| What the World Needs Now is Love - Wynonna | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
It's been three years since Wynonna has released a CD, and it's been seven since she reached Country's Top Ten with a hit song ("To Be Loved By You"). All of that has changed with Wy's new CD What The World Needs Now Is Love. While being hailed as Wy's "return" to country, she never really left. Wynonna simply likes to take chances with her music and sing whatever songs strike her fancy. For country fans, that means this CD is more likely to strike their fancy than past CDs while Wy's loyal fans have always been on her side.
Even if the great title track (Not the Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic) doesn't reach the Top 10, it is currently just outside the Top 10, Wynonna has succeeded in getting her CD and herself the notice she deserves. "What The World Needs" is as contemporary as anything out there right now with a banjo playing over some drum loops and Dann Huff's production backing a song with lyrical depth.
"Heaven Helps Me" is a beautiful ballad about a woman who proclaims she could lose anything in the world but the love of her beau. This song reminds me of songs like "She Is His Only Need" Wy's voice sounds as good as it has ever sounded.
Previously recorded by Sawyer Brown for their CD Drive Me Wild, "It All Comes Down To Love" was the original CD title until Wy found "What The World Needs." Featuring some great production by Dann Huff (he has a cool guitar solo in the song too); the track again showcases Wy's great vocal style. She sounds refreshed on this song as she sings about the way the world has changed and why love is the reason for the world still being around.
Fans of The Judds should rejoice for Wynonna teams up with her mom, Naomi, on "Flies On The Butter (You Can't Go Home Again)." Lari White recorded the song in 1999 for her Stepping Stones CD but it never got released as a single. While they recorded a few tracks for a bonus CD on New Day Dawning, the Judds haven't sounded this good together since "Love Can Build A Bridge." I am positive that this tale about the great things of one's childhood, and why you can't ever get it back, will be a single.
80's pop/rock fans will remember the power ballad "I Wanna Know What Love Is." Wynonna always likes to cover an older song or two for her albums and chose this lyrical gem. To be truthful, until she broke into the chorus of the song, I didn't even remember it. Is this track country, not really (even with steel guitar noticeably there, but the guest spot by guitar legend Jeff Beck is a special event.
Written by Bryan White (remember him?), "Sometimes I Feel Like Elvis" sounds like a hit song. The song is about being in a place in your live where you have lost someone and despite having tons of things, you still fill dead inside. It's a nice song and hopefully will be a single for Wy.
"Rescue Me" is a special song. Written by Katherine Darnell when she was only 14, it's about accepting God's love when your time on earth is short. Katherine was diagnosed with cancer when she was 9 and survived many battles with the disease until earlier this year. Former Lonestar member John Rich had worked up the demo and brought it to Wynonna's attention. Wy heard the story and the song and immediately cut it. When they finished the song, Wynonna brought it to Katherine in Kentucky and a couple days later Katherine died from the cancer. While it might never be a country single, "Rescue Me” would do very well on the Christian charts. It's a song that tells a message of love.
Wynonna has been around for over 10 years as a solo artist and more than 20 years as a singer in the country music and she has something to prove. Many people had written her off as a viable country artist and What The World Needs proves that Wynonna is far from over. No one with a voice like hers should ever be considered a "has been." "What The World Needs Now Is Love" has fourteen sturdy songs about faith, hope and love with a little of Wy's trademark sassiness thrown in. Those who like Wy's work will enjoy this record as will contemporary country fans.
Song List:
Album cover used with permission of Curb Records
Audio clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble.