Women of Country - Album Reviews

Album Review

Terri Clark
Life Goes On
Mercury Records

Terri Clark has quietly been turning out great albums for the last ten years. She has unjustly never achieved the level of stardom of other stars over the last decade even though her music has consistently been arguably stronger. After the series of hit singles on 2003’s Pain To Kill the pressure was on for a follow-up to keep the momentum going. Life Goes On is that follow-up and it’s unfortunately a disappointment compared to Terri’s other albums. While Life Goes On has some classic Terri Clark tunes it also has a number of songs which just play it too safe and just don’t stand out on their own.

The lead off single “She Didn’t Have Time” is a touching ballad about the struggles of a single mother and it’s drenched in steel guitar and twang. Terri’s voice sounds fantastic in these surroundings. “I Wish I’d Been Drinkin’ Whiskey” is another impressive story song about a woman who wishes her sobered up husband was still drinking whiskey when he tells her that he doesn’t love her anymore so she could shrug it off like all the times in the past. Terri belts the song out and proves that these kinds of country songs simply slaughter most of the music out there right now. “Cowboy Days” and “Honky Tonk Song” are classic Terri Clark up-beat country rockers. The slick “Damn Right” has hit single written all over it.

Unfortunately, much of the rest of the album falls short of the usual quality we expect from Terri Clark. Once you hit the middle of the album the songs start to take a dive. It’s not even that the songs are bad, they aren’t. It’s just that they’re very vanilla sounding. You might like “Slow News Day”, “Tear It All Down” and “Travelin’ Soul” on your first listen or two but it’s unlikely you’re going to be reaching for this CD to listen to them again a couple years down the road.

Every artist has an album or two which just don't live up to the quality of their other releases. In Terri's case that album is Life Goes On. It has moments where the real Terri Clark steps out and delievers some knock out songs but it also has a number of songs which are simply run of the mill and can't stand up above the crowd. With that said, I am confident that this is a temporary lapse for Terri Clark. Over the last decade she has been one of the most consistent performers in country music and that's not a fluke. That's a display of raw talent.

Album Review by Jeff Krasky

The WOC Rating Scale

The album stands above the rest. This is a record that every country music fan needs to have in their collection.

This album is better than the average release. A strong record with some flaws that keep it from reaching that 5 star level.

This album is an average country release. Doesn't posses qualities that make it stand out among all the other albums out there.

A weak record that lacks solid songs or good vocal performances. Sample before you buy.

This record is a bargin-bin reject that just isn't worth the time or the money. Completely misses the mark.