Loretta Lynn - "Van Lear Rose"

[StevePulaski]

Van Lear Rose (2004)
By: Loretta Lynn

Rating: ★★★

By the early 2000's, Loretta Lynn, along with numerous country legends, were at the back of the minds of many consumers, who demanded the likes of Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Toby Keith. The original outlaws and pioneers of the genre were either long gone dead or unloved by mainstream ears, which left the surviving souls like Johnny Cash, who assumed a more alternative style in his later years, to either keep up or get lost. Loretta Lynn struggled with relevance, with a release in 2000 that failed to drum up any attention at all. However, in the mid-2000's, after a get together, with White Stripes lead singer/guitarist Jack White, Lynn crafted the album Van Lear Rose, a terrific example that, regardless of mainstream tastes and current demand, proves a singer can still remain hot until his or her dying day.

Van Lear Rose brings a more alternative presence to Lynn's traditionally more country music. On her duet with Jack White "Portland, Oregon," soft guitars and relaxing instrumentals take over almost two minutes of the song's introduction before the singing begins. When White and Lynn begin to trade off verses, the sound is intoxicating and melodic, slightly reminiscent of Lynn's early duets with Conway Twitty on such greats like "Louisiana Women, Mississippi Man." Much like that favorite, this song workw because of the pleasantly conversational banter between both singers. White's presence is dually noted on nearly the entire album, with muffled guitars, more boisterous guitars, and rowdier instrumentals getting attention on several tracks throughout the thirteen-track album.

The titular anthem, which opens the album, has Lynn exercising her vocal range to its ostensible potential and, in turn, delivering a soulful story about a woman who falls in love with a man in a move nobody ever expects with true vocal talent throughout. Tracks like "God Makes No Mistakes" and "Women's Prison" fondly echo Lynn's era, with their simplistic vocals and direct messages, whereas songs like "Little Red Shoes" bear a more alternative sound that echoes White's era moreso than Lynn's.

The only personal quibble with Van Lear Rose's more alternative sound is it occasionally detracts from her own talent. The song "Little Red Shoes" has instrumentation louder than Lynn's vocals, almost entirely drowning out her charismatic presence on the track. Nonetheless, White's goal to pull an artist out of the obscure and back into relevance is surely an underrated and selfless event that goes down as one of country music's most significant events of the 2000's (as Van Lear Rose goes down as one of the most unique country albums of the 2000's). I would've liked to see somebody decades back propose the idea that Loretta Lynn could produce an album with a member of an alternative rock band and have it be a smash hit.

Recommended tracks (in order): "Portland, Oregon," "Van Lear Rose," "God Makes No Mistakes," and "Women's Prison."