Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#5 – Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose
Today’s selection is appropriately timed, given the passing of country legend Loretta Lynn just three weeks ago at the age of 90.
I know very little about Lynn’s career or her music, and I don’t see a deep dive of her 61 studio albums in my future, but I do own one of her albums, and it’s a beauty.
Loretta Lynn has released 50 studio albums during her nearly 60-year career, including one the 89-year-old released this past March.
It’s funny how traditional notions of retirement don’t really apply to the arts. You don’t see a popular musician hit 65 and hang up the guitar to settle down in Florida.
I guess if the money is good and you love what you do, why stop?
This track from Loretta Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose is an excellent example of what makes that record so great.
Lynn paired with producer Jack White to deliver a collection of songs that expertly blended their styles: his hard-driving blues grunge, and the rootsy authenticity that makes her the matron saint of traditional country music.
Of all the unlikely pairings you can imagine, a few years ago Jack White and Loretta Lynn might have been near the top of the list. But White’s turn in Cold Mountain and some of the tracks on The White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan made it pretty clear that he has a real affection for country music.
He teamed up with the coal miner’s daughter on her Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose, producing all the tracks, playing on many of them and singing co-lead on this one. He also inspired her to pick up a pen and write her own songs, something she’d never done before on a full album, with tremendous results.
Meet Me In Montauk 