Lee Ann Womack (CD - 1997)

Personnel: Lee Ann Womack, Mark Chesnutt (vocals); Carl Gorodetzky (conductor); Biff Watson, Pat Flynn (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason, Larry Byrom (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Abraham Manuel Jr. (accordion); Gary Smith, Tony Brown (piano); Steve Nathan (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3 organ); Mike Brignardello (bass); Lonnie Wilson (drums); Tom Roady (percussion); Bergen White, Liana Manis, Lisa Silver, Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White Skaggs, Leslie Satcher, Gene Miller, Curtis Young, John Wesley Ryles (background vocals); Nashville String Machine.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

Lee Ann Womack's eponymous debut showcases a promising country vocalist who is more comfortable with ballads and pop than down-home honky tonk. The slick, professional production helps make this self-titled album a pleasant listen, despite the fairly uneven songwriting, and Womack certainly has a voice that can make the mediocre sound appealing, which results in a winning debut. ~ Thom Owens

From the opening song of Lee Ann Womack's auspicious debut album, it's clear that this talented young woman is set on singing a slightly different song than is generally heard among Nashville's "new hats". "Never Again, Again" may be about the singer's lack of willpower to end a flawed relationship, but the Texas-born Womack seems to have little problem charting her own musical course. Womack's music recalls early-to-mid-sixties country music without losing any of the luster of today's current sound.

In "Buckaroo", a fast paced description of the kind of man she finds attractive, Womack sings: "Don't have to wow me like a long beard Shakespeare, Just talk plain talk right here in my ear, If you aspire to sophistication, I'll tell you now you're in the wrong location." In other words, what Womack is looking for is simplicity. With her debut album, Womack does more than just successfully achieve simplicity, she simply succeeds. minimize