Shania Twain - Come On Over (1997)

"MY WIFE BOUGHT WHAT?!?" FORTNIGHT* (JULY 1-14, 2016)

The 15th track is titled Rock This Country! and that also serves as the album's mission statement. As Christgau puts it,

Twain's latest incarnation obviously has nothing to do with country. Setting out into the vast unexplored territory separating Garth from Madonna, she and husband-producer-cowriter Mutt Lange glance over at Gwen Stefani and take a few tips from Lange's old charges the Cars before arriving at a new pop formula that's all flirtatious ebullience and lively hooks.

All songs written by Shania and her then-husband Mutt Lange, who put his signature sound on it and hit it big again. I imagine this was young Taylor Swift's favorite album for at least two full years around the time of release. The critics loved it and it topped the country album charts for 50 non-consecutive weeks in the years 1997-2000 (that's right - #1 in four calendar years). And I'm sure it was a ground-breaker in the world of country music. Nonetheless, there's still too much twang, fiddle, and slide guitar for this guy.

Update: In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Come On Over at #300.

Billboard, Nov 15, 1997, p. 67

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #2

Tracks: The best song on the thing is the Adult Contemporary chart-topper You're Still The One, the rest all runs together for me. I'll take my Mutt with AC/DC or Def Leppard, thankyouverymuch. I thought the song Honey I'm Home was gonna be a Def Leppard rocker and then the chorus hit and suddenly I'm at a barn dance. I think my wife's fave on here was That Don't Impress Me Much (I don't think she was sending me a message with that, but who knows?).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow this CD got wet, so while the disc itself still plays, the liner note booklet is now an unopenable, solid mass of pulp I can't even slide out the jewel box tray.

I just had a vision of The Cult's Ian Astbury screaming, "CHECK THIS ONE!" and then band tearing into a rockin' fiddle solo. And that provided my morning chuckle.

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*I recently unearthed a CD carry case that my wife used to carry in one or more of our three former minivans.  This month, in the spirit of this blog's mission, I'll be listening to that case's contents.