| It's All Relative - Pam Tillis | |
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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
Pam Tillis spent the better part of early 90's trying to get the country music industry to
accept her as more than just "Mel's daughter," and she's done a credible job of making her own
career with 14 Top Five hits, six of which went to #1, five gold albums, Opry membership, and
impressive songwriting credits (including songs for Juice Newton and Conway Twitty) for the
last decade under her belt.
But now Pam proves you CAN go home again as she takes up some of her father's most
well-known songs and presents them in this new, delightful manner.
In perhaps one of the best tribute albums of the multitudes coming out, this is not just a
collection of big names doing their own take on someone's hits. This is Pam Tillis, songwriting
daughter of a songwriter, showing she's got the vocal stuff to handle the classics as well as a
loving tribute to a famous father.
Mel Tillis was a songwriter in Nashville before he started his own singing career. Mel
was the delightful man with the charming stutter whose singing voice wowed the country music-
loving nation. Mel could deliver a song with emotion-packed sincerity, then wipe the tears away
with a well-timed and hilariously delivered joke. He was a true country star in every form. As a
songwriter, he delivered such songs as "Detroit City," "Heart Over Mind," and "Ruby, Don't
Take Your Love To Town." He wrote "So Wrong" for Patsy Cline and "I'm Tired" to help
launch Webb Pierce's career. Mel acted in movies, appeared on television, and charmed his way
into generations of country music fans.
Pam lovingly takes her father's legend and tries valiantly to distill that all down on to
one CD. If there is anything to complain about here, it's just that there's only 13 tracks, a little
more than half of what a single CD *could* hold, and with Mel's catalog of songs, surely
coming up with only 13 was a trial at best. But she chose well, and presented here is an
impressive choice of Mel's songs. Pam's crystalline, smoky vocals caress Mel's lyrics with
throaty adoration, a fitting tribute to a father who would take her to songwriting sessions,
tucking her to sleep in the "hillbilly crib" (a guitar case on the floor).
Pam starts out with a fairly faithful honky-tonk rendition of the familiar classic, "Burning
Memories." The arrangement is comfortable, familiar, with the slight taste of the old-fashioned
"Nashville Sound" coming out with her background vocals. Then she truly shines, taking on one
of Patsy Cline's greatest hits, the aching, burning "So Wrong." Pam has always been a
delightful vocalist here she shows she is a brilliant one, as well. Again, the arrangement is not
much changed from the familiar original, with the same gentle choral backup and light tinkle of
the honky-tonk piano. Pam tackles the tune beautifully, her honey-rich voice caressing the
words breathtakingly.
But she doesn't stick to simply remaking familiar songs in exact Xerox pattern. With
tremendous dexterity, she pleasantly alters familiar tunes like "Heart Over Mind" and "Honey
(Open That Door)" into brand-new songs with their own new sound. She produces beautiful
harmonies in "Violent and A Rose," and does a beautiful job on "Mental Revenge" and
"Goodbye Wheeling."
Pam is joined in this loving tribute with the vocal talents of Emmylou Harris, Trisha
Yearwood, Dolly Parton, and the Jordanaires; Delbert McClinton appears on harmonica and
Marty Stuart sits in on mandolin.
Pam Tillis herself manned the production duties on eight of the cuts, with the remaining
four being produced by the great Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel). The album is capped by a
true delight, as Mel himself joins his daughter (along with other family members) for a fun
rendition of "Come On And Sing." It had been a while since I last really listened to Mel sing,
and I'd forgotten how truly golden his voice was. This album is a joy to hear from beginning to
end, it's a story of a daughter's love for her father, a woman's love for country music, and a
marvelous tribute to a country legend by a country legend-in-the-making.
Song List:
Album cover, used with permission of Sony Nashville.