When it comes to the all-time great female vocalists in country music, it would be impossible to not mention Trisha Yearwood. Today (August 30), the songstress released her new album, Every Girl, her first original solo project since 2007’s Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love.
When speaking of the project, Yearwood reveals, “I like the songs that take me on a journey through a lot of different emotions. The theme of the album is it’s okay to be who you are no matter what. Sometimes, you’re playful. Sometimes, you’re frustrated. Sometimes, you’re sad. Sometimes, you’re happy. It’s okay. The album gave me permissions to be all of those things.”
Created with longtime collaborator and producer Garth Fundis, Every Girl is truly Yearwood at her finest, perfectly pairing her resplendent voice with powerful, yet relatable, lyrics and lush instrumentation. The album also features an array of Yearwood’s famous friends, including her husband Garth Brooks, Kelly Clarkson, and Don Henley, on background vocals, only further elevating the stellar collection of tracks.
The album opens with “Workin’ On Whiskey,” a slow-burn ballad that truly sets the mood for the album. Put simply, Yearwood’s delivery here is masterful. Her vocals are only further complemented here by background vocals from Clarkson, who adds a beautiful layer of high harmonies that send the song soaring even further into the stratosphere. Look for Clarkson to appear again on “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” a heartbreaking tale of ill-fated love. “Tell me something I don’t know/ This winds gonna have to blow/ I know you’re only trying to help,” Yearwood agonizes. “But I will find out for myself/ I know your heart’s in the right place/ But I can make my own mistakes/ It’s gonna hurts when he lets go/ Tell me something I don’t know.”
The album is far from a collection of sad songs, however, as evidenced immediately on the Motown-esque “Find A Way,” originally recorded by Lucie Silvas on her stellar 2015 release, Letters to Ghosts. Likewise, the collection’s first single, and title track, is an up-tempo country bop that every girl can relate to. “Every girl in this town’s had a Friday night / That ended in tears under the yellow porch light / Thinking it was love / But it was only seventeen,” Yearwood sings. “And we dance / And we laugh ’til we all fall down / We keep kissing boys trying to figure it out / Stretching for stars on our tiptoe hearts trying to get our big dreams off the ground / Like every girl in this town.”
“Drink Up” is Yearwood’s closest foray into the genre of party songs, inviting listeners to lift a cup and celebrate life. While she may be encouraging raising a cup and drinking up, the song is truly a metaphor for embracing where your life is now, and embracing that. “Sip it, Chug it, Shoot it, Raise it, High / Don’t waste it / Taste every drop of this life / Yeah, toast it / Chase it down ’til it’s dry / Drink up / Whatever you got in your cup/ drink up.”
There are other stand out tracks on the album, including “Matador,” which shows Yearwood as the consummate storyteller on this darker story song. There’s also “Bible and a .44,” originally recorded by Ashley McBryde, that Yearwood dedicates to the memory of her late father, as well as the moving “Home,” originally recorded by Bonnie Raitt in 1977.
Yearwood pairs with husband, Garth Brooks, on the sultry “What Gave Me Away,” which she tells People is about “an intimate moment between two people. I couldn’t imagine asking anyone else to sing on this song except Garth. He’s my person. He’s my crush.”
One of the album’s most poignant and powerful moments comes on the album’s final track, “Love You Anyway.” Here, Yearwood enlists “Walkaway Joe” collaborator Don Henley. While Brooks may be her soulmate, Henley just may be her vocal soulmate, their voices harmonizing in a way that is absolutely ethereal. No matter what happens in this relationship, the pair sing of undying love over a haunting piano melody, “So break my faith, forget my name, either way, it’s, all the same, / You’re my first word / You’re my last breath / My will to live / When nothing’s left / Tear this heart right out of me / Lock it up and lose the key / Curse my name when you kneel to pray / I’m gonna love you anyway.”
When speaking on the new album, Yearwood says, “I’m so grateful the songs were there. I found 14 tunes I couldn’t live without. You want people to recognize you as an artist, but you also want to take them somewhere they haven’t necessarily been with you before….I’d love for people to be as moved by the songs as I was when I recorded them,” Yearwood says. “I’ve never experienced more joy in the studio.”
And that joy shines through on every track on the album. Yearwood may have found 14 tunes she couldn’t live without, but she also gave listeners 14 songs that WE couldn’t live without.
In support of Every Girl, Yearwood performed on The Today Show yesterday and will headline her own solo tour for the first time in five years, kicking off October 3rd. She’ll hit New York’s Town Hall Theater on Thursday, November 21.
To keep up with Trisha Yearwood, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Every Girl is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
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