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Post by Call Me Crazy on Oct 22, 2008 13:08:41 GMT -5
I Love Lee Ann's new album. She deff. didn't disappoint And "Last Call" is up to #30 this week on R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Oct 22, 2008 15:38:18 GMT -5
This CD is exceptional, and overproduced is an extremely asinine term used to desribe Mr. Brown's work on this masterpiece.
As has been the case with all of Strait's CDs, as well as Heidi Newfeld's solid debut CD, the vocals take prominence over the music, as they are supposed to do.
Ms. Womack and Mr. Strait are arguably the two best vocalists in the format; that review was preposterous and downright boneheaded for suggesting that Brown's production prevented Lee Ann's impeccable and immaculate voice from shining through.
I'm sure Lee Ann is super-delighted with the results of his production; her duet with King George is terrific, and I'm pretty sure that he's as delighted with that track as he is with the rest of this exhilirating CD.
Now if only the rest of America's country stations would follow ultra-prestigious country radio powerhouses such as the nearly incomparable WIVK/Knoxville is stepping up to the plate and airing 'Last Call', this very deserving song would be doing much better on the charts than it currently is.
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Oct 22, 2008 15:45:00 GMT -5
Double post--oops!!
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Oct 22, 2008 20:59:39 GMT -5
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iCF
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Post by iCF on Oct 22, 2008 22:08:14 GMT -5
Thanks so much! Will check it out soon.
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iCF
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Post by iCF on Oct 22, 2008 22:15:15 GMT -5
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kim8
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Post by kim8 on Oct 22, 2008 22:19:43 GMT -5
I picked up the CD tonight and only got to hear a few songs on my way home, but man it's fantastic! I just got a big ole smile on my face after the first song, well really the 2nd, since I skipped Last Call. It's just so refreshingly country and old school. You just don't here much of that anymore. I can't wait to get to the rest of the CD!
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Oct 22, 2008 22:27:02 GMT -5
I went to get this today when I got Kenny Chesney's CD, but the store didn't have it. They only had one copy of Kenny's too...needless to say, country isn't exactly the biggest thing here. I'll try again next week, because I'm really looking forward to hearing this album. And congrats to "Last Call" for making the top 30...let's hope it doesn't take as long to make the top 20!
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Oct 23, 2008 0:39:59 GMT -5
I really like "Solitary Thinkin", or so I think it is called
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mbgriffith1
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Post by mbgriffith1 on Oct 23, 2008 23:05:40 GMT -5
Definitely a great CD, but I do feel it takes a couple listens to really appreciate it for what it is. There are very few really catchy hooks, but that doesn't mean the songs aren't great. Last Call is awesome, obviously, but here are the other highlights imo: Either Way Solitary Thinkin - great next single The Bees (favorite song on the CD) New Again I Found It In You
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Oct 23, 2008 23:57:31 GMT -5
'Carnival Ride' was released a year ago today, but this is a substantially better CD, and gets my vote as the best CD of 2008.
'I Think I Know' is an extraordinary song on a CD loaded with them.
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Post by Call Me Crazy on Oct 24, 2008 21:38:49 GMT -5
I can't imagine what they will pick for the 2nd single but i love "The Bees"
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hoosy
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Post by hoosy on Oct 25, 2008 6:43:21 GMT -5
Picked this up yesterday...BRAVO Leann!
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Oct 25, 2008 13:13:24 GMT -5
I found the album this morning. Wow, I like it a lot. I'm not sure if I prefer it over There's More Where That Came From yet, but I can see that happening with time. It's already my second favorite of her albums.
It's not quite my favorite country album of the year - that distinction still goes to Sugarland's Love On The Inside - but it's definitely top 3 or 4. If I hadn't read that "Solitary Thinkin'" was going to be the second single, I would have a hard time choosing one. While there isn't a bad song on here, there's nothing that really jumps out at me as a future smash hit at country radio either. I like "The Bees" a lot, but I really don't know how radio would react to it. I think "New Again" should be a single at some point, just because I think that, after "Last Call", it sounds like it would best fit in with what radio will play.
While the album may not have any huge hit singles, I think if Lee Ann can get a couple more singles into the top 30, she has a serious shot at some big awards next year.
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countryqueen
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sometimes i wish i lived on a mountain, drank from a stream instead of a fountain...♥
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Post by countryqueen on Oct 25, 2008 13:48:25 GMT -5
are there any listening partys?
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Oct 25, 2008 15:41:58 GMT -5
are there any listening partys? I checked AOL Music, CMT.com and the Clear Channel Music site, and didn't see any listening parties for this album, unfortunately. I'm not sure if they have put any up. I've listened to Call Me Crazy a few times now...maybe I'm too much influenced by advance promotion that focused on Lee Ann's struggles to adjudicate between her traditional country leanings and the more contemporary sound that has brought her such commercial success, but I think those struggles are reflected in the production of and the material chosen for the album. And I don't think Thom Jurek's opinion that the album is over-produced is asinine, in fact I somewhat agree with him. Jurek doesn't sound like he finds the album over-produced in the sense that the instrumentation overwhelms the vocal (as happens on several contemporary country-pop albums), in fact, he says the opposite -- that Brown captures the essence of Lee Ann Womack's voice well. By "overproduced," Jurek seems to mean just that the songs are sometimes overdressed and cluttered by instrumentation, and on that point I agree with him (on songs like "Either Way," "I Found It In You," "If These Walls Could Talk," and even "Last Call" would have been even better than it is with a less aggressive arrangement, in my opinion). It seems to me that the instrumental clutter is Lee Ann Womack and Tony Brown's nod to contemporary country. Overall, I think Call Me Crazy is almost more fascinating for what it says about Lee Ann's effort to navigate between her traditional country strength and commercial aspirations than for the material itself. It's a very good album, with a few absolutely great songs and performances, but not true enough to Lee Ann's artistic strengths. The album standouts for me as "Last Call," "The Bees," and "Everything But Quits." I love Lee Ann's phrasing on "Solitary Thinkin'" -- she sounds really comfortable, although there are times when I feel like a fuller voice would have tapped the bluesiness of this song more effectively. Still, it's a pretty satisfying rendering and will make a good second single. "New Again" manages the difficult task of being sweet and uplifting without being cloying, thanks to some very well-written lyrics (especially on the chorus and the bridge) and thoughtful development of the basic premise. It does what "I Found It In You" doesn't manage, because "I Found It In You" drowns in lyrical cliché to the point that not even Lee Ann can rescue ("The Story of My Life" is similarly inspid). "I Found It In You" also features overly aggressive percussion in the chorus. "Have You Seen That Girl" is pretty, contemplative song -- Lee Ann sings this with a maturity that makes the wistfulness of lost youth and spirit credible. "If These Walls Could Talk" is a solid traditional country song, but I feel like the piano and steel are a bit too loud, and oversell the wry presentation a bit. Still, I like this song. Both Lee Ann and George sound fantastic on "Everything But Quits" -- they have good studio chemistry, and I've got to say that George sounds livelier and better than he has in a while. This is one that I actually don't think it sounds too cluttered instrumentally. I don't think there will be a more interesting (non-euphemistic sense) song released on a mainstream country album this year than "The Bees." What a great lyrical treatment of the protagonist's reflections on her search for love and belonging, against the life-goes-inexorably-on-and-it's-bigger-than-you backdrop of the titular bees! The production for most of the song really captures that life-goes-on spirit wonderfully -- I could have done without the sudden contemporizing of the instrumentation for the last chorus, but that's OK. I absolutely love this song, and it is my favorite from that album. I think its impressionistic lyrics and relatively spare production really serve Lee Ann's own minimalistic delivery really well -- it just all comes together brilliantly. I don't know if it could do anything on the radio but man, would I love for this song to somehow catch on and make a huge impact. This is probably a minority opinion, but as solid as I think the premise of "Either Way" is, I think Lee Ann's voice sounds strident and almost out of control on its chorus. I think she's a great interpretive singer, one of the finest in the genre, so I'm surprised to say I don't think her reading of the chorus fits the lyric. The verses and chorus of that song feel like two different pieces of music, and the instrumental backdrop for the two isn't well-integrated (the organ and steel sound intrusive during the chorus). The percussion in particular is too aggressive on the chorus, in my opinion. I also had trouble connecting to the lyric because of the lack of backstory -- I guess I would have personally preferred not to be left to imagine what they've come down from, if that makes any sense. I find the music of "I Think I Know" to be distracting. First, the melody of the song is too lilting and pretty for the subject matter. Second, the chorus of the song sounds way too much like the chorus of the Eagles' "Peaceful, Easy Feeling." The song has an interesting premise that it doesn't oversell, though I think I would have liked the song better if there were some personal tie-in that gave some indication of what led to the protagonist's understanding of what artists like Keith Whitley, Hank Williams, Jr. and Johnny Cash. I know that would have risked seeming egotistical, as if Lee Ann's character were suggesting what she is going through compares to what those artists did. I don't know...the song isn't bad, but I don't think it quite works. Some of the lyrics are a bit clunky, especially the way the verses bring back the "I think I know what killed [insert artist name here]." By the time the album gets to "King of Broken Hearts," I'm hit again with the feeling that the album is a bit unfocused. I'm not sure why I've been reminded of this each time I listen to this one, because there's nothing wrong with the way Lee Ann sings it. I guess it's that lyrically, I'm not sure what Lee Ann's connection to this song is, and I wonder if it's more like "OK, this is a good traditional country song that I can sound good on, so let's have this one on there." It's nice to listen to, but I'm reminded of Blake Boldt's comment at Country Universe that this album is less than the sum of its parts. Because as I look part through my song comments, I absolutely love a few of the songs on this album, and like several others, but some of the ones that I like don't leave a big impression. And then there are a couple of songs that I think have no business being on a Lee Ann Womack album because the lyrics aren't mature enough. I don't think the album holds together all that well, despite Lee Ann's talent and the quality of several of the songs. I find myself going back again and again to this notion of artistic identity -- I thought Lee Ann really carved a clear identity out for herself on her previous album, so I'm surprised to hear the struggle between that and commercial/contemporary considerations here. So in the end I find myself at times impressed by Call Me Crazy but mostly sympathetic to its window into an artist facing conflicting pressures. That makes the album more interesting to me than many, and in any case, "The Bees" and "Last Call" alone make this album worth the buy.
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Massikur
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Post by Massikur on Oct 25, 2008 17:05:30 GMT -5
I just got the album this afternoon and love it! I'm listening to it right now and I have to say it's definitely an impressive effort. I hope it does well because it surely does deserve success and acclaim.
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Oct 28, 2008 16:49:02 GMT -5
Dudley, that's an interesting take on the album. I agree that taking the behind the scenes happenings into account when listening to the record makes it more interesting.
HitsDailyDouble predicts this for the first week:
-- 21 LEE ANN WOMACK MCA NASHVILLE 17,526 -- CALL ME CRAZY
That should put it at #3 on the country charts (behind Kenny and Sugarland). Is anyone else really disappointed by these numbers? Yes, sales are down, but "Last Call" has started to take off over the past 2-3 weeks, the album has received a lot of positive press, and Lee Ann is well-established within the country industry. Also, the age of downloading wouldn't hurt someone like Lee Ann as much as it would someone like Taylor Swift, who has a much younger fan base. I was hoping for at least 40k.
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rowdawg21
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Post by rowdawg21 on Oct 28, 2008 16:58:20 GMT -5
I think 40k was an unrealistic expectation. Lee Ann has never sold incredibly well with the exception of the I Hope You Dance album, and that was due to all the crossover plays "I Hope You Dance" received. I would have been really surprised to see her sell more than about 25k. The key to this album's success (with respect to sales) is longevity.
Anyway, I have to say that I'm really enjoying the album. It's getting better with every listen for me.
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Oct 28, 2008 17:10:31 GMT -5
I think 40k was an unrealistic expectation. Lee Ann has never sold incredibly well with the exception of the I Hope You Dance album, and that was due to all the crossover plays "I Hope You Dance" received. I would have been really surprised to see her sell more than about 25k. The key to this album's success (with respect to sales) is longevity. Anyway, I have to say that I'm really enjoying the album. It's getting better with every listen for me. I guess it was unrealistic, but her last album opened with 84k. I think, career-wise, Lee Ann is in a better place now than she was then, but sales are down, so I cut that number in half. You were definitely right, though.
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musicbuff78
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Post by musicbuff78 on Oct 28, 2008 19:09:57 GMT -5
I don't see it as being low at all. She's been out of the light for quite a few years and to be honest, with her past couple of albums, she really hasn't had any "hits", so I don't think that # is low at all, but actually pretty close to dead on what it should be all things considered.
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sbp17
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Post by sbp17 on Oct 28, 2008 19:15:12 GMT -5
Count me in as one who thinks it is low. 17K?
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Post by Call Me Crazy on Oct 28, 2008 21:19:00 GMT -5
im very disappointed in 17K, this album deserves so much better than that. it has a long way to go to be gold.
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bigbluenote
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Post by bigbluenote on Oct 29, 2008 1:21:24 GMT -5
I'm kind of shocked at how much everyone likes this CD. I don't think it's anything exceptional AT ALL. "There's More Where That Came From" is BY FAR a much better album as a whole.
I'm divided by this album. The songs that I do like, I REALLY like. And the songs I don't like, I REALLY don't like.
"Last Call" is the best song, I think. "Either Way" is a great song lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. Next is "Solitary Thinkin" which is a solid song (ok, so that rhyme didn't work). Then comes "New Again". Ick. It's like a bad Martina song. "I Found It In You" is an alright song, kinda boring lyrically and musically. I really don't like "Have You Seen That Girl", the music is so boring and the lyrics don't help it any. I do LOVE "The Bees". What a gorgeous song with a different melody. I really don't like "I Think I Know". I don't like the lyrics at all. "If These Walls Could Talk" is alright, nothing great, at least it's a true country song, like the rest of the album. I LOVED "Good News, Bad News" with George Strait. And now I LOVE "Everything But Quits". Good lyrics, great vocals, nice sound, excellent song. These two NEED to make and album of duets. They sound so good together. WHY, oh WHY, did she remake one of George's best songs ever? I tried to like it this time around, I really did. I just hope no one else ever remakes a George song. Although, I'm sure that's bound to happen sometime in the future. "The Story Of My Life" is alright, nothing great.
I've been listening to this CD a lot the past couple days and it's already being retired out of my truck and in with the rest of my CD's in my room. In other words, I don't like this album very much.
Now I'll go pull out "There's More Where That Came From".
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kim8
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Post by kim8 on Oct 29, 2008 11:31:33 GMT -5
I am not too fond of New Again or I Found it in You either, but I love most of the rest of the songs. Either Way might be my favorite on the CD. I just think it's an amazing song. Solitary Thinkin' is also really great and of course Last Call. I like the George duet and The Bees is another one of my favorites.
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Post by Call Me Crazy on Oct 29, 2008 14:53:01 GMT -5
"Last Call" is up from #30 to #28 this week on R&R!!!
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kim8
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Post by kim8 on Oct 29, 2008 14:57:00 GMT -5
I am so glad to see Last Call moving up the charts. I was worried for a while there it was never going to make it out of the 40s area and it would die an early death. Thank goodness radio is giving this a chance.
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Post by Call Me Crazy on Nov 4, 2008 13:32:03 GMT -5
I just wanted to inform those who were telling me that I should purchase the rest of Lee Ann's catalog that so far I have: 1) Call Me Crazy 2)There's More Where That Came From (Just recieved in the mail today so I haven't had a chance to listen to it) 3) Greatest Hits.
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Post by Call Me Crazy on Nov 5, 2008 14:10:20 GMT -5
#25 this week up 3 spots!
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tigers19
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Post by tigers19 on Nov 5, 2008 14:29:41 GMT -5
im really feeling this album the 3rd time around, i think my standouts are: last call - obviously either way solitary thinking - which i think can do well at radio the bees - which should never see radio b/c it is so stange yet i really like it and i found it in you - which is more pop leaning that most of the songs, but i think it is the most commercially marketable for radio
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