How I Feel (CD - 1998)

Personnel: Terri Clark (vocals); John D. Willis (acoustic guitar); J.T. Corenflos, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (slide & steel guitars); Sonny Garrish, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); John Jarvis (piano); Gary Prim (keyboards); Glenn Worf (bass); Owen Hale (drums); John Wesley Ryles, Stephony Smith, Sunny Russ, Vicki Hampton, Robert Bailey, Alison Krauss (background vocals).

Principally recorded at The Castle, Franklin, Tennessee.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

While HOW I FEEL finds Clark shaving off some of the rock & roll edges that made her previous recording, JUST THE SAME, stand out from the pack, the attitude expressed on the tunes here is no less forthright. Whether she's making an exclamation of self-reliance on the opener, "I'm Alright," or celebrating the joys of amour on "Now That I Found You," she presents a strong, independent face that is far removed from the fragile broken-hearted waifs who clutter the country charts. Even when confronted with emotional/romantic difficulties, as on the title track and "Everytime I Cry," Clark addresses the problem with directness and forthrightness, seeking solutions instead of crying in her beer. Sure, there are barrels full of great country songs about crying in one's beer, but as this album makes apparent, that's just not Terri Clark's style. minimize