Prizefighter: Hit After Hit
Trisha Yearwood
(Gwendolyn/RCA Nashville)
3 stars
Trisha Yearwood returns with her first new recordings in seven years in Prizefighter. The album combines 10 of her best-known hits (including XXX's and OOO's, She's in Love with the Boy) with six new songs. The title tune pairs Yearwood with acolyte Kelly Clarkson, and the two overcome the song's empowerment clichés through the earth-shaking force of their voices. But the album includes better songs. I Remember You for example, is a tender ballad addressing a lost love, set to quietly orchestrated strings. It allows Yearwood to reveal her talent for conveying emotion through a combination of strength and restraint. Similarly, the cheeky Your Husband's Cheatin' on Us – written by Matraca Berg, Marshall Chapman and novelist/playwright Jill McCorkle – brings out Yearwood's bluesy side, as heard on previous gems such as Wrong Side Of Memphis (another Berg co-write featured on Prizefighter). Yearwood's re-entry into the country-music sweepstakes hasn't received as much attention as that of her husband, Garth Brooks. But Prizefighter not only reminds listeners of Yearwood's past triumphs, it also proves that her remarkable voice deserves a place among the current generation of country hitmakers.
[ artslife@thenational.ae ]
