Artist: Loretta Lynn
Album: Don't Come Home a-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)
Year: 1967
Well, if that's not the most redneck-sounding album title, I don't know what is.
In case it's not obvious by the title, Loretta Lynn's a country singer and this one is one of her most revered albums. I have not been too crazy about the country music albums in this collection. Most have been really kind of sterile and clinical compared with the more emotive rock and jazz. Artists like Ray Price and Merle Haggard were fine singers, but I really could not connect with their music. They bored me.
Loretta Lynn, by contrast, is not boring. She's got a great voice and there's some vitriol behind it. She sings these songs (mostly covers) like she owns 'em. There's a variety of upbeat stuff and ballads and Lynn proves she has complete command of both styles--she shows the ability to sound both commanding and vulnerable at once.
I still can't get behind country music in general. The songs are really samey and the lyrics are still in show tune territory relative to what Bob Dylan and his widely-expansive posse were doing at this point. But viewing this Loretta Lynn album as less of a country music album and more of a showcase for her impressive vocal abilities, it no doubt stands as an impressive piece of work.
Rating: Worth a listen
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