All the Women I Am

Personnel: Ilya Toshinsky (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin); Dann Huff (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo); Jerry McPherson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); J.T. Corenflos , Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar, dobro); Bruce Bouton (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan, Jonathan Yudkin (fiddle); Charlie Judge (strings, horns, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Mark Douthit (saxophone); Steve Nathan (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Jimmy Nichols (piano, Wurlitzer organ); Gordon Mote (piano); Scott Williamson, Shannon Forrest (drums); David Huff (percussion, programming); Eric Darken (percussion); Cherie Oakley, Angela Primm, Vicki Hampton, Russell Terrell, Joanna Janet, Jenifer Wrinkle (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Steve Marcantonio.
Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Starstruck Studios, Nashville, TN.
Photographers: Russ Harrington; Justin Nolan Key.
When Reba McEntire released Keep on Loving You in 2009, it debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 and Country charts simultaneously; it scored three Top 20 singles including a number one, and despite mixed reviews, it went gold. All the Women I Am is an attempt to follow that success, and prove that despite her long career in a fickle marketplace, she can still run with contemporary country's young mavericks. Nowhere is this more evident than on the album's first single, "Turn on the Radio," which borrows heavily from Carrie Underwood's uptempo, rollicking interpretation of country pop/rock. Beginning with a distorted, '80s-sounding hard rock guitar riff, it contains a slew of synths and a female backing chorus. McEntire offers her throatiest contralto and references texting, Twitter, and club DJs in the lyrics. While Underwood is the obvious reference point, those who can remember it can go all the way back to Shania Twain's Come on Over album for the big, cavernous drum sounds producer Dan Huff gets and for the hook in the refrain. The track is followed by a contemporary country interpretation of "If I Were a Boy" --yes, the Beyonce hit, though here it attempts to be a soft rock power ballad. The natural-sounding balladry of "Somebody's Chelsea" (that has its roots in a scene from the film P.S. I Love You), "The Day She Got Divorced," and the sassy, bluesy, "A Little Want To" all contain McEntire's trademark warmth and authority. ~ Thom Jurek