Her previous album was dark, gloomy and slow (quite good, but slow). This album is much more upbeat and up-tempo. The songs I enjoyed the most on this album were "Jesus on a Greyhound", "Killin Kind", and "I Can't Wait". "I Can't Wait" is probably the best on the album.


What happened?   November 17, 2001
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

A year ago, Shelby Lynne was the model of artistic integrity. After years of singing vapid, shallow 'new country' music, she completely abandoned the empty Nashville scene and decided to go her own way, writing her own songs, and on I Am Shelby Lynne, she announced her presence as an original Dusty Springfield-R & B-alt.country performer. Sometime after her surprise Best New Artist Grammy, though, something went terribly wrong. Her new album, Love, Shelby, is as awful as her previous cd was excellent, and, in fact, rings as hollow as the new country dreck she was singing years ago.

The person who should share the blame is producer Glen Ballard. The rock radio version of Diane Warren, Ballard steps in to resurrect stagnant careers to help album sales (Aerosmith, Dave Matthews), while sacrificing quality for overproduced fluff. His grimy corporate rock pawprints are all over this album: hip-hoppy beats to make Lynne sound 'street', layers of simultaneous acoustic and electric guitars, boring, hookless melodies, and layer upon layer of horns and strings. What made I Am Shelby Lynne so enjoyable was its musical subtlety and gentle ease...here, the tunes are as subtle as a baseball bat to the head.

The songs range from phony Spingsteen-aped sanctimony ('Jesus On A Greyhound'), embarrassing blues attempts ('Ain't It The Truth'), unoriginal balladry ('I Can't Wait'), and a ridiculous alt.country impersonation ('Tarpoleon Napoleon...hear the dobro? It must be authentic!). Lynne also has never been a good lyricist, but 'Ain't It The Truth' represents a career nadir. "Roses are red, bruises are blue"...ooh, thats sooo deep.

There's good stuff on the album, but it's buried beneath such an impenetrable veneer of overproduction that all feeling is lost. 'Wall In Your Heart', 'Trust Me', and 'Killin' Kind' would have all sounded better if it was recorded by someone more skilled in the studio. What we're left with are catchy tunes made for radio and album sales. Besides, three songs don't make an album. Plus, the eerily autobiographical cover of John Lennon's 'Mother' certainly doesn't live up to what I've heard her live version is like. Instead, it's maudlin and vacuous.

If it weren't bad enough, the cover photography clinches it, with Lynne kneeling in very cut-off cutoffs on a bed, in front of a strategically-placed mirror. Coupled with the softcore photo on the back, Lynne looks like a bleach blonde, trailer trash, aging lolita. Is this supposed to be ironic? Considering the false sincerity of the music within, any kind of irony or declaration of independence is lost on me.

In the film Ghost World, a band boasts to play 'traditional 12 bar blues', but just plays goofy rawk music that's more ZZ Top than R.L. Burnside. That's what Love, Shelby comes off as, but it's not as funny: it's pure poseur music, lacking soul. It's easy to blast all the manufactured children's pop music out there, but nothing's more disappointing than seeing a talented artist sacrifice integrity for fame and wealth. The sheer disappointment of Love, Shelby makes it my choice for worst album of the year.


I liked the more pop direction, in Shelby's hands   November 29, 2001
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I too have been a long time fan of Shelby Lynne; having stumbled upon a copy of "Temptation" in a bargin bin many years ago. As that album's country-swing shows, Shelby Lynne has been hard to categorize for awhile. Hearing that Glen Ballard was producing this album and reading a magazine article where she all but swears her eternal allegiance to him, I was very worried indeed. But what I think Ballard does do is help Shelby shape her natural pop sensabilities further in that direction. If you heard the radio version of "Gotta Get Back", then you shouldn't be surprised by this move. I also agree that repeated listens somehow manages to implant these songs in your head. I liked this album at first, now I love it and cannot stop listening to it. This is not a sequel to "I Am Shelby Lynne"; it is much more pop-rock, but tasteful, incredibly tuneful and handled very well in her hands. Her voice sounds great, she still has those awesome harmonies (again mostly with herself, save "Killin' Kind"). Her musical stories still affecting. Her natural dramatic quality is just translated into pop which makes it a little bigger and a little louder.
One sad point though, is that there is an "original version" of "Love, Shelby" that I think would have made this album great. I'm not sure why they scrapped that version. It's certainly not for poor song quality. It included three more tracks and a very different song order. With those three songs "Star Broker" (a very rock oriented tune), "Close to You" (very sweet adult contemporary) and "Break Me Open" (the original album closer and a sensational burning bluesy number), the album had more heft; not just added length but more musical textures; better echoing "I Am Shelby Lynne"'s journey through slightly different styles. Perhaps they'll release these songs as b-sides on singles. Find them if you can; you'll be more impressed.


Masterful Classic   February 20, 2002
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is my introduction to Shelby Lynn. I actually knew more and have enjoyed her sister Allison Moorer's country records. One of my buddies finally sent me a copy of the CD. What a gift! With the cover, I don't think I would ever have anticipated what a masterful classic "Love, Shelby" is. Percolating rhythms start the opening track "Trust Me" as the guitar magnificently drags across the melody with Shelby's alto so reminiscent of Dusty Springfield at her best. "Embrace the night and don't let go," Shelby sings in her sultry midtempo "Bend" urging us to "give into temptation." The next track comes on full blare, the perfect companion piece to Joan Osborne's "One of Us" that asks, "What if God was one of us, just another slob on the bus." In Shelby's song it's "Jesus on a Greyhound" as the guitar lumbers heavily through the piece. On "Wall In Your Heart" the pace slows to a soft whispering tune speaking about the isolation of the heart. "Roses are red," is the rap refrain re-echoed at the start of "Ain't It the Truth," a great soul rocker. Shelby is incredibly haunting as she sings, "I'm waiting on the day that somebody says they love me, 'I Can't Wait,'" a midtempo tune with such an aching wail on vocals. "Tarpoleon Napoleon" is a soft jazz torch ballad, "so full of mystery, open as a wound." There is a wonderful classic feel on the great soul tune "Killin' Kind." "All of a Sudden You Disappeared" is a meandering melody that mirrors the sense of one who wonders what's happened, punctuated with a punchy chorus. Knowing a bit about the singer's history with the family tragedy of the murder suicide of her parents, Shelby takes another piece of heart with the John Lennon classic "Mother" and smashes the forlorn wail of the chorus smack into the 21st Century. This is a CD of great music by a woman who is not at rest, but who is using the clash of inner turmoil to create some of the most moving music around. It rocks, it croons, it seduces and cajoles. It works for me.


Shelby Lynne has gone and done it again   May 12, 2002
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Shelby Lynne has gone and done it again, she's reminded me why I have been a fan of hers for 10 years and will be a fan forever.
It took a few spins to get my head into this album but now I can't stop playing it.
The second song Bend is one of the best, if you listen closely you can hear the happiness in Shelby's voice, it shows through in her performance.
Buy this album in the long run you won't be sorry.