All The Women I Am (CD/DVD Combo Deluxe Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's been a bit of a while since we've been treated to new music from country music megastar Reba McEntire who is simply going by "Reba" these days. All the Women I Am is McEntire's 34th studio album (seriously) and she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. She channels all of her years of experiences into this new album that has tracks that touch on everything from motherhood to being a divorced woman in today's world. With Dann Huff, who produced albums for Faith Hill and Keith Urban, at the helm you'd expect this to be a real all-out country affair. Not quite, unfortunately. All The Women I Am is good, but not one of Reba's best as it lacks a focus that her music and past albums have had.
The Good: There are some good tracks in this collection and most of those tracks are within the first half of the album. The album's first track (and first single) "Turn on the Radio" has Reba playing the role of jilted lover who's breaking up with her former love and telling me he'll have no access to her beyond hearing her voice and songs on the radio. This track's style doesn't sound much like the Reba McEntire we're used to and has her singing a song with lyrics that seem destined for Carrie Underwood but she does well on this country/pop song and obviously has a lot of fun with the change in style. Reba adds another great cover song to her collection by taking on Beyoncé's "If I Were A Boy." There's no need to worry - Reba and her producers add a country twang and new instruments to the background to make this a real country affair and for the first time in a while we get to hear a song where McEntire really stretches her voice. I liked that though many are familiar with this song that Reba's treatment of it doesn't really sway far from the original but she sounds just as emotionally tied to the lyrics as Beyoncé. "The Bridge You Burn" is probably the most country, and perhaps the best song, on the album, period. With guitars and banjo picking and flairs of blue grass and old-time country songs, the song is classic Reba with her comforting a woman who's suffering from a broken heart and telling her she'll find a better love soon enough. These tracks were among the best and encompass the qualities that have made Reba a household name and mainstay in country music. They each pack a punch but neatly show off the different sides of her personality.
The Bad: There are just some songs on 'All The Women I Am' that sound as if Reba just isn't sure of what her sound is these days or has her experimenting just a bit too much. "The Day She Got Divorced" stands out in my mind as a track that while good and it has a story within the lyrics, it stands out like a sore thumb on this album and isn't something I'd want to listen to beyond one time. "When You Have a Child" is nice but it's nothing unique lyric and music wise. The title track "All the Women I Am" is a good track with great lyrics but the instrument backing sounds a bit weak and lacks the punch that the lyrics and words of the song has. What I missed from these tracks and a few others was the lack of Reba's signature vocals running throughout the album. She seems to take a backseat to a lot of these songs and only shines on a few tracks. The other tracks feel as if anyone with half of her talent and voice could have pulled them off.
In all, it's a decent album and one that I'd probably give 3 and half stars to. This is not Reba McEntire's best and it even pales in comparison to her last release. Still, anytime we get new music from Reba it's an occasion worth celebrating. Though not all the songs are strong, there are plenty worth putting on repeat. I've come to realize that with this release we're given a sampling of the Reba over the years: the tracks and styles touch upon the different moods, genres and styles she's taken on over the course of her career (thus all the different "women" she's exuded).
Listen To These: "The Bridge You Burn", "Somebody's Chelsea", "If I Were A Boy"

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Reba's 34th career studio album highlights include the smash hit, "Turn On the Radio," the break-out "Somebody's Chelsea," co-written by Reba, as well as the superstar's popular cover of Beyonce's hit, "If I Were A Boy," which became a viral sensation when she first performed the song on CMT Unplugged earlier this year.ALL THE WOMEN I AM, marks Reba's first project with award-winning producer Dann Huff (Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts) and her second album for The Valory Music Co.The Limited Deluxe Edition of ALL THE WOMEN I AM includes an interview and video performances of Reba's 4-week #1 "Consider Me Gone," the Top 10 hit "Strange," "I Want a Cowboy," and "Eight Crazy Hours (In The Story of Love)" from Reba's recent AOL Sessions. The bonus DVD will also include Reba's much buzzed-about performance of "If I Were A Boy" on CMT Unplugged. In addition, theLimited Deluxe Edition will include a dance remix of "I Want A Cowboy" and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the "Turn On The Radio" video as well as the "Turn On The Radio" music video itself.

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