Album Review: Trisha Yearwood – Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love
Breathtaking. Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love is absolutely, unequivocally, breathtaking. Yearwood combines perfectly emotive, flawlessly executed vocals, with excellent–sometimes fantastic–songs, to produce an album of exceptional depth. It is an album that stands as a testament to everything that’s good about contemporary, mainstream country music. Western, blues, Americana, traditional country; all of these influences blend with Yearwood’s signature Nashville flair on an album that covers more ground musically than any of her previous work. In a word? Breathtaking.
Making a widely distinct body of material sound aesthetically cohesive is a feat not easily accomplished by most artists, as casting a wide net can result in an album that lacks focus and/or assaults listners’ senses with jarring musical transitions. But Yearwood isn’t most artists. She’s one of the finest interpretive vocalists of her generation. So it’s no surprise that she succeeds where others fail, and that the individual pieces of this album fit together snugly, pieces of puzzle that, when connected, form the portrait of a mature, complicated, and passionate real live woman.
The difference between a good album and a great album always–always–comes down to songs and song selection. And while Yearwood has long since proven herself a superb vocalist, her albums have, on occasion, tapped into a fair bit of par-for-the-course material. That is not a problem here.
“Dreaming Fields,” co-written by Matraca Berg, is nothing short of a masterpiece. Strike that. It is a masterpiece–an exhibition in lyrical poetry set to a hauntingly familiar melody and sung with chilling emotional resonance. Berg is one of Nashville’s greatest treasures, and “Dreaming Fields” is, all at once, a story about the magic of childhood, the bond between young and old, and the plight of the American farmer.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime song, and this album would be worth the ticket price if “Dreaming Fields” were the only excellent song on the disc. It’s not.
“Cowboys are my weakness/Gimme some down home rugged sweetness,” Yearwood pleads on the unabashedly western “Cowboys Are My Weakness,” a perfectly crafted mid-tempo that puts the monotonous, overproduced rambling of her contemporaries to shame.
The best track on this album, however, might be “This Is Me You’re Talking To,” a lyrically simple, heartwrenching, and brutally honest song that Yearwood delivers with one of the premier vocal performances of her career.
Simply put, Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love is one of the finest albums to come out of Nashville in years.
Recommended Tracks: “Dreaming Fields“, “This Is Me You’re Talking To“, “Sing You Back To Me“.
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November 29, 2007 at 4:20 pm Permalink
wow, consider me intrigued.
November 29, 2007 at 4:28 pm Permalink
I pretty much share Jim’s enthusiasm for the album, especially “Dreaming Fields” and the Western influenced songs.
November 29, 2007 at 5:19 pm Permalink
That’s pretty high praise. I haven’t loved what I’ve heard so far but I’ll take this into account.
November 29, 2007 at 11:23 pm Permalink
Couldn’t agree more with this article. I listened to this CD on an airplane back to Nashville, and I just was able to completely emmerse myself in this album.
Typically, I don’t find myself relating to women singers as much as men, but not so in this case.
December 1, 2007 at 2:30 pm Permalink
I featured this album recently on my Taste Test Tuesday showpiece and got similar feedback from my “regulars”! It’s a great BODY of work, from start to finish… and thankfully, nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. I adore “Cowboys Are My Weakness” and hope it has a chance to become a single. I think it’s a SMASH HIT waiting to happen! Speaking of Trisha… have you heard about her hubby’s latest accomplishment(s) by way of LA? FIVE SHOWS, SOLD OUT… in less than ONE HOUR. And… is he CRAZY? He’s performing THREE SHOWS IN ONE NIGHT. What???? Yeah, my tickets are for the 9pm show on Saturday, after he’ll have performed Friday night at 6pm, 10pm, and Saturday afternoon at 1pm and 5pm. Will (even GARTH) be able to pull that off? Do share. Please.
December 3, 2007 at 4:31 am Permalink
My favorites would have to be: title cut, “They Call It Falling For a Reason”, “Not a Bad Thing”, and “Drown Me”. The ballads are nice too, but I prefer mostly the midtempo/uptempo stuff from Trisha for some reason.
December 3, 2007 at 2:12 pm Permalink
I’ve never been a huge fan of Yearwood’s but I’ve always thought she’s had a great voice. Her vocals on Josh Turner’s song “Another Try” really make the song.
I might have to give this album a listen.
December 4, 2007 at 11:39 pm Permalink
Solid CD – not quite her best but a solid 4.5 stars
December 4, 2007 at 11:43 pm Permalink
Just curious, Paul–what do you think her best is? I had one in mind as I wrote this review, but in the end I decided on this one. But it was close.
December 7, 2007 at 2:27 am Permalink
I haven’t heard this one yet, but I think her best album is “Real Live Woman.” It has some fantastic, soul-bearing songs.
December 7, 2007 at 8:16 pm Permalink
I just got this CD in today and am now listening to it. Wow does Trisha sound terrific here. WOW! This is one of the classiest and most consistent recordings I’ve heard in some time. And kudos to Trisha and her producer Garth Fundis and the Big Machine A&R team for picking sparkling songs that allow her to showcase her artistry (and kudos to those songwriters as well – songs of that quality are positively inspirational to listen to).
If she isn’t up for every top award come next year every music organization worth its salt ought to hang their head in shame. It’s hard for me to imagine someone coming up with a better set of tunes, though we’d all be the better for it if someone does, as it would indicate that the level of talent we all know the Country genre to possess is allowed to flourish.
Side note – When I was dating my wife she was really into “How Do I Live” – she’d literally BAWL every time she’d hear it. she used to tell me it was “our song.” I think I talked her down off that ledge – who wants their song to be a break-up song, know what I mean? ;)
December 8, 2007 at 2:02 pm Permalink
Pete-
She’s already got a Grammy nomination for the title track, but I imagine that’s the only award show that’s going to give her any love. I guess she might have a shot at CMA Female Vocalist, but they didn’t nominate her after “Jasper County”, so who knows.
IMO, the best Trisha Yearwood album remains “Hearts in Armor”, with this one and “Real Live Woman” near the same level of quality. Really, all of her Fundis-produced albums have been excellent. The only album he’s produced of hers that I don’t love is her debut CD – it sounds a bit too generic – but she was very green then.
December 8, 2007 at 2:05 pm Permalink
Interesting comments regarding her “best” album. I know a lot of people would call it Hearts in Armor, but I think there are just too many weak spots on that record for it really be considered a classic.
December 9, 2007 at 12:59 am Permalink
I’m trying to pull up a weak spot on “Hearts in Armor” in my mind and I’m drawing a blank. I guess that’s what makes it my favorite Trisha album, if not necessarily anyone else’s.
December 9, 2007 at 10:46 am Permalink
Oh, like I said, I think many people consider it their favorite Trisha album. It’s very, very good, no doubt–but I think it has some issues, not the least of which is that fact that half of the record has aged very poorly. Every album is, to an extent indicative of its era, but that album (at least the up-tempo) part of it, is saturated with way too much reverb and the chunky rhythms that were at the core of so much early 90s country music. Obviously, it’s impossible to tell how well Heaven will hold up over time, so I would compare Hearts in Armor to something a bit closer, chronologically speaking. Specifically, I’d compare it to Thinkin’ About You, which features what I would say is a better, more effective mix of songs, as well as songs which are more distinct individually.
December 13, 2007 at 8:40 pm Permalink
I would have to agree ” Hearts In Armor ” is the best Yearwood album. Followed by her self titled debut…but Heaven Heartache And The Power Of Love is yet another amazing album. I personally dont think Trisha Yearwood has put out a bad album. And when she covers a song …The eagles ” New Kid In Town ” she did. She makes it her own and blows the orginal out of the waters. Another example, ” Try Me Again ” from Real Live Woman. Yearwood remains one of the most talented voices working in music today ( and past )
January 2, 2008 at 6:28 pm Permalink
What can I say that this flawless and becoming review hasn’t said already. This album is awe-inspiring. Still, I would have to say it still isn’t my favorite Trisha Yearwood album either. Actually, no one even mentioned my favorite, Inside Out. I loved every song on that one and it was in my car’s disc changer for about 2 years non-stop … it’s still the only album to accomplish that. Not even Reba could do that …
January 3, 2008 at 1:13 am Permalink
I finally heard the Trisha Yearwood album and I was really really impressed.
I totally agree with your quote Jim that “the individual pieces of this album fit together snugly, pieces of puzzle that, when connected, form the portrait of a mature, complicated, and passionate real live woman.” That’s right on and very well put.
Just to be a stinker though, I wouldn’t really call this a country album. There were a couple of country moments on the record, but it sounded to me for the most part like a Broadway musical set in modern day Nashville (with the steel and occasional fiddles) and “Dreaming Fields” could have been straight out of Ragtime.
That’s not a bad thing mind you. I like musicals as a rule, and I consider them to be the gold standard in pop songwriting and performance. The music is sophisticated and intricately planned out, always well arranged, and the performers are some of the most highly trained and talented singers anywhere.
That being said, Broadway music is not country music, its incredibly good pop music.
Back to Trisha, I think that this was a great album, by far the best mainstream album I’ve heard in a really really long time, but is this the kind of album that Nashville should aspire to?
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