bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 20:51:15 GMT -5
Stacks of paper, I guess this is where we sign. Strange how your signature so closely matches mine. I never dreamed our love would ever come to this; Avoiding each other's eyes, still craving your tenderness. Do you remember When love was all that we were living for? Back before the war.
7. "Back Before The War"
Track 9 Runtime: 4:12
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 20:57:15 GMT -5
I have always loved war as a metaphor for the end of a relationship, so I already knew I would love this song based on the title alone. And the song absolutely lives up to its theme! Relationships ending is a common theme for music, but very few songs deal with divorce as specifically or starkly as this song. The way it focuses on the wife's thoughts as they are sitting in the lawyer's office literally signing the papers allows it to connect to the emotions of a very specific moment that other divorce songs have never quite managed to portray.
I love the melody as well. When Reba wails into that high note in the middle of each verse it just about rips my heart out of my body every time she does it. I was SOOOOO bummed that this went from consistent top 3 contender to the middle of the album right at the end :(
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taylor
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Post by taylor on Oct 3, 2020 20:57:22 GMT -5
I love "Back Before the War" so much. The way the lyrics describe the hostile divorce era and compare the good times to the calm before a storm and the divorce itself as a war is genius.
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:02:07 GMT -5
Quite disappointed that “Back Before the War” couldn’t maintain its top five positioning. This is such a standout album track and is very much in the same vain as a lot of the great material Reba released during this decade.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:03:58 GMT -5
All it takes is just one kiss. I just want to get lost in this emotion Like the river in the ocean. Oh, when you wrap your arms around me, it happens every time. Time don't seem to matter. We'll always be together. I don't know what it is That tells me it's forever.
6. "Where You End And I Begin"
Track 11 Runtime: 4:17
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:08:41 GMT -5
"Where You End And I Begin" is another quirky song, in a similar vein to what I said earlier about "When You're Not Trying To". The melody has a catchy groove to it though that the latter seems to lack, which gave it a lot more staying power in this rankdown. This was settled in comfortably as our #7 contender for the majority of this rankdown, until it had the luck of sneaking ahead of "Back Before The War" by 2 points with the very last list (Thanks ClevelandRox !!!) It'll be interesting to see how this one does in the album tracks rankdown. I definitely feel like "Back Before The War" will probably obliterate it in that rematch... Lol Also, how about that Eb5 that Reba launches into in the middle of the last chorus!!! That's kind of an unexpected Martina Moment from her I love that part!!
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:11:35 GMT -5
Here's the top 5!!! I'm eager to hear some thoughts or predictions before I continue in a few minutes :)
I’ll Be I’m Not Your Girl Til I Said It To You We’re So Good Together What Do You Say
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:14:05 GMT -5
"Where You End And I Begin" is another quirky song, in a similar vein to what I said earlier about "When You're Not Trying To". And that's pretty much why this fell to the bottom of my list. While I think my last place ranking for this might be tad bit too harsh because the melody does pick up more as the song progresses into the chorus, overall I just find this one to be rather meh. Also, I happen to find the lyrics to the song to be incredibly sappy and so that was another mark against this one for me.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:18:24 GMT -5
You're not going to believe what leaves at #5...
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:19:43 GMT -5
There's been some mention that "We're So Good Together" is riding into the top five mostly on the coattails of it being a single, so I have to think that it'll be one of the first two songs out. With the top two all but being between "What Do You Say" and "I"ll Be", I'll take a guess that "'Til I Said It To You" will be the highest placing album track.
5. I'm Not Your Girl 4. We're So Good Together 3. 'Til I Said It to You 2. I'll Be 1. What Do You Say
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:20:04 GMT -5
You're not going to believe what leaves at #5... I hate surprises.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:20:26 GMT -5
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:20:51 GMT -5
I was about to RIOT
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:25:03 GMT -5
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taylor
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Post by taylor on Oct 3, 2020 21:27:19 GMT -5
I see you picked up on my scare tactic from the 2019 Female "Flops" rankdown when I tricked y'all for a split second into thinking "Bring My Flowers Now" lost out on the Top 10, let alone the Top 5! In any case, my jaw still DROPPED and I was about to NOT be okay with that result until I saw the #12 next to my name lol
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Post by austin on Oct 3, 2020 21:27:30 GMT -5
LOL!!! I almost spit!
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:29:44 GMT -5
I literally felt my heart skip a beat.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:34:54 GMT -5
Sometimes I said it when I really didn't mean it, Just a throwaway promise I knew wasn't true. It meant a little less to me every time I did it. But I never said I love you from the heart 'Til I said it to you.
5. 'Til I Said It To You"
Track 2 Runtime: 3:22
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taylor
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Post by taylor on Oct 3, 2020 21:37:20 GMT -5
Well, at least this hit the Top 5! I adore this song; it's one of those songs that could've easily been placed on any of her albums from the early part of this decade without question, and I feel like it would've been able to hold its own against those other massive songs.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:38:04 GMT -5
I see you picked up on my scare tactic from the 2019 Female "Flops" rankdown when I tricked y'all for a split second into thinking "Bring My Flowers Now" lost out on the Top 10, let alone the Top 5! In any case, my jaw still DROPPED and I was about to NOT be okay with that result until I saw the #12 next to my name lol zaclord 🌈 was actually the first one to do it, when he tried to get us all to believe that "Automatic" was last place in Miranda Lambert's singles rankdown ;) I did it a couple months later to scare people into thinking "Wrong Again" was last place in Martina's Evolution rankdown because everyone was freaking out like they thought it wasn't going to do well or something So you were actually the first one to revive the idea after a couple years gap!!
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 21:39:23 GMT -5
Welp, I was right with my original prediction that "I'm Not Your Girl" would be the highest placing album track. "'Til I Said It To You" more than holds its own, though, as I went back and forth between this and another song to put in my top five.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:43:41 GMT -5
"'Til I Said It To You" has always been one of my favorite lyrical songs on this album. This song is SO well-written in its depiction of a narrator who has always casually thrown out the word "love" to get what she wants, until one day she actually falls in love and realizes how insecure she has been feeling all these years... The chorus is brilliant in the way that it phrases everything. "Sometimes I said it when I really didn't mean it; just a throwaway promise I knew wasn't true. It meant a little less to me every time I did it... But I never said "I love you" from the heart 'til I said it to you." So well-said! And of course, you've gotta love Reba's vocals here!! The "it meant a little less to me" moment makes this entire chorus such an awesome listening experience! I look forward to seeing how this one does in the album track rankdown
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 21:57:33 GMT -5
Feels so warm and so safe here, now don't get me wrong, But it's selfish to stay here. I'd be leading you on. Maybe someone else can give you What you really, really want. But I'm not your girl.
They say people change. I wish it were true. It's something I've tried so hard to do. I can't explain Why right feels so wrong, And I keep hearing the same old song.
4. "I'm Not Your Girl"
Track 6 Runtime: 3:41
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 22:00:49 GMT -5
I went into this album rankdown thinking that of any album track "I'm Not Your Girl" stood the best chance at possibly making it into the top three. I think had this been a single, though, it possibly could've done one better and snuck into the top two.
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 22:07:07 GMT -5
I'm happy "I'm Not Your Girl" was able to finish as the highest album track, but I am really bummed that it was not able to infiltrate the singles. This song, along with pretty much every album track we've seen revealed tonight, shits all over "We're So Good Together". There is absolutely no excuse for that one to be in the top 3 other than single bias... "I'm Not Your Girl" has always been a standout on this album for me. It's nice that it has a little bit of tempo to it, as this is a pretty ballad-heavy album. I also think this is Reba's best vocal performance on the album. (The way her voice resonates when she sings "I wish it was that easy" at the end of the first verse, the way her voice cracks at the end of "true" in the chorus, etc. Every moment of her vocal feels intentionally crafted to feel engaging and masterful.) This song also has a melody that stays with you. It got a top 5 rank from the majority of us, but the two who put it in their bottom 2 really held it back... It would have been top 3 with ease if it hadn't been for its couple of low ranks. I hope that when we do the album tracks rankdown, those who tanked it will listen again and reevaluate based on the knowledge of how incorrect their first assessment was
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 22:10:39 GMT -5
I hope that when we do the album tracks rankdown, those who tanked it will listen again and reevaluate based on the knowledge of how incorrect their first assessment was Just so there's no ambiguity we're looking at you taylor and castleoblivion26
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 22:15:50 GMT -5
Oop, I forgot to gush about the lyrics of "I'm Not Your Girl"!!! This song touches on a topic that we can all relate to on some level, but is not covered in music very often. You're in a relationship that feels perfect in every way, except for the fact that you just don't feel the spark that you wish you did... It's something that happens waaaay too often in real life. You can have a great relationship with somebody that you care a lot about but do not love, and that leads to a level of guilt that is very unique and hard to explain. It's the same type of situation in which the characters of George Strait's "You Can't Make A Heart Love Somebody" find themselves (shameless plug for his album rankdowns that are due next week!!), but other than those two songs I'm not sure I can really point to any other song that covers this topic. Breaking off a great relationship because you're not sure if you're the right person for them even though they think you are is hard, and it sucks, and Reba does a great job of emphasizing the complicated emotions of that situation in her vocal, imo.
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 22:23:40 GMT -5
When did we cross that line And just happen to find we're in love? I think about that. Was it you, was it me Who could see we'd turn out to be us? I think about that. We could spend all our time trying to figure it out And not be any closer than we are right now.
3. "We're So Good Together"
Track 1 Runtime: 3:33 Songwriters: Bob DiPiero, Annie Roboff, John Scott Sherrill
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Post by bboat11 on Oct 3, 2020 22:27:41 GMT -5
I do really like "We're So Good Together"! It is a fun song, but it definitely has some flaws. For example, for some odd reason it sounds hella dated compared to the rest of the album. I enjoy listening to this one, and its big purpose is that it is a great song for the live shows....but it is simply NOT one of the best songs on this album. You will never convince me that it deserved to finish this high. For pretty much the entire submission process, this was behind some combination of "Back Before The War", "Til I Said It To You", and "I'm Not Your Girl". The fact that it snuck ahead of all of them at the last minute was disheartening. At least someguy can be happy, as it's his #1!
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Post by tim on Oct 3, 2020 22:27:43 GMT -5
Didn't see that one coming...
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