Patty Loveless

Strong Heart

not worth 3 years of waiting

Review Score:

(4/10)
As a musician and a diehard Patty Loveless fan, it is hard to understand how this collection of mostly forgettable, mediocre "B" sides is the best she and Emory could come up with after 3 years. Patty's voice is straight from the heart, but it seems thin and strained against the overinstrumentalization on a number of these songs. "Thirsty" with Travis Tritt is excellent: two mega talents with spare, acoutic backing to show them off. This one has the most musical honesty of any on the album. The others sounds as if they were written by market researchers, as if a decision had been made by Patty's handlers to lower her previously impeccable standards to pander to an increasingly juvenile and undiscriminating radio audience. Why do this? It didn't work before, why are they still trying? I can't help but think, if Patty had the courage and wisdom (or were simply allowed by her handlers) to sing what she loves, she could transcend genre and achieve the legendary status of an Emmylou Harris. At this point in her life, you'd think that's what she would want, and she certainly deserves it. Anybody who knows music acknowledges she is absolutely one of the finest talents in country music. ("Tear Stained Letter" got a very warm reception in alternative radio; I never understood why it wasn't released on country radio also.) It's such a shame to see her trying to play the POP game. I knew we were in trouble when the album lead off with the bubble gum "You're so cool," whose lyrics are not clever, but rather are insipid, as is the music. It's okay to just have fun, but it still ought to be good music, and this isn't. Also, Patty knows she is counted on to deliver a fabulous rocker from time to time, and hers have been the BEST. But all three attempts on this album are only good enough to dance to, they are not good enough to be on a Patty Loveless album. Simply put, Patty is the best of the best of the best, and this material, with one or two exceptions, is simply beneath her. I await the day when she breaks free and makes the traffic-stopping music she's capable of. I have every one of her albums and play them all at least 5 times a year. I love her voice, her soul, her humility, her down-to-earthness, her spiritual maturity, and I wish her the very best. I also respect Emory's arrangements and production on all the past albums, which are wisely restrained and showcase her awesome voice. But this album is simply a mistake. It may or may not be commercially successful, but musically it's pretty much fluff. I agree with the AMAZON reviewer that it would be interesting to hear Patty sing some Steve Earle songs (I always thought "My Old Friend the Blues" would be a knockout if Patty sang it), and there are other excellent songwriters around. So what happened?

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