| Pain To Kill - Terri Clark | |
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Reviewed by Jolene Downs
No one can say that Terri Clark is not her own woman. The Canadian songbird planted her foot firmly in the Nashville music scene with "Better Things to Do,"and hasn't let up the pressure since. Pain to Kill, from Mercury Records, has already enjoyed a hit single with "I Just Wanna Be Mad." That is just the tip of the iceberg for this great album. The songs that are included are real life - not fantasy life. Terri's voice is smooth and easy to listen to.
The album starts off with the first single release, "I Just Wanna Be Mad." They have been married for a while, and the song is acknowledging that people can disagree with each other but that doesn't mean the love is gone. She doesn't agree with him, and she isn't willing to change her mind. She still loves him, and that won't change. She doesn't want to be hugged or talked to right now, she just wants to be mad for a while. I'd say this is a fairly realistic song.
"I Just Called to Say Goodbye"is a song that is closing one of life's chapters and opening a new one. If it isn't packed in her Plymouth, it's better left behind. She holds no grudges, but isn't changing her mind. She just called from a phone booth on the road to say goodbye.
"I Wanna Do It All" is a song I can see as a definite single. She started writing everything down that she wanted to do - no matter how farfetched it might seem. She wants to do it ALL. Catch a few beads at Mardi Gras, start a new tradition, lay down the law, spend a day doing what she wants when she wants, visit Paris in the fall, Watch the Yankees play ball - all of it is part of the list. She doesn't want to be limited by the boundaries that people in society may try and set.
I liked the song "You Can't Help The One You Love." It is one of the slower songs on the album and one that makes you really think about things. If someone has a problem with alcohol (or anything addictive), you can't help them unless they admit they need help. No matter how much you may want to, no matter how destructive they may be, you can't help them unless they want it.
"Better Than You" was another song that really got my attention. It is another slower song, but has a great message. It starts out with him telling her he doesn't normally date much, and if he hesitates not to take it personally. She tells him throughout the song that she has been lied to and used and been left by people better than him, she is a survivor. At the end, he walks her to her door and asks her if he can come in "just to talk." She tells him she knows why he wants to come in, and no thanks. She goes in on her own. It is a song about taking charge of your own life.
All the songs on the album are very good. Terri knows what works for her and that is what she sings. It would be a welcome addition to any music collection. There is a great mix of happy and sad, slow and fast.
Song List:
- "I Just Wanna Be Mad"
- "Three Mississippi"
- "Pain to Kill"
- "I Just Called to Say Goodbye"
- "I Wanna Do It All"
- "The One You Love
- "Almost Gone"
- "Working Girl"
- "Better Than You"
- "Not a Bad Thing"
- "The First to Fall"
- "God and Me"
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