Anne Murray Album: “Country Croonin'”

Anne's hitmaking days are over and she now seems content to record covers. I don't mind that, because Anne has a lovely, warm voice which is well suited to these classics. This time, Anne has covered a great selection of songs, mostly from the fifties and sixties although there are songs from other periods too.

It has always been difficult to classify Anne's music and this album confirms that difficulty, since many of the original artists were country singers who went pop, or pop singers who sang country. Most of the songs are covers of songs associated with Eddy Arnold, the Everly brothers, Don Gibson, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis. Les Paul and Mary Ford, Ray Charles and Patsy Cline, as I showed on one of my Listmania lists.

This is not the first time Anne has covered the Everly brothers as she recorded a brilliant version of Walk right back in the late seventies. Anne clearly loves Tennessee waltz (which was a huge hit for Patti Page and also a big hit for Les Paul and Mary Ford), having previously recorded it for the same album (Let's keep it that way) that included Walk right back.

I don't have any particular favorites, perhaps because I got exactly what I expected. Some people complain that Anne is too predictable, but that's exactly why I love about her music. It won't win any new fans for her, but if you enjoy Anne's previous music, you will enjoy this, because Anne's voice is as good as ever.

Having once been a fan of Ms. Murray early on in her career, I had, with the exception of buying an occasional album now & then, pretty much lost track of her. However, a couple of years ago, after being given a "What A Wonderful World" CD as a gift, I immediately became a "born-again" fan. I remember thinking that, this is it - she will never sound - or make another album -any better than this. I was wrong. With "Country Croonin'", that once stunningly pure voice has matured, warmed, & ripened into absolute gold! One need not be a fan of country music - or of Anne Murray for that matter - to thoroughly fall in love with this beautifully made - in every aspect - album.

Anne Murray you ROCK!!! Best CD of hers that I've heard. And I love all her CD's. What an awesome choice of songs. I just love familiar songs sung by my favorite artists as this CD does. And a 2 CD set as this one is is great. My favorites are Help Me Make It Through The Night, You Don't Know Me, Bye Bye Love, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Oh Lonesome Me. I don't know if I could of done better in picking these songs. But, I would of loved to pick some songs for her to sing like "Guess Who" written by J. Belvin, or a few songs written by the Osmonds like " Do You Want Me?", "Tears On My Pillow" or "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) written by L. Bricusse, or "Other Side Of Me" by Neil Sedaka. They may not be country songs but they fall into her category of songs to sing. Keep it up Anne, your voice is still as beautiful as ever. And hopefully some of the songs I listed above will be on your next CD.....

Obviously these are songs that Anne grew up with. She slips into them with greater ease than she did in her brilliant "Croonin'" album.

But these are songs that I heard growing up too, but as my Dad sang them. It's really uncanny that she picked this collection of songs because I think she got every one my Dad use to sing.

The quality of the recording is really high and Anne's voice is in fine form. Her deep rich voice seems the most intimate and powerful when it has less accompanyment. Most of the arrangements on this album are thankfully sparse, but I feel disappointed by the back-up vocals that are totally unimaginative on a few songs (just a few). Always On My MInd could even reach a new signature status here, if it weren't for the mushy back-up vocals in the middle... otherwise Anne demonstrates a heartfelt tender vulnerability that rivals Willie Nelson's version.

Let It Be Me, her duet with Vince Gill is astonishingly good. Her low voice (for a woman) and his high voice (for a man) blend together to create harmonies that are so precise as to be eerie. This may be her best duet ever!

She does a couple of Everly Brothers songs on this album and they are just keen!... full of life and fun.

I've also bought a copy of this CD for my Dad. After him hearing me playing Anne Murray over the years, we'll see how he feels she's done with his faves.

This is a great piece of work... Give it a try!

...Anne Murray can simply take any song and make it her own and masterfully deliver it. This album takes classic country songs from the 40's up through today and has the listener reflect back in time and take the journey with Anne....her takes on HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT, OH LONESOME ME, LET IT BE ME (WITH VINCE GILL), END OF THE WORLD, ME AND BOBBY MCGEE, ALWAYS ON MY MIND, TIL I KISSED YOU, LOVING ARMS, I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU, I FALL TO PIECES and ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM are the standout tracks! However, every song is so well done! Her alto is so clear...you can understand every word and be swept into the easy listening world of Anne Murray....anyone who likes good ole music...go get this now! 30 tracks of pure bliss by one of the best female artists to grace the world!