Womack, Lee Ann: I hope you dance CD Track Listing

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Womack, Lee Ann I hope you dance (2000)
Originally Released May 23, 2000 \n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: After a platinum-selling self-titled debut and a gold follow-up with Some Things I Know, Lee Ann Womack just keeps getting better. Billboard calls it "a career record." I Hope You Dance is one of the finest albums to hit country music post Shania Twain. Womack possesses such a sweet, melodious voice and its distinctiveness graces every one of the 12 tracks like they were chosen just for her vocals. But it's the album's title track, a dedication to Womack's daughters (and featuring the Sons of the Desert) that will leave you feeling swept away. (Her daughters, Aubrie and Anna Lise, who were ages 9 and 1 [respectively] at the time, appear in the video with her.) "Don't let some hardened heart leave you bitter/When you come close to selling out, reconsider/Give the heavens above more than a passing glance/And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." Listeners will undoubtedly dance to I Hope You Dance. -- Maria Konicki Dinoia\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nLee Ann Womack may well have the most hard-country female voice in Nashville; while her first two albums showed much promise, they didn't boost her past the middle of the pack. So what's the Nashville solution? Instead of playing to her strengths, make her soprano sound smaller and more compact (think Dolly, not Tammy), de-twang it so she sounds more creamy and dreamy. In other words, try to make her sound more like everyone else. Most of these songs are slow or midtempo, building ever so predictably, and with arrangements paying little more than lip service to roots. Womack sounds better with less accompaniment ("I Know Why the River Runs," "Thinkin' with My Heart Again") and best when her drawl prevails ("Does My Ring Burn Your Finger"). And she sounds unbeatable when she's totally involved, as on the best song, "I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something." And who cowrote that? Why, Lee Ann did. It's the only such song here, but somebody should take a hint. --John Morthland \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEnthralling!, May 29, 2000\nReviewer: "matthew76" (PA)\nLee Ann Womack has retained her musical integrity in a big way after lackluster sales of her second album, Some Things I Know. Like with her other albums, the songs on I Hope You Dance sound contemporary enough to please the new-country listener, yet she doesn't feel the need to make radio-friendly songs that are just a passing thrill with nothing to really stand out artistically or lyrically. This album expands Lee Ann's horizons even more than before, and ranges from the surprisingly rocky "Ashes By Now" to the bluegrassy "The Healing Kind" and "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good" to the honky tonk fun of "I Think I'm Forgetting Something" to the popish and amazing ballad "I Hope You Dance" and the beautiful traditional ballad "Lonely Too." Another good thing is that like Dolly, Lee Ann sounds unmistakeably country regardless of the style of song. This is one of the best modern country albums that you will find!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEasy listening country, July 9, 2005\nReviewer: P D Harris "Pete the music and horse racing fan" (Leicester England)\nWhen Lee Ann released her debut album, she was acclaimed as the new standard bearer for traditional country music. Her second album reinforced that status but this third album finds Lee Ann moving towards an easy-listening style although this is still essentially a country album. Following this album, Lee Ann made a significant step away from country with her next two albums (one of which was a Christmas album) but then returned to her roots with a much more traditional country album. Thus, Lee Ann has tried various styles but her wonderful voice always sounds great. \n\nThe big hit here is, of course, I hope you dance, which crossed over to the American pop charts and even became a minor UK hit - no mean achievement in an era when country singles rarely become big pop hits. Apart from I hope you dance, there are many other great songs here including I feel like I'm forgetting something (a great up-tempo song to get those toes tapping), Lonely too (an excellent ballad written by Bruce Robison, a brilliant singer-songwriter), Lord I hope this day is good (a cover of a Don Williams classic), Does my ring burn your finger (written by Buddy and Judy Miller, an under-rated folk-country duo), Ashes by now (a cover of Rodney Rowell song) and Why they call it falling (a brilliant ballad). \n\nThis high-quality album should still please most traditional country fans, if not quite as much as Lee Ann's first two albums, while also pleasing fans of contemporary country.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nShe's a traditionalist alright, but she doesn't beat it dead, March 20, 2002\nReviewer: 26-year old wallflower "Eric N Andrews" (West Lafayette, IN)\nIt's common knowledge that today's country music is very far removed from what it was decades ago. Instead of flirting with the pop charts, most country singers are all-out embracing it, causing it to lose its unique identity. Yet there are some people who intend on maintaining tradtion amidst all the poppy stuff cluttering the airwaves. Most of these have been men, for some strange reason. But one woman who's held the torch high for traditional country is Lee Ann Womack.\nHer self-titled debut album was released in 1997, the same year Shania Twain released her blockbuster COME ON OVER album, where the traces of a country sound were minimal at best. Womack, on the other hand, was probably the most rootsy female on the country music scene at the time, an identity she continued on her second album 1998's SOME THINGS I KNOW. Her profile kept getting higher, so that expectations for her third album were pretty high. Yet 2000's I HOPE YOU DANCE more than delivered & did the unthinkable by staying traditional & still managing to find a wide audience well beyond country fans.\n\nOf course, the title track is the one song everyone has heard. I work in a grocery store & the song is played at least once during my work day. But the constant airplay hasn't diminished the song's luster & is a perfect showcase for Lee Ann's Dolly Parton-inspired soprano. Despite being the traditionalist that she is, Lee Ann consented to a "de-countrified" version of the song for pop radio, which is what helped the song & Lee Ann find an audience with non-country fans.\n\nEven the covers on I HOPE YOU DANCE are from artists who were/have been makers of pure country throughout their careers. The first song I had heard of Lee Ann was the cover of Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now". While Rodney may have helped guide the career of then-wife Rosanne Cash with music that was the epitome of "contemporary country", his own music was still tried-and-true honky tonk. "Ashes By Now" took the time-honored country theme of heartbreak & expands on it with a song that has the protagonist rising above a stream of heartaches with their head held high. Lee Ann's performance is that of a woman scarred, but not beaten. The closing "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good" was one of the biggest for country legend Don Williams & again, Lee Ann manages to make a classic out of another song that was earmarked for a previous artist, but without usurping it altogether.\n\nBut outside of those big highlights, I HOPE YOU DANCE is a great album as a whole, proving Lee Ann's wish to record songs she thinks the songwriters actually felt when they were writing it, not just to meet a deadline. "The Healing Kind" (featuring guest harmonies by Ricky Skaggs, no surprise seeing as how Lee Ann sang with various bluegrass bands before finding stardom), "I Know Why The River Runs", "Why They Call It Falling", "Stronger Than I Am" & "Lonely Too" have Lee Ann using her voice to great results on songs that would seem pedestrian in the hands of other singers. \n\nHowever, on an album filled with heady ballads, a few hints of lightheartedness can be found. "I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something" could have been at home on a Buck Owens record with its nod to the classic Bakersfield sound; "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" is even more rooted in bluegrass with down home harmonies by the songs' authors Buddy & Julie Miller.\n\nYes, while most of today's country females are following Shania Twain's or Faith Hill's example of going for the pop jugular, Lee Ann Womack is one of the few sticking close to traditional country & managing to find success on the same level as those "country superstars". Granted, I HOPE YOU DANCE isn't completely traditional, for going that way would have resulted in lesser sales. But when Lee Ann does go modern, she does it tastefully. Her new album SOMETHING WORTH LEAVING BEHIND is due out soon & it was produced by Matchbox 20 mentor Matt Serletic. That choice in producer may seem suspect to those who hail Lee Ann as the savior of country music, but she has always proven to be one traditionalist who doesn't shove it down people's throats. So one can only have high hopes for SOMETHING WORTH LEAVING BEHIND as an album that can find a home on CMT, yet still make believers out of non-country fans. With a great album like I HOPE YOU DANCE, Lee Ann has her work cut out for her.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWhat Country Should Be Like, December 4, 2001\nReviewer: J. M. Zuurbier (Canada) \nWhile her colleagues either dip their toes in pop music or embrace it wholeheartedly, Lee Ann Womack keeps it country. Womack's third release, I HOPE YOU DANCE, finds her looking back to country's past, while keeping both feet firmly in the present.\nWomack's nod to those who came before includes terrific cover versions of two modern classics: Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now" and Don Williams' "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good," as well as guest harmonies by New Traditionalist Ricky Skaggs (on "The Healing Kind"). More subtly, her respect is obvious in the Bakersfield twang of "I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something," the Appalachian harmonies of "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger," and the album's rootsy instrumentation. But Womack places herself squarely in modern-day country with the lovely, poetic title track, a country take on Bob Dylan's "Forever Young," with guest vocals by Sons Of The Desert. Another standout is "Stronger Than I Am," a beautifully crafted song about a divorcee who realizes her daughter has survived the ordeal much better than she has. The tasteful production highlights Womack's delicate voice which, unlike those of her colleagues, dispenses with histrionics in favor of real emotion. In a sea of country/pop fluff, I HOPE YOU DANCE is a true gem.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWHAT IS THIS!?, September 23, 2000\nReviewer: A music fan\nLee Ann Womack should be ashamed of herself. After promising to stay true to country music in the inspiring "Murder On Music Row" that she performed with Alan Jackson and George Strait, what does she do? She goes out and records a POP album of all things. I'm sorry but there's little difference between her and Faith Hill or Shania Twain now. And have you seen her new video for "Ashes By Now"? It's DISGRACEFUL. She's obviously more interested in selling her body just like Faith and Shania. I nearly got sick watching her dance around in skimpy,tight outfits. I hope she's enjoyed "selling out" because she obviously didn't "reconsider". She needs to live by her own words. In my opinion she has committed "murder on music row" just like the rest of them.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nIncredible, June 4, 2000\nReviewer: Brendan (Nashville, Tennessee) \nNever in my life has a song just blown me away the way "I Know Why The River Runs" did. I stood there in Tower and played the song four consecutive times. I wound up purchasing the cd and found much of it the same way. The songs written by Buddy and Julie Miller ("I Know Why The River Runs" and "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger") are the two strongest tracks. As a matter of fact all the tracks that were produced by Frank Liddell are the three strongest ones on the Disc. This cd draws from top songwriters such as her firey version of Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now" and her tender version of Bobbie Cryner's "Stronger Than I Am". Not too often I hear a singer and believe every word she says, but this is one of those cases that I did. This is definitely her best album to date (and yes I have her other two.) Sure there are some throwaways but for the most part this cd has her strongest material yet, including the best and most memorable songwriting she's had to date... and that's what stands out the most. Strong Reccomendation to buy...\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Aubrey Haynie, Bekka Bramlett, Buddy Miller, Jason Sellers, Julie Miller, Michael Omartian, Ricky Scaggs \nProducer: Frank Liddell, Mark Wright \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel includes: Lee Ann Womack (vocals); Joe Manual, Richard Bennett (acoustic & electric guitars); Dan Tyminski, Pat Flynn, Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (slide & steel guitars, dobro); Larry Franklin (mandolin, fiddle); Aubrie Haynie (fiddle); Michael Omartian (accordion); Steve Nathan (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Michael Rhodes, Glenn Worf, Brett Beavers (bass); Eric Darken, Sam Bacco (percussion); Ricky Scaggs, Bekka Bramlett, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Ronnie Bowman, Jon Randall, Jason Sellers, Bergen White, Sons Of The Desert (background vocals).\n\n"I Hope You Dance" won the 2000 CMA Award for Single Of The Year and Song Of The Year.\n\n"I Hope You Dance" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. \nI HOPE YOU DANCE was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Country Album. \n"I Hope You Dance" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award in the categories of Song Of The Year and Best Female Country Vocal Performance.\n\nThis is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.\n\nWhile her colleagues either dip their toes in pop music or embrace it wholeheartedly, Lee Ann Womack keeps it country. Womack's third release, I HOPE YOU DANCE, finds her looking back to country's past, while keeping both feet firmly in the present.\nWomack's nod to those who came before includes terrific cover versions of two modern classics: Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now" and Don Williams' "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good," as well as guest harmonies by New Traditionalist Ricky Skaggs (on "The Healing Kind"). More subtly, her respect is obvious in the Bakersfield twang of "I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something," the Appalachian harmonies of "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger," and the album's rootsy instrumentation. But Womack places herself squarely in modern-day country with the lovely, poetic title track, a country take on Bob Dylan's "Forever Young," with guest vocals by Sons Of The Desert. Another standout is "Stronger Than I Am," a beautifully crafted song about a divorcee who realizes her daughter has survived the ordeal much better than she has. The tasteful production highlights Womack's delicate voice which, unlike those of her colleagues, dispenses with histrionics in favor of real emotion. In a sea of country/pop fluff, I HOPE YOU DANCE is a true gem.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n...Finds the hypnotic middle between traditional and edgy contemporary country, mining just the right amount of bluegrass production value...to put the ache back into Nashville fare....this is a triumph of musical integrity in a mainstream world. - Rating: A\nEntertainment Weekly (05/26/2000)\n\n4 stars out of 5 - ...Beautifully sung....stoic of lyric and memorable of tune....giving those living in trailer parks a peek at dignity.\nQ (09/01/2000)\n\nRanked #1 in EW's Top 3 Country Albums of 2000.\nEntertainment Weekly (12/29/2000)
This country cd contains 13 tracks and runs 71min 9sec.
Freedb: b810ab0d

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