Up Against My Heart (CD - 1991)

Personnel includes: Patty Loveless (vocals); Steve Gibson (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Steuart Smith (acoustic & electric guitars); Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Stuart Duncan (fiddle, mandolin); John Jarvis (piano); Emory Gordy, Jr. (bass); Larrie Londin (drums); Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Deborah Allen, Tim Hensley (background vocals).

Though 1991's UP AGAINST MY HEART is one of Patty Loveless's best albums, recorded smack dab in the middle of her prime period, it's ironically her least commercially successful release of that era, due to MCA's delay of its release until the end of the tour that was intended to promote it. So it's no surprise that this was her last MCA album, but she left the label on a high note. Loveless plays to all of her strengths here, dipping into classic honky-tonk sounds, Patsy Cline-style weepers, and tunes that find her firmly in the New Traditionalist mode, penned by Kostas (of Dwight Yoakam fame), Kevin Welch, and Lyle Lovett. Despite the album's lackluster showing, songs like "Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)" became staples of the singer's repertoire.

Loveless gets a little more adventurous with each album, though she never forgets to include sure-fire hits like "Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)" and "Jealous Bone." This time she invites comparisons to Patsy Cline with "Can't Stop Myself from Loving You" and implies that God is female by switching the pronouns in Lyle Lovett's "God Will." ~ Brian Mansfield minimize