In the pumped-up disco era of the late '70s,
Tanya Tucker, a full six years after her debut -- and all of 19 years old -- was still tearing up the charts and exploiting her now fully developed womanhood. Hooking up for the first time with
Jerry Goldstein, who was about as far from
Billy Sherrill as you could get,
Tucker issued a mostly up-tempo, steamy record that rocked as hard or harder than it twanged. Opening with
Phil Everly's rocker "Lover Goodbye," complete with synth drums, and following it with the torch and twang of "I'm the Singer, You're the Song," co-written with
Goldstein, it was pure eros wrapped in strings and electric guitars. But the real tale of the tape is told beginning with track three: a cover of
Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," with
Mickey Raphael on blues harmonica, which funked almost as much as it rocked. Cross this with a riveting read of
John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" that rivals
Bonnie Raitt's and a scorching "Heartbreak Hotel," and you have a side that can be played over and again ad infinitum. But side two is charged on with a scorching, sensual "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." While it never gains the same momentum as that track, the ballads and honky tonk numbers are steeped in a pop sound that wears surprisingly well over two decades later. Oh yes, on the beautiful mid-tempo ballad "The River and the Wind,"
Seals & Crofts help on the backing vocals; it's probably the best thing they ever did given how awful their own records are. ~ Thom Jurek