LORETTA LYNN AND FRIENDS
Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn
[Columbia Nashville]
This all-star salute commemorates the 50th anniversary of Loretta Lynn’s debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” along with the 30th anniversary of her biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter. Top female country singers—Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Faith Hill—offer up their heartfelt and mostly faithful covers of Lynn classics alongside non-Music Row acts like Paramore and the White Stripes. One downside on tribute discs like these is a lack of cohesiveness, as when Reba McEntire’s Western swing-y “If You’re Not Gone Too Long” gets followed by Kid Rock’s take on “I Know How,” as well as conspicuous absences in song selection (like “Fist City”). However, there are also some fine matches, such as Lucinda Williams’ mournful “Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight),” Wilson’s feisty “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” and Lynn’s own collaboration with younger admirers Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert on her trademark title tune. –Michael Berick