Dreamin' My Dreams

by

Patty Loveless

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Prime Cuts: Nobody By that Name, Everything But the Words, Never Ending Song of Love

When it comes to being a matchmaker for contemporary country and mountain-soul tradition, Patty Loveless is peerless. Following the precedence set by 2003's "Find Your Way Home," "Dreamin' My Dreams" continues to show the folks at Music Row how to be commercial without sacrificing an iota of sonic warmth. Thanks are in order to Loveless' hubby Emory Gordy and Lonestar's producer Justin Niebank for striking just the right balance. Another highlight of course is Loveless' rich, pliant and laser penetrating voice: No one can bend notes into such a bluesy snarl as this Kentucky native can. Further, when this former CMA winner croons a sad ballad, a besotted ache exudes from the speakers that sends lonely chills down the spine. Having championed for Nashville's finest songwriters, Loveless has brought big names such as Leslie Satcher, Jim Lauderdale, Richard Thompson, Tony Arata, Lee Roy Parnell, Steve Earle, Delbert McClinton to satisfy her interpretative palate. Such diversity of songwriters has certainly added a melange of color, depth and texture to the album.

Teeming with an irresistible Southern sass, Loveless struts her way through Richard Thompson's "Keep Your Distance" with confidence and dignity. Reuniting with the king of Bakersfield country Dwight Yoakam, their spirited performance on the Delaney Bramlett's classic "Never Ending Song of Love" is top notch stuff. After almost 15 years since their last duet, it's almost as if time had stood still as Yoakam's nasal twangy trollop perfectly contrasts Loveless fire-and-brimstone boldness on this evergreen declaration of love. Despite the recent lack of traffic by Loveless at the upper tier of the country charts, the Loveless/Gordy tune "Big Chance" ought to turbo Loveless back into the top slot. Like Dolly Parton's infectiously catchy "Marry Me," "Big Chance" is an old fashioned-sounding tune narrating a love-struck protagonist telling her parents of her new-found flame.

Baring her soul to the naked flame of heartbreak, the Tony Arata and Pete Wasner ballad "Nobody By That Name" joins the lofty ranks of classics such as "Find My Way Home," "Nothing But the Wheel," "You Don't Know Who I Am," as living and breathing testimonies that a broken heart can sing. The demise of romance has never been more blatant as these lines: "I can tell by lookin' at the shadows across the wall/Without pickin' up, who it is, who decided to call/It's late and you're all tore down/You woke up darlin' and found/You ran another one off and you want somebody to blame/But there's nobody here by that name." Jim Lauderdale and Leslie Satcher have crafted another winner with the "When Being Who You Are is Not Enough." Though not as stark, "When Being Who You Are," with its theme of baring the soul, equally strikes a cord in the heart. "Everything But the Words," another Satcher/Lauderdale ballad, finds a tongue-tied Loveless not knowing how to express her feelings to her sweetheart. The restrained, yet hauntingly beautiful, melody only showcases what a classic this is. Reaching into the lofty heights of spirituality is the gospel-like "When I Reach the Place I'm Going" which Loveless first recorded in 1996 for the AIDS researched project "Red, Hot and Country."

Whatever the groove, tempo or subject matter, Loveless stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Over the years, many female artists have come and gone. But after almost two and half decades, Loveless is still singing with absolute authority and there's still more under her wings. "Dreaming My Dreams" is country music that matters. And this is definitely a strong contender for album of the year.