 20

Despite some amazing album artists – a Willie Nelson here, an Emmylou Harris there – country music has always been a singles format. Over the past seven years, we’ve charted the development of some artists from the very beginning, like Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band, just by reviewing their singles.

With Retro Single Reviews, we’re going to go back in time to tell the story of the genre’s biggest artists from the very beginning, by reviewing all of their singles in chronological order.

Here’s how it works: At any given time, we’ll be working our way through the catalog of five artists. When we complete one of them, we’ll add a new one to the rotation.

The first five artists are:

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Single Review: Shania Twain, “Today is Your Day”

June 17, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 22

Shania Twain returns with her first single in six years, and it’s kind of a beautiful mess.

Kind of beautiful because it’s the most nakedly sincere she’s been on record, especially as a vocalist.

Kind of a mess because it sounds like a fan-made pop remix of a damn good country song.

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