Trisha Yearwood broke onto the Country Music scene in 1991
with the subtlety of an atomic bomb. That was the year that her debut single,
“She’s In Love With The Boy,” became the first debut single by a female
vocalist since 1964 (Connie Smith – “Once A Day”) to make it to number one on
the Billboard Country Singles chart.
That sent Yearwood off to the races with a bang. The singer
was one of the most admired and heralded singers of the early 1990s, and
subsequent singles proved this – “The Woman Before Me,” and “Like We Never Had
A Broken Heart” were huge ballad hits at radio, along with the feisty
top-tapper “That’s What I Like About You.” Her self-titled debut album sold
over a million copies and propelled her to the head of her class, when it came
to being a new artist.
Then, there was album number two, which amazingly, took it up
a notch!
Released in the summer of 1992, Hearts In Armor took the groundwork that Yearwood had applied to
her career, and expanded it greatly. The ballads were even stronger, and the
uptempo songs had a heavier tone to them that her voice seemed to handle very
well. “Wrong Side Of Memphis,” at least to my ears, conjured up a little bit of
Bobbie Gentry – while remaining very much true to 90s contemporary sounds. “You
Don’t Have To Move That Mountain,” an overlooked gem from this album from the
pen of the late Keith Whitley, also carried some of the Southern Gothic vibe,
with its’ message of spiritualty.
There wasn’t a clunker on the album, but the two cuts that
made Hearts In Armor all the more
unforgettable to me were the breathtakingly beautiful ballad “Nearest Distant
Shore,” on which Yearwood seduced each and every line with passion – as well as
the heartbreaking story of teenage love gone wrong, “Walkaway Joe.” To this
date, I don’t know if she has ever released a better produced single. Her
vocals – along with those of Don Henley, who added harmonies, were spot on.
But, Garth Fundis’ production helped to put this song in a league with Patsy
and Tammy. It was…..and is still that good – as is Hearts In Armor some twenty-three years later!
Hearts In
Armor will be the featured album of the week as part of “The Music
That Built Me” series on Crazy Chucky’s Country Classic Corner on Wednesday,
October 7 from 1-3pm on WNKX 96.7 FM in Centerville, TN. The show is brought to
you by Tennessee Properties!
