Lorrie Morgan Greatest Hits CD

A Tammy Wynette for the 1990s, Lorrie Morgan spends half her time wishing for her man back and the other half telling him she ain't taking him back no matter what he does. To wit, this first-rate collection of country singles opens with her suitcase packed, her taxi on the way, and Morgan telling her man, "You've got five minutes/To figure it out." One song later, she's kicking herself in the heart for ever letting him go. Jump ahead two years to song three, and she just about is Tammy Wynette--all painted up and singing a sprightly two-step about how after he left, "I learned a couple of new dances/Cast a couple of glances/I'm on a big roll now." One more song and, poof, she can't even imagine herself without him.

This is the classic struggle of all styles of girl-pop, and what makes the difference are a voice you can believe and songs that snap. Morgan has both. Her voice is seductive and girlish, and, like Wynette's, sounds oddly right singing both painful ballads and spunky country-rockers. "Something In Red" is a true tear-jerker, a dramatically orchestrated ballad about a woman trying to seduce her loveless husband, and Morgan gives it the aura of a classic torch song. "Except For Monday," on the other hand, is a rocking celebration of freedom--your good girl has gone bad and she's never coming back--and Morgan is no less convincing there.

The three new songs on GREATEST HITS trace a sort of mini-history of girl-pop, showing off the great flexibility of current country music. "Back In Your Arms Again" is an innocent want-you-back pop number that could have come out of the Brill Building in the early '60s. "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" has the breezy confidence of modern country-rock, and "Standing Tall" is clouded in the dark shadows of a vintage Patsy Cline ballad.

Recorded between 1988 and 1995.

Compilation producer: James Stroud.

Personnel: Lorrie Morgan, Keith Whitley (vocals); Larry Byrom (acoustic guitar); Dann Huff (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Glen Duncan, John Hobbs (piano); Lee Sklar, Glenn Worf (bass); Paul Leim (drums); Jana King, Curtis Young, Curtis Wright (background vocals).

Producers: Barry Beckett, Richard Landis, James Stroud, Blake Mevis.

Entertainment Weekly (7/14/95, p.56) - "...shuttle[s] from heavily orchestrated Nashville balladry to memorable tough-girl retorts..."
- Rating: B+