Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine [-] Lee Ann Womack began recording a sequel for MCA Nashville after 2008s Call Me Crazy, but none of its advance singles stuck, leading the singer to shift direction for her seventh studio album. This album didnt appear until 2014, not on Universal but on Sugar Hill/Welk, who picked up The Way Im Livin, an album that effectively reboots her career. Produced by Frank Liddell -- Womacks husband but more notably the producer behind recent hit records by Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, David Nail, and the Eli Young Band -- The Way Im Livin finds the veteran singer intentionally abandoning the chart race for deeply felt intimacy. Womack didnt write any of the songs on The Way Im Livin -- a collection of writers ranging from Bruce Robison, Kenny Price, Julie Miller, and Mindy Smith to Hayes Carll and Neil Young bear credits -- but the material is so carefully selected, the album plays personally. Naturally, this is a testament to Womacks skills as a singer -- shes never been more nuanced, sliding into the lyrics, laying back sometimes, leaning into the lyrics elsewhere, all the twists giving the songs an earthiness that grounds the record -- but also to Liddells lithe production, which never draws attention to itself. The Way Im Livin maintains an easy, mellow vibe but it contains plenty of sly, unexpected turns; the title track is dressed in sympathetic strings, Chances Are glides on a steamy Southern soul crawl, Sleeping with the Devil echoes with the memories of forgotten country classics. Theres pleasure within the sounds Womack and Liddell make with their crack supporting musicians and the songs resonate emotionally, their themes of love, regret, and maturity enhancing each other. In that sense, The Way Im Livin plays like a classic album: its a record where the sum is greater than the individual parts. The Way Im Livin I met the devil on the side of the road one day He said “how do you do?” I said it’s hard to say So he smiled at me with a wicked grin He reached into his coat and then He gave me a bottle full of something sweet Said I’ll fill it up every time we meet Oh mama the way that I’m livin Lyin’ and a sinnin’ and I just change Oh mama the way that I’m livin If I ever get to heaven it’s a doggone shame One little drop is all it took To get my name in his book Now I sleep all day and I’m out all night And I can’t tell wrong from right You know I’d change if I could But being bad, it feels so good Oh mama the way that I’m livin Lyin and a sinnin and I just change Oh mama the way that I’m livin If I ever get to heaven it’s a doggone shame On the day I die when they lay me down I know where my soul is bound And don’t you cry, and don’t you weep Cause it’s too late to rescue me If you see the devil com in your way Get down on your knees And start to pray Oh mama the way that I’m livin Lyin and a sinnin and I just change Oh mama the way that I’m livin If I ever get to heaven it’s a doggone shame https://youtube/watch?v=0JF2VmrvN9g
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 18:05:53 +0000
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