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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Keeping with the grand new tradition of country music stars breathing new life into the latter parts of their careers, Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose finds the coal miner's daughter teaming up with White Stripes svengali Jack White, who produces, plays guitar and duets on "Portland Oregon" (where he's easily outshined by Lynn). And, like the later work of Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, the result is a resounding success.
White is a traditionalist at heart and he treats Lynn's music with both respect and restraint; this is most definitely a country album, though it's a rocking one. Pedal steel, dobro, banjo and fiddle are all here, alongside White's blues-tinged electric guitar, but the star is Lynn's voice: worn, warm and full of heart. Her storytelling abilities come to the fore on the title track, the album's highlight, and her ability to spin a phrase in a country way is highlighted on songs like "Family Tree" (a tale of a wife confronting her husband's lover) and the lament "Miss Being Mrs". But really, there isn't a dud track here, from the celebratory stomp of "High on a Mountain Top" to the restrained spiritual "God Makes No Mistakes", to the accompanied spoken-story "Little Red Shoes". White's contribution should open Lynn's music up to a well-deserved wider audience. Really, though, one would be hard-pressed to find a better album by this country legend. --Robert Burrow
Product Description
LORETTA LYNN Van Lear Rose (2004 US edition 13-track CD album from one of the most iconic and inspirational women in Country music [with over 70 albums 55 top 10s and 27 number 1 singles in the US] featuring collaborations production and arrangement from The White Stripes JACK WHITE whos work on the album is multi-textured with the layers of steel guitars muffled drums and echoed guitars lending a dramatic impressionistic quality to the songs!)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I had heard of Loretta Lynn but I had not heard anything by her until I listened to this CD quite by chance in a record store in Times Square NYC. Ohh and for the record I had not heard any of White Stripes work either. To say that "Van Lear Rose" has taken me by surprise is an understatement. Right from the opening title track to the closing strains of the final track I was held spellbound. It's the kind of album that Emmylou Harris should have released instead of her last effort and is full of that wonderful muddy guitar sound that lifts the songs and blends in so well with the arrangements that Jack White has tailored to suit the worldly voice of Loretta. The songs all tell a story, some happy and some not so happy. The title track sets out the stall for the rest of the album which is 40 minutes of perfection. Her duet with Jack "Portland Oregon" is a case of old meets new in terms of the music business. Many of the tracks appear to be quite personal like the stunning spoken "Little Red Shoes" which left me breathless, "Miss Being Mrs" about the pain of widowhood and "Story Of My Life" the title of which speaks for itself. I'm not a country music fan but then this is not just country music, it just happens to be great music sung by a country music singer and I love it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I can't add a lot to what other good folks have written already about this fine album. I agree with most of the praise and can only add that this is a future classic that will sound as good in ten or twenty years as it sounds today. Jack White of White Stripes fame is eleavated from a good contemporary rock artist to a heroic visionary thanks to his producing and arranging skills as showcased on this album. And Loretta? I simply adore her. She sounds better and more contemporary than ever. The Lady may be close to seventy years old but it seems like she's as vibrant and good as in her glory days. Her songwriting and singing is as skillful and heartfelt as could be, perhaps even better than when she hit her stride way back in the sixties. Loretta Lynn and Jack White is obviously a recording marriage made in heaven.It's a shame that the best country AND rock album of the 21st century isn't all over the charts everywhere. It's seldom one stumbles across an album that is both traditional and contemporary in the best sense of both words. Have mercy.....
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
What can I say? Loretta's newest masterpiece Van Lear Rose is amazing! At 70 going on 29 (with producer Jack White), Loretta proves that she still has what it takes to deliver the goods.
When I heard that Jack White of The White Stripes was going to produce this album, I was of course surprised. I had no idea Loretta had planned on releasing a new album, and I had no idea it was her who chose Jack to help produce it! The results are amazing nonetheless! Van Lear Rose is a true Country-sounding album with a bit of an edge of rock-n-roll in it. When she sings, she sounds so full of life. And even though a few of the songs are about 2 minutes in length, the listener can easily identify with what the song's talking about and [the listener's] left satisfied hearing that song because it's just THAT good.
Out of the 13 songs all written by Loretta, my top favorite songs off the Van Lear Rose album are "Portland Oregon" (a duet with Jack White), "High On a Mountain Top," the title track "Van Lear Rose," and "Women's Prison." All of the songs are stunning and you'll be listening to them over and over and over again. Loretta teaming up with Jack White proves that even the oddest pairings can always deliver stunning perfection.
This is a very, very decent album and I recommend it to anyone who's a Loretta fan or is just even the slightest bit interested in her music. This is great country music that, I believe, is one of Loretta's best recordings ever.
Loretta plans on making a religous album and Christmas album and is thinking of having Jack White produce those albums as well. Keep your fingers crossed!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Birth of The Raconteurs ?
The Wikipedia entry for The Do-Whaters, Miss Lynn's band , says that despite containing 3/4 of The Raconteurs there is little resemblance between the music made by the 2 bands. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2009 by caitlin
Stole the heart of a new fan
44 years since her debut Loretta Lynn has written and performed some of country music's best songs ever in the entire genre. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2005 by Stephen Salt
Revelatory!
This album is a revelation. The opening title track starts like a thousand other country songs until heavy guitar, rumbling bass and rock drumming kick in as Loretta's voice soars... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2004
Where Two Roads Cross And Make Music
This is an interesting case for me. I don't know Loretta Lynn's work well -other than listening to some songs and watching the movie "Coal Mining Daughter"- nor I particularly... Read more
Published on 28 May 2004 by Juan Mobili
America in 40 minutes!
Oh my, where do I start?
Jack White! I love you!
Jack White! I love you!
Well,THIS IS IT, folks!The album people will be listening to in 10,20,30,50 years, it's just that good! Read more
Published on 16 May 2004 by Jesse Nightcat
Van Lear Rose
LORETTA LYNN
Van Lear Rose
Interscope/Universal
Van Lear Rose
Interscope/Universal
Not in my wildest dreams, did I ever consider I’d be reviewing a Loretta Lynn album. Read more
Published on 10 May 2004 by Gareth Gorman
JUST BUY IT!! -Unique experience to be had by all
This albulm is one of the most unique I have heard in a while. It cannot be constraigned by catagory but blends rock, traditional country, and bluegrass to give a strong and... Read more
Published on 1 May 2004 by Kharaji
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