Lee Ann Womack - 'There's More Where That Came From'

Take me at my word when I offer high praise to Lee Ann Womack's new record, despite the following dubious facts about Womack:

1. She is currently on tour with Toby Keith.
2. She appeard at the Republican National Convention.
3. Her last studio record contained a lot of cheesed-up drivel that pretty much invalidated (and betrayed) a fairly respectable catalog up to that point.

So look past those substantial objections and know this: you're not likely to hear a more classic "Nashville record" (in the most positive sense) this year, possibly this decade. To be honest, I was fairly sure that Music City was incapable of churning out such a commercial masterpiece anymore. Full of double fiddle stops and weeping pedal steel (and other assorted stringed instuments in all their glory), Womack fulfills every ounce of potential she's ever shown to possibly save the Country music from the Gretchen Wilsons of the world. Maybe it was the total indifference that greeted her last record, the mostly mediocre (and occasionally wretched) Something Worth Leaving Behind. Womack has always had the pipes, but following the massive success of I Hope You Dance, MCA seemed hellbent on turning her into a dreaded crossover diva, and the strain has shown on her records. Now she's back in the saddle with the best mainstream Country album I've heard since Allison Moorer's debut album. Here's hoping she'll continue to mine this territory and maybe return to handpicking edgier material, such as the Buddy and Julie Miller songs that she has so often championed. Either way, There's More Where That Came From is a winner.