Reba "Duets" - September 18th

[Uncle Lumpy]

Yes sir...

[skipper]

[/quote]I dont care much for her partners on this project and was a little leary of this, recounting the last time Reba And Ronnie Got together (cringes @ that trainwreck). But this sounds pretty good....[/quote]

That's so funny that you call that song a trainwreck. I LOVE that song and it's one of my favorites from either one of them. Call me names if you want to. It's crazy how peoples tastes can differ so much. That's why we come on the boards I guess!!!

[Uncle Lumpy]

Looks like this is probably the McKentire / Chesney duet. Every Other Weekend, sounds decent. Im also guessing that thats Linda Davis And Skip Ewing on the demo.


www.myspace.com/connieharrington

[sbp17]

Thanks Lumpster! I really like the song.

And that is Linda Davis. She sounds great. Would love to hear more of her.

Between this song, Because Of You and what we know about Does The Wind Still Blow In Oklahoma, these songs are sounding like the vintage heartbreak Reba songs that I came to love her for.

[sbp17]

By the way, for anyone interested, I'm keeping the first page updated with info about the cd as its known (song titles, etc.).

[countrygirly]

lumpster said:

Looks like this is probably the McKentire / Chesney duet. Every Other Weekend, sounds decent. Im also guessing that thats Linda Davis And Skip Ewing on the demo.


www.myspace.com/connieharrington

thanks a lot !!

the song is awesome =)))))

[sbp17]

Well, we finally got info about the Trisha duet. It's called She Can't Save Him. Another sad one. Here are the lyrics....

She can hear his car, as it pulls in the drive.
She can whisper a prayer: "Thank God, he's alive."
She can meet him at the door; catch him when he falls.
She can even believe that it isn't his fault.
But she can't save him

She can make his coffee, in the cold light of day.
She can make his excuses: tell the boss he'll be late.
She can wave at the neighbours, then kiss him goodbye,
And not say a word 'bout what happened last night.
But she can't save him.

Sometimes she dreams that he's caught in a stream,
And the water keeps pulling him down.
She reaches for him, as he pulls her in.
She wakes just before she drowns.

She can remember the man that he was,
And still shed a tear for what he's become.
She can live in that house until the day,
She sees that it's only herself she can save.
But she can't save him.

And that day she'll know she hasn't failed,
'Cos nothing can change until he saves himself.
No, she can't save him. No, she can't save him.
No, she can't save him.

[sbp17]

So with the above lyrics to the Trisha duet, it appears to be yet another ballad, and another heartbreaking one at that. I've updated the first page with the song info known to date but here's how it's looking....

The Kelly Clarkson duet, as everyone knows, is a ballad about abuse or blame.

The Ronnie Dunn duet is a ballad about being away from home.

The Kenny Chesney duet is a ballad about a divorced couple sharing custody.

The Trisha Yearwood duet is a ballad about an alcoholic spouse.

The titles to the Don Henley and Faith Hill duets certainly appear to be ballads...and sad ballads at that..."Break Each Other's Heart Again" and "Sleeping With The Telephone"

The Justin Timberlake duet is also a ballad but is supposed to be a Celtic love song so appears to break the string of sad cuts.

We don't know much about the 4 remaining duets (Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and Carole King).

So at a minimum, 7 of the 11 songs on the cd are ballads with 6 of those having sad subject matter. This thing appears to be more suicide-inducing than For My Broken Heart. Since I love heartbreaking Reba and have waited for a return to that, I think I'm going to LOVE this cd!!!

[msm444]

"She Can't Save Him" was originally recorded by Lisa Brokop in 1995. Lisa did an incredible job on the song, I can't wait to hear the Reba/Trisha version.

[musicbuff78]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE She Can't Save Him by Lisa.

[storm]

sbp17 said:

This thing appears to be more suicide-inducing than For My Broken Heart. Since I love heartbreaking Reba and have waited for a return to that, I think I'm going to LOVE this cd!!!

haha I love that!

[Uncle Lumpy]

sbp17 said:

Well, we finally got info about the Trisha duet. It's called She Can't Save Him. Another sad one. Here are the lyrics....

She can hear his car, as it pulls in the drive.
She can whisper a prayer: "Thank God, he's alive."
She can meet him at the door; catch him when he falls.
She can even believe that it isn't his fault.
But she can't save him

She can make his coffee, in the cold light of day.
She can make his excuses: tell the boss he'll be late.
She can wave at the neighbours, then kiss him goodbye,
And not say a word 'bout what happened last night.
But she can't save him.

Sometimes she dreams that he's caught in a stream,
And the water keeps pulling him down.
She reaches for him, as he pulls her in.
She wakes just before she drowns.

She can remember the man that he was,
And still shed a tear for what he's become.
She can live in that house until the day,
She sees that it's only herself she can save.
But she can't save him.

And that day she'll know she hasn't failed,
'Cos nothing can change until he saves himself.
No, she can't save him. No, she can't save him.
No, she can't save him.

Sweeet, my all time favorite song from Lisa Brokop( and SHOULD have made her star). Not exactly sure how itll work as a duet though.

[musicfan_84]

Hear clips of the Henley, Faith, Timberlake, Chesney duets here: advisor.bullsi.com/online/SingleQuestion.aspx?P=285005586&Q=432899834

[werk]

ben1120 said:

Hear clips of the Henley, Faith, Timberlake, Chesney duets here: advisor.bullsi.com/online/SingleQuestion.aspx?P=285005586&Q=432899834

Thank you!!

"Break Each Other's Hearts Again" - Sounds ok. Don't love it, but maybe it's a grower.

"Sleeping With The Telephone" - This one sounds good! Her and Faith sound great together. A little overproduced.

"The Only Promise That Remains" - This is my favorite of all of them! The melody sounds great.

"Every Other Weekend" - Sounds decent. Don't love Chesney here, but I could see this being a complete smash.

I'd rank them like this:

1. The Only Promise That Remains
2. Every Other Weekend
3. Sleeping With The Telephone
4. Break Each Other's Hearts Again

[iCF]

Thanks for the link. Surprisingly, after listening to those, the duet with Kenny sounds the best. I don't really care for the other ones too much. The JT "duet" has good music and I was suprised to not really hear JT's voice too much on there...at least from the clip.

I'm most looking forward to the Ronnie Dunn duet!

[sbp17]

ben1120 said:

Hear clips of the Henley, Faith, Timberlake, Chesney duets here: advisor.bullsi.com/online/SingleQuestion.aspx?P=285005586&Q=432899834

You're my hero! Thanks! But if you keep going, you can hear all the other duets. The whole cd is nothing but ballads. I'm a bit concerned because it verged a bit more on boring than I was hoping. I much prefer the female duets.

Henley - BORING song.

Faith - They sound INCREDIBLE together. I was unsure about the verse but when they came together, it was great.

Timberlake - Very unexpected. Beautiful. I can't believe that's Justin in the background.

Chesney - I'm not a fan of Chesney but they sound good together.

Rimes (When You Love Someone Like That) - They also sound INCREDIBLE together. When Rimes comes in on the chorus, I was blown away.

Rascal Flatts (Faith In Love) - Didn't hear much Rascal Flatts in it but I don't care much for this one.

Ronnie Dunn - Very country but I didn't hear Ronnie. It's okay.

Trisha - Love this. Very sad. Vintage Reba sound. Would've liked it better as a solo from either artist.

Gill (Broken Hearts) - Seemed boring as well. Didn't hear much Vince on the clip.

I'd rank them...
1. Rimes
2. Faith
3. Timberlake
4. Chesney
5. Yearwood
6. Henley
7. Dunn
8. Gill
9. Rascal Flatts

[iCF]

Actually...if you keep going, there's a "Part II" with the duets with LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Ronnie Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, and Vince Gill.

Ah, I am not disappointed by the Reba/Ronnie one...love that traditional fiddle and steel in it! Unfortunately, in that clip, I couldn't hear Ronnie's vocals on it, but I'll definitely buy that song.

The one with Trisha sounds nice.

[iCF]

So yeah, overall, I think it sounds kinda boring. I've never really been too crazy over Reba's AC-ish slower songs, with some exceptions. I'd say the only great/good one on the album, based on what I've heard, is the Reba/Ronnie one.

[musicbuff78]

I heard the 4 that were mentioned and I wasn't impressed at all. I'm waiting to hear the one with Trisha since I loved that song originally.

[LRFan42]

I like the majority of the songs! Reba's vocals are incredible here.

[bogglethemind]

I just had to come in here and say I'm totally enamored with "The Only Problem That Remains." It's beautiful.

[chelbell20]

Hey would anyone have the lyrics to the LeAnn/Reba duet.....When you love someone like that! Man that song rocks!

[sbp17]

Here's a great article that provides some great background on the Duets project....

Reba "Duets" Biography
reba.com

From the moment you hear the voice, you know it: fierce and powerful, clear and passionate, a voice that could belong to no one else but the woman millions of fans the world over know only as Reba. So what do you do when you're the owner of that iconic voice -- and the embodiment of a genre-bending artistic presence that spans the worlds of music, screen and stage? If you're Reba McEntire, you find creative soul mates in 11 other amazing voices and produce a groundbreaking collection of music simply titled Reba Duets .

Or, as McEntire herself might describe it, you gather up some friends old and new, and have a party – oh, and make an amazing new album at the same time. “It was like a family reunion. It was just so much fun!” says the easygoing superstar. And the results? “Well, I'm just so tickled!” she says with her trademark Southern charm. “I can't wait for everyone to hear it.”

“ Duets was a long time coming,” says McEntire. “You have to keep creating things, thinking about what's next and how to keep it fresh for your fans,” she says. “I've always thought a duets album would be a great thing to get to do, and the timing was finally right to make it happen.”

From the beginning of the project, McEntire was determined to land her dream list of duet partners. So in the summer of 2006, she started working the phones. “I started calling my buddies and figuring out if they could do it,” she says. And the list of singers who showed up to match their voices to Reba's signature sound – from Don Henley to Faith Hill and nine more superstars in between -- reads like a Who's Who of popular music. “I'm thrilled to death with the folks that came and did the project with me,” she says. “It's a great eclectic group, and it was great to work with them and spend time with them, because they're my friends.”

In true Reba style, she made sure she'd get a chance to host each and every artist on the album – primarily in her own Starstruck Studios in Nashville – when it came time to perform. “I've been a part of duet projects before where I'd never see the other artist,” she says. “This album, I wanted everyone there, live and in person, number one because they're my friends and I got to hang out with them more, and number two I just think you get a better feel when you're playing off of each other, singing. And it's just more fun to me.”

McEntire also insisted that all the musicians who played on the album – not just the singers – be present, just as she always does when recording her albums in the studio, a true rarity in today's music industry. “Kelly Clarkson came in and all the studio musicians were there and she said, ‘I can't believe you all are all here at the same time!' It was really cute. She loved it, and she's going to try to do it that way when she records next time.”

It's not the only bit of mentoring – musical & otherwise – that Clarkson has received from McEntire. Reba, singer of 33 #1 hits, met the American Idol winner during her AI days. “Kelly chose me to come on to the show and sing ‘Does He Love You?' with her.” Clarkson made her decision based on who she had looked up to and McEntire was the first choice. That first encounter gave birth to a friendship founded in music and more. “She's from Burleson, TX the same place my husband's from,” says McEntire. “She's half my age but we have a blast together. We have a lot of the same influences and likes. She's a people person, so am I, and it's just a lot of fun to hang out with her.” Today, the two are part of a group of Southern girlfriends in LA who haunt the local restaurant scene (including the occasional karaoke club) and take road trips together. So, as recording for Duets got underway, it was only natural to turn to Clarkson as a partner in song.

The two had already cut a song for the album when they showed up to work on another collaboration: an episode of CMT's Crossroads series. “We got on stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and just had a blast,” says McEntire. “I love her music, it was so much fun to sing, and she loves to sing mine.” Each singer performed four of the other's songs, including “Because of You,” which was written by Clarkson at age 16. As the magic of that emotional performance unfolded, Reba's husband and manager, Narvel Blackstock, saw a showstopper that could not be denied.

“Narvel came up to me and said, ‘Reba, ‘Because of You' has got to be on this album!'” McEntire recalls. “‘Because of You' is a killer country song, in my opinion. You know, country music is all about heartbreak and sad, deep, heart wrenching tell-it-all … it's therapeutic for me. The emotion you hear in that song is very heartfelt, very honest, it's not fake.”

McEntire and Clarkson's diva-worthy turn on “Because of You” is the album's first single, which since its debut has received overwhelming response from fans who've heard it at radio. After a mere three weeks it secured a Top 25 chart position – and has become McEntire's fastest climbing song since the summer of 1998 ("Forever Love") .

But the McEntire/Clarkson collaboration was only the beginning: there was Justin Timberlake, who came on board initially through a connection with Joanna Garcia, the actress who played Reba's daughter for six seasons on the WB/CW's top-rated sitcom, Reba . Garcia, who dates Trace Ayala, Timberlake's best friend and business partner, was the first to suggest Timberlake as a duet partner for her on-screen mom. “One day we were in the makeup room there on the set,” says Reba, “and Joanna said, ‘You know who you ought to do a duet with? Justin.' I said, “Do you think he would?” And she said, “I know he would! He loves you!” Sure enough, Timberlake stepped up with a song he co-wrote with Matt Morris expressly for McEntire. But the winner of 12 Academy of Country Music Awards and 7 Country Music Association Awards confesses she wasn't sure how Timberlake's pop leanings would suit her style. “I told Justin I was very nervous about hearing the song,” she says. “I didn't know if it was going to be ‘Sexy Back II' or what!”

Morris performed “The Only Promise That Remains,” a Celtic love song, for McEntire, which was written as a solo. After she had heard it, she said, “Ok Justin, but how do you make the song into a duet? He said, ‘Why?' And I said, because it's a duets project!”

Timberlake, whom McEntire now describes as “cute as a button,” wove his own harmony vocal into the song as co-producer with Reba, and joined her list of incredibly talented pals. “It was really a lot of fun getting to know him,” says McEntire. “We went to supper after recording, and just hung out. He's very down-to-earth.”

And JT isn't the only pal McEntire wined and dined while working on Duets . A true Southern lady, she loved the chance to dish up a little down-home hospitality to friends new and old. “We had Texas barbecue there for Don Henley when we were recording,” she remembers. “You have to be the hostess. You want them to be comfortable and you want it to be a great moment for everybody. If you feed ‘em and keep ‘em full, they'll be happy! Or at least it always works for me!”

With that sense of fun firmly in place, McEntire shared a laugh or two with old pal Trisha Yearwood , (“She has the cutest sense of humor, and she just cracks me up. I love to be around her.”) and had a ball with longtime friends Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill and Faith Hill (“She's like my little sister!”). LeAnn Rimes was a musical inspiration (“I'm a huge fan -- she's a great singer with a lot of soul.”) and Carole King's excitement was contagious (“Carole was so enthusiastic. She was like, ‘Let's do this!'”).

When it came time to record the music, says McEntire, all that fun and friendship translated into the perfect atmosphere to spark musical magic. “I wanted every song on the album to be wonderful,” says McEntire. “It just can't be sterile, it's got to have heart and soul and emotion. If the song doesn't move me, you will not be moved when you listen to it. So that magic has to happen.”

As McEntire sees it, amazing songs have little to do with genre, and everything to do with emotion and nuance. “I've been a fan of different kinds of music all my life,” she says. “I really don't like to categorize music. To me, there's only two categories: good and bad. And I try to sing the good songs, and listen to good music. When it touches my heart, and I can deliver it with all my heart and soul, then it's a good Reba McEntire song. In the end, I want all the songs to touch my listener's hearts.”

It's that devotion to making quality music that brings her audience back to Reba again and again. “There's always people who will say, ‘oh man, it's too pop, it's not country,' but again I go back to them and say, ‘is it a good song?' That's all that matters. The great thing about it is, my fans have always continued to go along with me on these journeys I take, whether it's television, music, Broadway or movies. They really hang in there with me, and I sure do appreciate that. It's been a good journey.”

The next chapter on that journey is about to begin, with Duets – and the amazing music created when Reba's signature voice finds new harmony with a few stellar friends. “I hope people are going to be entertained. I hope they are caught up in the moment of listening to this music,” says McEntire. “There's a lot of love in this record, because I love these people that I get to sing with. And I think people are going to love it, too. I honestly do.”

[storm]

I love Reba & LeAnn's song!! I think it might turn out to be one of the best on the album!

[Focus]

[drock89]

I got an advanced copy of this album - simply amazing!!!!!

I would tell you the highlights but there are none, because the album is THAT good!!

[sbp17]

Glad to hear that you enjoy the album.

Just a couple of more weeks for the lowly of us who don't have connections.

shaniagotchagood said:

I got an advanced copy of this album - simply amazing!!!!!

I would tell you the highlights but there are none, because the album is THAT good!!

[leilamaurizia]

So, with the news that JT will be appearing with Reba on Oprah, does that signal that their duet will be the next single?

[sbp17]

leilamaurizia said:

So, with the news that JT will be appearing with Reba on Oprah, does that signal that their duet will be the next single?

Here is my assessment....

Based on the clips that were posted a while back, I love this song. In general, I would hope that they wouldn't go with two pop duet partners to kick off the album. And I don't think they'd want to. However, their options are a bit limited at this point in time because it just so happens that most of the country duet partners have competing new singles/albums.

Faith Hill - about to release a new single. Especially since the last one stalled (Lost), I don't believe Faith's team will want to risk Red Umbrella by also having a duet released.

LeAnn Rimes - NBTD is the debut song from her new cd and is still climbing in typical slow Rimes fashion. Again, her team wouldn't want to jeopardize this climb of a debut single.

Trisha Yearwood - she has a new debut single just released. Again, no chance of a duet released to negatively impact that.

Rascal Flatts/Ronnie Dunn - both have debut singles about to peak with new cds about to be released. They will be quickly moving on to second singles as their albums are released.

Kenny Chesney - His second single is climbing. He might have been more accomodating between second and third singles but his album isn't out yet either.

Vince Gill - the only duet partner without a new album about to be released but is the least commercially viable of the country duet partners.

So, by default, I think they have to go with Justin. Even Don Henly has a new single and new album with the Eagles. But by the time she's ready for a third single, assuming the next release becomes at least a moderate hit with a life span of a couple of months, I think the timing would be right for the third single to be almost any of the cuts.

BTW, I just modified the opening post in this thread to include quotes from the artists involved.

[Zazie]

I'm coming in here late, so maybe this opinion has already been expressed -- but I think she should choose a male artist for release #2. I think that would be good for album sales, to pick something with a different feel.

Ronnie Dunn's big enough, as is RF, to stand having a second song out there. I think if they just let RF's second song get to the top 20 or so before releasing, and that won't take too long, it would be fine to go with them. Vince Gill wouldn't give as much of a boost, but considering how far back they go together, I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the choice. And even though he might not help on the airplay chart, he could help boost sales.

Picking another non-country performer would appeal to the same buying audience, or close to it, that the current hit does. I think that would be a mistake.