Country, the Evil Way

Overall Album Score: 6.1 out of 10

First of all, the people in charge of arranging and producing this album were complete hacks and had no clue what they were doing. It's not even the fact that they incorporate studio musicians who only seem to have a rudimentary understanding of their instruments that bugs me... It's that VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE SONGS ARE SO BLAND, GENERIC AND UNIMAGINATIVE THAT IT HURTS. The worst offender of them all are the corny back-up singers whose evil presence the producers INSIST must be in every one of these songs. Not once do they sound good, and by the end of the album, it grates on my nerves. That aspect was so poorly conceived that I felt the need to mention how annoying they are in every one of my track reviews where they're present; they are precisely what ruins this album.

The thing is, this is a country-western album, and those corny vocals just make matters worse. I freely admit that I dislike most country-western music ....... but even I feel uncomfortable when incompetent producers defecate on the genre like this. To give you a frame of reference, I'd probably be "pleasantly bored" with this album if they axed those irritating back-up singers (preferably with a real axe), because the source material they use is usually well-chosen and melodic. Furthermore, Sinatra's voice seems essentially suited for this stuff unlike how she sounded in her jazz album Sugar. Country, My Way is a lost opportunity, indeed.

The only creative person associated with Nancy Sinatra is Lee Hazlewood who only contributes one song here, "By the Way (I Still Love You)." It's not such a bad tune, but the production destroys it. No wonder Hazlewood only forked over one song!! He ends up duetting with Sinatra in a cover, "Jackson," which happens to be one of the better songs here.

Easily the highlight of the album has nothing to do with country-western at all, and it sounds like this moron producer was far away from its conception, recording and mixing. "Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham" is a unique, lush treatment of a song that works despite all the odds. Sinatra's vocal performance is perfect and the unusual string arrangements (especially for a folk song that sounded designed to only be performed with an acoustic guitar and maybe a harmonica) gives it a weird but appealing atmosphere. That's just one good song out of the bunch, though. Buy it on iTunes if you're really that interested! There are a few other nice songs such as "End of the World," which has a good minute before the back-up singers come in.

In short, don't even think about getting this album. I would say "don't touch this album with a 10-foot pole," but I wouldn't want you to disgrace the pole. (For the record, I gave this album a somewhat respectable rating out of more technical aspects --- the melodies are usually good and Sinatra's vocals are great. These factors keep the album from completely sinking in the vat of toxic waste.)

Overall Album Score: 6.1 out of 10 (Previously it was butchered jazz classics and now it's even more maligned country classics. Don't let the evil spread further! I beg you!!)

Average Song Score: 6.9 (The songs are generally well-chosen and melodic. Why they still had to suck can only be explained by the evil forces of nature.)

Album Tilt: 5.5 (This has been one of the worst listening experiences in my recent history. I hate to drag it down this far, but it deserves much more than this.)

Artist Rating: 6.0 (They're idiots. Just smile and nod.)

Track Reviews

It's Such a Pretty World Today 6/10

From the first moments of this, I know I'm in for a life-demeaning experience! I'll have you know that I originally had this song scored much lower than I have it now... but that doesn't mean I don't hate this song's guts. It's bad enough that Nancy's singing country music now (a genre that I basically hate) but the producers have to incorporate the most cheesiest imaginable back-up singers ever. Come on!!! And of course the slide guitar, piano and the shuffley rhythm are all in their stereotypical places... The melodic source material isn't bad (though also stereotypical), but they sure made something hair-taringly horrendous out of it.

Get While the Gettin's Good 8.5/10

This is from Grand Old Opry composer Bill Anderson, and it also manages to be one of the better songs from the effort. Every single member of that cheesy chorus can choke on arsenic, but the upbeat nature of the song is done quite well. The melody is great and this all suits Sinatra's voice perfectly. So, count this one in as a hit. They should have started with this track.

Walk Through This World With Me 7/10

This album is so spotty that it's not even funny. It has a nice melody, but its pacing is so slow and lethargic (without anything redeeming in the arrangements) that it makes me YAWN. Maybe this is the sort of country music you're supposed to hear while you're relaxing under a shady tree, but I don't feel much like bringing this computer outside. So... there you go. Luckily, Sinatra's voice is great for the song. (What the heck is with those awful back-up singers? I hate to bring that up every time, but that's how awful they sound.)

Jackson 8/10

This is an old classic cover with her good friend Lee Hazlewood. The duet interchanges are too cutesy, and I get little pleasure listening to it. Though the melody is classic and this is kind of energetic and fun. The nice thing about this track is that it has a nice up-beat tempo. But they ruin it at the end when we hear Nancy chatting "Jackson" over and over again for no apparent reason. (Thank god they left out the back-up singers ... a decision that elevates this album to being one of the album's best tracks.)

When It's Over 6.5/10

I can't wait for this album to be over! A return to the mediocre produced and boring slow cowpoke ballads. The instrumentation here isn't necessarily misfired, but it gets so monotonous that I'm just going nuts... (The back-up singing is still stupid. Still an important point to repeat.)

Lay Some Happiness On Me 4/10

This makes me gasp in disgust every time it pops up. The melody is as corny and stupid as it gets. It's a shame they wasted one of their upbeat numbers on something this pedestrian. The instrumentation continues to be generic drivel, and AGAIN WITH THOSE BACK-UP SINGERS!!! The good news is that it doesn't get much worse than this.

Lonely Again 5.5/10

Damn all these slowly paced songs. I am absolutely bored, and I hate having to sit through this. This might have been a decent song in a different context, but my senses are shot. Everybody associated with this monotonous, generic piece of crap can all bite me. I'd rather be bleeding to death than listen to this song again... (OK, I exaggerated there, but ... I think you catch my drift.)

By the Way (I Still Love You) 7/10

Why is it that Lee Hazlewood only contributes one original composition to this album even though he's a country-western artist? ... I guess that just proves how messed up this album is. His song isn't that great anyway. Usually, the Hazlewood compositions seem to be better produced than this, but maybe he was sleeping or something. The melody is nice but the production is as bland as ever. (Dear back-up singers: Fargieutirr!!!!!)

Oh Lonesome Me 7/10

Surprise, surprise, here is a corny upbeat song, and a duet with Hazlewood (though he didn't write it). Who knows what they were thinking when they were arranging some of this (those "ohs" could not have been worse). But at least this is an upbeat tune, and I like that jazzy instrumental solo they come up with. Again, I don't like some of those interchanges in the duet... Why do they have to be so corny? This reminds me of a $20 Branson dinner-musical show that I once attended and wanted to gouge my eardrums out with the butter knife in front of me.

End of the World 8/10

This is a surprisingly pretty song that benefits from the lack of instrumentation. This started out so nicely with Sinatra delivering a sincere and pretty vocal performance, and then the idiot in charge of these arrangements attack it with rabies by (AGAIN) letting those crappy back-up singer to give their two cents.

Help Stamp Out Lonliness 6/10

They're not really picking horrible songs to cover. "Help Stamp Out Loneliness" is a workable enough of a melody and the verses bear an uncanny resemblance to Ringo Starr's "Don't Pass Me By" from The White Album released a year later. The chorus is awful and as corny as it gets thanks not just to a shoddy melody (which The Beatles wisely kept far, far away from their composition). Those singers should die a hundred deaths.

Highway Song 8/10

Talk about a change of pace. I'm halfway wondering if this is a bonus track because it's so out of place. I'm too lazy to find out for sure. This is more a tropicana clone, and the instrumentations seems rawer. The nice thing is the back-up singers are nowhere to be found (apart from some much more subdued vocalists that actually blend in well with the type of music they're singing). I don't think the actual song is well written --- it's pretty bland and hookless. But I do appreciate it when I don't have to listen to crappy country-western music.

Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham 9/10

This is an interesting song for Nancy to sing. It's a strange rendition of a folk song. The instrumentation consists of piddly guitars, full-scale glissando violins and a drummer doing whatever he feels like... In short, this is a pretty damn good song despite it all. For once, the strange forces came together and produced something unique and fun to hear. The backup singers are actually soulful and constructive (and far from those cheesy hacks I complained endlessly about). Oh yeah. This is the best song of the album by far!!

Are You Growing Tired of My Love? 7/10

This one isn't so great. The chorus is pretty horrible! The cheesy background singers return, but for some reason they're not grating on my nerves. Maybe my nerves are so shot that nothing's annoying me anymore! The production is a little murkier here compared to the previous tracks, which strongly suggests that these weren't included with the original album. Well that doesn't matter, 'cos they're definitely here and I'm hearing them! This isn't country-western either --- it's just a normal, middle-of-the-road pop song that doesn't go anywhere. That's vintage Nancy Sinatra for you.

I do wonder if you'll send me your thoughts about this album here.