Shelby Lynne new album kicks Haikunym's ass

and yeah N you will,
everyone will. God will.
it shall RULE THE EARTH

Plus, she did almost everything herself on this one. Hearing it makes you wonder why the FUCK she ever worked with a song doctore. Like, ever.

I don't like the new hairdo though.

fuck! wouldn't that rule?
'willie man what should I do?'
'chill out, it's aaaaaaallll good'

this is so sad though,
this album just missed my cut
for top ten status

it's #11
I was so in love with it
just two months ago!

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I do NOT hate Shelby. I think *I Am Shelby* is okay, albiet way overrated; her suppposed sellout followup album was *underrated*, though, and its pre-release version had what is probably by fave song by her - the complaint about her record label, or radio stations, or whatever it was. (Insert here noize-bored meatheads who remember a fraction of the records I remember whining because I don't remember the name & lyrics of all 10,000 albums in my apartment by heart; they can go fuck themselves.) The followup to Shelby's followup was a big snooze. (I actually liked some of her pre-I Am Shelby western swing stuff, though; I have a copy of some really cool video she did in the early '90s at home somewhere.) Alison I liked okay (and definitely more than Shelby) til her amorphous most recent venture, which Matt loves. None of these artists have ever hit me as especially diverse or risky or intense or transportive, though, so yeah, I tend to prefer them when the hooks actually stick to my gills and the album sounds good *before* 2 in the morning. And Tift's new one has more of those hooks than Alison's new one does, and more than Shelby has ever had. (As singers, per se, I'd rate them about equal, I suppose.) Also worth checking out, in the same genre: Gigi Dover's *Gigi*, which I think I prefer even to Tift's latest. (And Joe Dee Messina and KT Oslin and Lacy Jay Dalton actually did this Dusty Springfield/Bobby Gentry/Jeannie C. Riley type kinda stuff way better than any of these gurls, but never mind.)
-- chuck (ced...), November 24th, 2004.

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OK, I just checked -- the great track on the unreleased version of *Love Shelby* is "Star Broker," a rocking sort of "Star Star/Star Fucker" update about the record industry, and just about the only time since her comeback that she hasn't sounded way too reserved and held-back and careful for my tastes; i.e., just about the only time she really sounded like she was letting loose like her drunken crazy rep suggests she should (and like I'd prefer her to do even if she didn't have such a rep). A good collection of her pre-comeback-hype years is *Epic Recordings,* which I'd probably take over any of her last three albums. *Identity Crisis* is the album that completely put me to sleep. And I'm pretty sure the early '90s video hit I'm referring to is "Feeling Kind of Lonely Tonight," which I believed involved riverboats rolling on the river and mint juleps and such.
-- chuck (cedd...), November 24th, 2004.

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(well, actually, even saying that Shelby really let loose on "star broker" is probably a gross exagerration, to be honest. but at least she *hints* at wanting to let loose in that one. which is a start.)
-- chuck (cedd...), November 24th, 2004.

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(and, as soul-blues c&w divas go, terri gibbs's best early '80s stuff -- "somebody's knockin'," "ashes to ashes" -- was even better than anything k.t. or lacy jay or joe dee ever did, by the way.)
-- chuck (cedd...), November 24th, 2004.

Her live rendition of Bacharach & David's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" tonight was magnificent (not Dionne Warwick great but still pretty impressive)

"Your Lies Won't Leave Me Alone" also sounded impressive. She was accompanied by guitarist/lap steel player Ben Peeler who was once in an early version of the Mavericks, and various other groups.

way too reserved and held-back and careful for my tastes

If xchuckxx was in the audience he might have still felt that way, but I mostly liked her set.

Although she did let loose once:
Despite this gig being indoors in a pricey seat club, some bugs were buzzing around under the lights and near Lynne's glass of something (she said she was not drinking alcohol). Lynne started to drink from the glass and then quickly spit on the stage. She said a bug had gotten into it.