In 2000, singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne revived her career by picking up producer-songwriter Glen Ballard (Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette) and recording "I Am Shelby Lynne," an album that combines the blues and southern folk with a dash of Nashville.
In her follow-up album, "Love, Shelby," Lynne continues to collaborate with Ballard in an effort to give her trademark country-blues style a more prominent pop edge. Upon first seeing the album's cover, you would think Lynne is just another Britney Spears or Faith Hill wannabe, for it pictures the 32-year-old Lynne kneeling in skin-tight jean shorts with the album's name written in lipstick and a mirror in the background to show off Lynne's back view.
Lynne definitely hit the gym and tanning bed a few times before this photo shoot and wasn't afraid to show that she could pose in an Abercrombie & Fitch summer catalog without hurting Abercrombie's summer sales. But the provocative cover belongs on a Britney Spears or Lil' Kim album, not on a mature album that represents the best in a singer-songwriter's career.
Unlike Lynne's previous albums, "Love, Shelby" captures her dynamic voice and demonstrates its intense versatility. In the opening song, "Trust Me," Ballard lays down a diverse track containing a tranquil piano, a Tantric-like acoustic guitar, and a slight techno filter on Lynne's voice. At first, Lynne's voice is deep and resonates with vibrato (enhanced by Ballard with echo effects), and she speaks in a melodic tone. She then breaks into a popish, repetitive but not trite chorus that is present on several tracks and seems to define the album.
|
|
|
In the R&B track "Bend," Lynne sheds her country style and sings in a more striking and elegant manner than usual. With its jazzy, distorted guitar and steady beat, this track could have been produced by Mariah Carey or a sober Whitney Houston and broken into the top 40 with no problem.
"Wall In Your Heart," perhaps the album's most mature track, resembles Lucinda Williams' "Lonely Girls," just with a faster beat and less pronounced melody. Beneath Lynne's cautious and limpid vocals lies the touchy theme of trying to communicate to a lover with callused emotions.
"I Can't Wait" is a dark acoustic ballad intensified by a discreet organ and a harpsichord playing a somber melody. The song alters between a somewhat sanguine chorus and its dark and enchanting verses.
The jazz track "Tarpoleon Napoleon" features Lynne in an articulate voice without her usual southern accent. Frank Sinatra himself would have been soothed and bewitched by this track, granted that he didn't see the album's cover.
The track "Killin' Kind" is a catchy pop track that was chosen for the soundtrack to the movie "Bridget Jones' Diary." The song has an alluring but fatiguing effect and would complement any scene past the movie's climax.
Originally written by John Lennon, the album's closing track, "Mother," embodies the emotion contained in the album and proves autobiographical for Lynne. As an adolescent, Lynne lost both parents when her father killed her mother in a murder-suicide.
In the song, Lynne addresses both parents, wishing farewell to her mother and forgiving her father -- an appropriate ending to an album that reveals the true Shelby Lynne.
Grade: B+
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
