LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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In 1996, LeAnn Rimes burst out of nowhere with her debut single "Blue," which immediately captured the attention of country fans across America. It wasn't just the fact that her rich, powerful vocals were remarkably similar to Patsy Cline's – it was the fact that Rimes was only 13 years old. Like Tanya Tucker and Brenda Lee before her, she had a hit with her debut single and was barely a teenager at the time. It was quite an auspicious way to begin a career. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, but raised in Garland, Texas, Rimes (born August 28, 1982) began singing as a child, performing at local talent contests. At the age of 11, she released her first album on an independent label called Nor Va Jak. That same year, Bill Mack, a Dallas disc jockey and record promoter, met Rimes and, impressed by her talents, he took her under his wing and began cultivating a plan to break her into the mainstream. The cornerstone of Mack's plan was a song called "Blue," which he had written in the '60s. Mack claimed that he had written the tune for Cline, but she had died before she was able to record the song.

Throughout 1995, Rimes' career continued to gain momentum, as she performed more than 100 concerts and appeared on television shows across Texas. After Mack arranged a recording contract for Rimes with Curb Records, the label sent out a press release with the single of "Blue" that claimed the DJ had been waiting over 30 years to find the right vocalist to sing it. The story was an exaggeration: "Blue" had been recorded by no less than three different artists, including Bill Mack and Kenny Roberts, who both released versions on Starday in the '60s, and in 1993, Kathryn Pitt released the record as a single in her native Australia. Nevertheless, the story was repeated throughout the country and mainstream music press, adding to the growing myth that Rimes was the successor to Cline's tradition. "Blue" and its accompanying album of the same name became major hits in the summer of 1996.

Blue debuted at number three on the pop charts, selling over 123,000 copies within its first week of release – one of the largest figures to date in the history of the SoundScan tracking system. Rimes was nominated for the Country Music Association Horizon award and the CMA Best Country Singer, becoming the youngest singer in the history of the CMA awards to receive a nomination; she won neither award. After two quickie 1997 releases – Unchained Melody: The Early Years and You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs – she issued her second proper LP, Sittin' on Top of the World, in 1998. Her self-titled third album followed a year later, and I Need You appeared in early 2001. The next year, Rimes emerged with a sexy flair for the pop-oriented Twisted Angel, but returned to contemporary country in 2005 with This Woman. Her 2006 effort, Whatever We Wanna, found her going back to pop and was released exclusively in Europe. In 2007, she kicked off the Evan Almighty soundtrack with the gospel rave-up "Ready for a Miracle," appeared on Hal Ketchum's single "In Front of the Alamo," and began promoting her next album, Family, with the single "Nothing Better to Do."

Rimes spent 2008 on tour with Kenny Chesney, then returned in 2011 with the Vince Gill and Darrell Brown-produced Lady & Gentlemen, a collection of classic country tunes reinterpreted from a female perspective. Over the next few years, Rimes continued to work on Spitfire, the album that would conclude her contract with Curb. It was originally promised for 2012 but was pushed back to 2013, eventually surfacing on digital services in May and then released physically in June. Spitfire debuted (and peaked) at 36 on the Billboard charts and spawned no hits. In 2014, she announced that she would release a series of seasonal holiday EPs over the next three years, beginning with 2014's One Christmas. Within a year, the holiday EP project turned into a standard full-length holiday LP, with Today Is Christmas appearing in the fall of 2015. During October of 2016, Rimes released Remnants in the U.K.; the album appeared in the U.S. in February 2017.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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With this fabulous record that brought joy and fun to all avid listeners of country music, LeAnn Rimes arrived just in the nick of time, when country needed it most, amidst all the regulars of the scene such as Garth Brooks, Holly Dunn, etc. The record is a delightful free-for-all of sassy pick-me-up country that spells GOLD in many sorts of ways. Of course, the sleeper hit is "Blue," Rimes' radio-friendly airplay single that landed her a Grammy at the tender young age of 15. "Blue" – both the song and the record as a whole – certainly should and does affect listeners in a charismatic and lighthearted way. At the time, since she was still a teen herself, this collection of songs meant so much to Rimes and her adoring fans; it inspired thousands of teens then and continues to inspire them through to this day. Perhaps people of any age or style of interest will feel youthful again after a good listen and a half. This record of songs written by the best songwriters in country music served as a stepping stone for Rimes, and was deservedly a breakthrough album for the country music scene.

Review by Shawn M. Haney, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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As the official sequel to Blue (Unchained Melody was a collection of early recordings), You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs carried a lot of expectations. It was a record that should have consolidated LeAnn Rimes' status as contemporary country's brightest new star, but instead it does a curious thing – it positions her as an adult contemporary crossover artist. You Light Up My Life has as much pop as country, relying on such easy listening standards as the title track, "The Rose," and "God Bless America." As a result, the album has a bit of a bland, homogenous quality – it certainly could have used a bit of country grit. Rimes sings well throughout You Light Up My Life, but she often doesn't seem to connect completely with the material – it's telling that a remix of her previous hit "How Do I Live" stands out as one of the finest cuts here. You Light Up My Life is far from disastrous – Rimes has too much natural talent to be sunk by poorly chosen material – but it isn't the great leap forward it could have been.

Review by Thom Owens, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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Following the success of Blue, the album Unchained Melody: The Early Years, a collection of recordings made prior to her breakthrough, was issued. Considering LeAnn Rimes was only 13 when "Blue" became a hit makes the whole notion of "early years" a tad bizarre, but, in fact, they were recorded when the gal was in her preteen post-moppet stage. The recordings on this collection, which range from a note-for-note remake of the Whitney Houston version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" to the Beatles' "Yesterday" and a countrified version of the title track, cover a wide of array of styles, and are all covers, save for the 1980s-sounding "Share My Love." This album is essentially a LeAnn Rimes vocal showcase, as though the young lass had been set loose in a karaoke booth, which results in a record without any sort of real emotion or depth. Still, it works as something of an oddity, and the vocal chops, considering the source, are nothing less than astounding.

Review by Jose F. Promis, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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Truth be told, the "country" label doesn't quite fit LeAnn Rimes. True, her debut single, "Blue," sounded like a lost honky tonk classic, but You Light Up My Life suggested that she wanted to be an adult contemporary crooner. Her third album (and, in many ways, the official follow-up to Blue), Sittin' on Top of the World, may be called country, but it's an adult contemporary album by any other name. Only three songs have any country feel to them, and they just barely fit that description – there may be steel guitars on "These Arms of Mine," and "Rock Me" may shuffle, but they hardly feel country. Most of the record consists of overarranged mid-tempo pop songs, as produced by her father, Wilbur. There's no denying that Rimes is quite talented and, given the proper guidance, could definitely make some great music, but Wilbur has selected a batch of material that's either inappropriate (really, Prince's "Purple Rain"?) or faceless. He's also pushed her to oversing, in hopes that it would sell the songs, but the truth of the matter is, she sounds best when she's relaxed and natural. And that's what's so frustrating about Sittin' on Top of the World – Rimes' gifts and personality surface just often enough to make you realize that this blandly pleasant album could have been much, much better.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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Essentially, LeAnn Rimes is a covers album, with one new song ("Big Deal") tacked onto the end, which makes it a return to her roots – which, in turn, means that it's sort of a salute to her main influence, Patsy Cline. Rimes tackles no less than five songs from Cline's 12 Greatest Hits, plus "Lovesick Blues," which Cline also recorded. It's a tricky situation for a singer pegged as a Cline soundalike with her first hit single, "Blue." If those comparisons bother Rimes, it's impossible to tell from her performance, since she sings these six songs exactly like Cline does. As it turns out, imitation is a crutch Rimes uses quite often, since she mimics Janis Joplin on "Me and Bobby McGee" and pretty much uses Marty Robbins as a guide vocal on "Don't Worry." Since she has a good voice and these are, by and large, great songs, it's hard to complain – given the best set of songs of her career, she delivers good, professional performances, stumbling only on "Me and Bobby McGee" with Joplin-like histrionics. So, LeAnn Rimes winds up being one of her better efforts, even if her vocals are fairly mannered and the arrangements are fairly predictable. But the most curious thing about this covers album is that Rimes turns in her best performance on the lone new track. She sounds loose, confident and exciting on "Big Deal," and even more importantly, she never sounds like one of her idols – she sounds like herself. And since it comes at the end of the record, you can't help but wish she'd recorded an album of new, pure country songs as good as "Big Deal" instead of a collection of covers, no matter how well she sang those covers.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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With all the American flag imagery on the packaging, it's a good bet that this post-September 11, 2001, compilation benefited the disaster recovery – even though no such promise is made on the insert. It does say, "These classic recordings were made while America was first discovering LeAnn Rimes." The obvious intention was to gather some of Rimes' inspirational and love songs that would uplift and encourage during the national crisis, and also make a nice little stocking stuffer that fits the patriotic mood. It's a nice cross section of American classics (her version of "God Bless America" is a showstopper), Christian-themed gems ("The Sands of Time," "Middle Man"), and even a soft-spoken country-pop version of "The Lord's Prayer." "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart" is the one tune that actually goes beyond the heartfelt and into the truly fun. Her a capella version of "Amazing Grace" is also an impressive showcase for her well-known vocal chops.

Review by Jonathan Widran, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes - Albums Collection 1996-2007 (11CD)

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LeAnn Rimes' new album titled I Need You is not a country album… but then it never claimed to be. Now how refreshing is that? Finally we have an artist who is straightforward about the fact that she wants to sing pop music. None of that whole "pop music in the disguise of a bad country album" scenario. At least she's honest.
The album itself was originally released last year, but for whatever reason it is being released again this year, with some additional material. All the tracks on the original release are on this one, including two songs from the "Coyote Ugly" soundtrack. The version of "But I Do Love You" is not the one occasionally heard on country radio.
The other songs a mix of ballads and mid-tempo AC brand pop. Not bad, by any means, but not a lot stands out as exceptional. I do like the duet with Elton John titled "Written In The Stars." I admit I'm a bit surprised how well the two sound together.
The first additional track is "Light The Fire Within," the song LeAnn performed in the Opening Ceremony of the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Nice song, the lyrics are inspirational, but I don't think it would make a very radio friendly song. The other extra material on the CD consists of dance mix versions of "Can't Fight The Moonlight," "But I Do Love You," "Soon," and "I Need You." Now, I'm not sure what the point was for these bonus tracks. It's the same song, performed the same way as the other version; it just has dance music and a little echo in the background. It sounds like they literally took the voice track for these songs and just electronically put in the dance rhythm. They don't fit and they sound awkward.
LeAnn Rimes has a lot of talent. She proved that from the very beginning. What she needs to do is develop a style all her own. Maybe when she figures out who LeAnn is, what LeAnn sings, and down what avenue LeAnn wants to take her career, maybe then she'll live up to her full potential.

Review by Trisha Huenke, Country Music

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Freed from her lawsuits, separated from the managerial control of her father, and now an adult, LeAnn Rimes redefines herself as a mainstream pop vocalist with Twisted Angel. If the title and the tarted-up sultry photographs didn't offer a clue that Rimes is no longer a country vocalist, the very first cut immediately offers proof that she's positioning herself somewhere between grown-up dance-pop and youthful adult contemporary. This is music for the hip middle of the road, then, which isn't a bad career move at all, since there's a void there with the absence of Whitney Houston, the breakdown of Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera's bizarre insistence to strip instead of sing. Rimes certainly has the voice for the crossover she desires, and the production is commercial, glossy, and ready for the radio, often appealingly so. All the basics are in place, but there are a couple of stumbling blocks on the road to success. First, there may not be an audience for it: even though this is well done, it is so pop it will alienate her older fans, and she needs to win over an older audience that may not be taken with her newly sexualized image. Second, the songwriting is a little uneven; often, it's very good workmanlike mainstream pop, but there are a couple of duds (namely, the irritating chorus on the "sassy" "Trouble With Goodbye"), and even the best material is melodic without being hooky or memorable. But the biggest problem is that the production and attitude on Twisted Angel kind of fall through the cracks in 2002, when teen pop is dead and mainstream pop is veering away from divas and toward quirkier, friendlier singers like Vanessa Carlton, Avril Lavigne, and Michelle Branch. Twisted Angel is far from that attitude – it sounds like a holdover from 1996, and it's not bad at all according to those standards. But it does sound dated. This isn't a bad direction for LeAnn Rimes by any means, but next time around, she'd be better served by less Desmond Child and a sharper set of songs, plus a production that would ease her onto the modern mainstream radio where she so desperately wants to be.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes has taken so many twists and turns in her career that it's hard to know what to expect whenever she delivers a new record. Is she returning to the neo-traditional country that made her a star at 14? Is she singing country-pop, or trying to be a straight-up mainstream pop singer? Since she's dabbled in all of these styles since her 1996 debut, Blue, suffering upheavals in her management and label in the process, it's hard to tell exactly where Rimes fits into either country or pop music in 2005, nearly a full decade after her commercial breakthrough. It's even harder to tell if Rimes has a clear musical identity outside of her powerhouse voice and a desire to keep selling records. As long as she kept making solid records, this vagueness didn't really matter, but her 2002 stab at dance-pop and adult contemporary pop arrived too late and was too awkward to succeed, which was quite a surprise after her lithe crossover with the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. Its successor, 2005's This Woman, is a corrective measure, stripping away the sexiness and post-Britney pretensions of Twisted Angel and steering toward the middle ground between adult contemporary and contemporary country. This is territory that Shania Twain and Faith Hill abandoned as they became slick, sexy superstars, and it suits Rimes well. The tunes on This Woman are on a smaller, friendlier scale than those on Come On Over or Breathe, but their modesty is appealing, particularly because the melodies are sturdy and the production is polished without being too glossy. There are no knockouts here, but on a song-for-song basis, This Woman is her strongest album yet, not least because it's the record where Rimes sounds the most comfortable, where she's not yearning for pop hits or aping her idols. This is a sound and format that fits LeAnn Rimes, and with any luck she'll continue in this vein for a while – but given her track record, it's reasonable to doubt that she will, so enjoy This Woman while it rides the country and adult pop charts.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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In the summer of 2006 LeAnn Rimes was only 23 years of age, and yet Whatever We Wanna was the 16th album release in her career thus far (including hits albums and oldies compilations). For a supposed country music star, she now had hit albums in an R&B style, and Whatever We Wanna was most definitely veering toward gaining her a rock audience – not credible rock in the sense of Stevie Nicks or Pat Benatar, but AOR country crossover as Shania Twain and Faith Hill had successful managed before her (especially the song "A Little More Time," which could indeed have been Twain singing rather than Rimes). The rock angle was heaviest on the album's opening song, "Satisfied," as well as the title track, but Rimes slowed everything down to her usual country-influenced ballad style on "Strong," "This Life," "Some People," and "For the First Time," the latter of which was reminiscent of a Heart power ballad. As would be expected on a song featuring Brian McFadden (formally of Westlife), "Everybody's Someone" was also a slow ballad introduced by a piano, and surprisingly given his status as a guest on her album, McFadden opens the first verse with his sugary voice. Leann Rimes had co-writing credits on nine of the 15 songs. The release of Whatever We Wanna was delayed in the U.S. due to the ongoing success of her previous album, This Woman.

Review by Sharon Mawer, Allmusic.com

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LeAnn Rimes planned to succeed This Woman, her 2005 return to country, with a pop album called Whatever We Wanna in 2006, but as This Woman continued to sell steadily in the U.S., that album wound up seeing the light of day only in Europe. Instead of issuing Whatever We Wanna in America in 2007, Rimes released an entirely different, brand-new album called Family, a record that was closer to country than her 2006 Europop excursion. Of course, this makes it tailor-made for the American market, where she is still seen primarily as a country singer, not a pop star, but Family isn't quite a crass commercial move. Instead, it's her first album of all original material (many co-written with Dean Sheremet, Blair Daly, and Darrell Brown in some combination or another), which makes this a bit of a relative risk, as Rimes has been known as song interpreter, not a songwriter, in the decade she's been recording. Then again, Rimes hasn't exactly been complacent during those ten years: she's recorded everything from classic country to dance-pop, dabbling in adult contemporary crossovers, inspirational music, and even rockabilly along the way. She's learned a lot in those explorations, as evidenced by Family, which may not touch on everything she's done but is surprisingly far-ranging underneath its soft country-pop veneer. There may be just a bit too much of the smooth crossover material here, particularly on the first half of the record, but beneath that gloss there are some sturdy songs, songs that play like a blend of Reba McEntire and early Dixie Chicks. Also, as the album rolls on, Rimes loosens up, first with the sunny party tune "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine," then eventually rolling to the swaggering Marc Broussard duet "Nothin' Wrong," which kicks up some genuine dirt, and then culminating in the slow, soulful crawl of "One Day Too Long." On songs like these, Rimes illustrates her range as a singer along with some true strength as a writer, and they help make Family a canny blend of the commercial and the confessional – an album that feels heartfelt, yet is as accessible and enjoyable as her best records.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com