wifeofvolsfan's Full Review: The Deana Carter Collection by Deana Carter
In 1996 an unknown singer took the country music world by storm. Deana Carter released her debut album Did I Shave My Legs For This? which went platinum in three months time and has since went quadruple platinum. Pretty amazing for a debut album, huh? It sold over 4 million copies. Deana Carter was hot.
She followed her debut album with Everything’s Gonna Be Alright which went gold. After these albums it seemed Deana fell off the face of the earth. Fans waited for new music, but it took awhile for a new album. In 2002 Capitol Records released The Deana Carter Collection. They took the best songs from the first two albums and gave us three new tracks.
Her first single was Strawberry Wine. It quickly shot up the country charts to number one. It’s a song about a woman looking back on her first love. I think it’s a song that many of us women can relate to. She thinks of her first lover and wonders “if it him she is missing or just her innocence”. We all have that one person that we look back on from time to time and wonder how they are. This song takes me there. ”Just to remember the taste - Of strawberry wine and seventeen - The hot July moon saw everything – My first taste of love oh bittersweet". Another line that particularly gets me is ”I still remember when thirty was old.” I can really relate to that line. I’m turning the big 3-0 this year so I can definitely think back to the days when I felt that way. Strawberry Wine was the 1997 CMA Single of the Year.
She followed Strawberry Wine with We Danced Anyway. It is a fast paced song that is also about an old love. She is looking back on a summer they spent in a little foreign town dancing in the streets. Both Strawberry Wine and We Danced Anyway shot to #1 in 1996. This was a good year for Deana and 1997 was promising as well. Did I Shave My Legs For This? has to be one of my favorite Deana Carter songs. This is a woman’s song for sure. It’s about a woman living in a trailer, standing over a frying pan cooking for her husband and getting all fixed up for nothing. ”I bought these new heels, did my nails - Had my hair done just right - I thought this new dress was a sure bet for romance tonight - Well it's perfectly clear, between the TV and beer - I won't get so much as a kiss - As I head for the door I turn around to be sure - Did I shave my legs for this?” This is just a funny song with a great beat. You will also hear a rocking’ guitar in it.
The acoustic guitar and piano in Count Me In blend so nicely with Deana’s voice. You can’t miss the drums in the background. This is a song about a woman who is skeptical if she has found true love. If he is what he says he is then she is in. Otherwise she doesn’t want any part of heartaches and tears. You Still Shake Me has more of a rock sound. You will hear the edgy sounding guitars. The lyrics are catchy because they rhyme. She is telling him that she isn’t in love with him and that she is over him, but he still shakes her. She adds her own sexy touch to it when she says near the end of the song in a spoken voice ”You don’t know what you do to me, baby…mmuumm”. Absence of the Heart is a slower paced song. It’s a song that Deana sings softly. It’s about a couple that is trying to stay together, but just isn’t working out. The music is really beautiful with a variety of guitars and soft drums.
How Do I Get There went to #1 for Deana in 1997. It’s a song about moving beyond the line of friendship into something more. She is trying to figure out how to tell him that she would like to be in his loving arms. It’s a fast paced song that you won’t sit still listening to. People Miss Planes is a song that I had not heard before. It is a song that tells a story. It begins with a man begging a woman to not leave him. She tells him that she has a plane to catch. He tells her…” People miss planes - It happens all the time - They cancel their plans - They change their minds - Listen to your heart - Before you go too far”. She makes it to the airport, but begins thinking of their love. She can’t get on the plane because she can’t leave him. I love the words to the song and the ending is especially nice. It’s a nice slow song with lots of piano. Deana puts her heart into it and you can hear the emotion in her voice.
I’ve Loved Enough to Know is a typical country sounding song. It’s a song about a woman knowing that her love is near ending. It’s a fast song with a great sound. Rita Valentine, Graffiti Bridge and Angel Without a Prayer are songs that Deana had not released on her first two albums. They have the same Deana sound as her other songs. There is nothing extra special about these songs. They are just average.
For me, The Deana Carter Collection replaces her first two albums. It combines all of my favorites here on one CD. I think Deana Carter has a lot of talent as a singer and a songwriter. Many of her songs she has co-written. I like Deana because she seems so real. She doesn’t try to be something she isn’t and she puts her heart into her music. She reminds me a lot of Sheryl Crow in looks and in sound. I think they have a similar voice.
Since The Deana Carter Collection Deana has released another album I’m Just a Girl in 2003.
Tracks:
1. Strawberry Wine (Matraca Berg / Gary Harrison)
2. We Dance Anyway (Matraca Berg / Randy Scruggs)
3. Did I Shave My Legs For This? (Deana Carter / Rhonda Hart)
4. Count Me In (Deana Carter / Chuck Jones)
5. You Still Shake Me (Leslie Satcher / Tim Ryan Rouillier)
6. Absence of the Heart (Deana Carter / Chris Farren / Chuck Jones)
7. How Do I Get There (Deana Carter / Chris Farren)
8. People Miss Planes (Deanna Bryant / Liz Hengber)
9. I’ve Loved Enough to Know (Deana Carter / Chuck Jones)
10. Rita Valentine (Deana Carter)
11. Graffiti Bridge (Deana Carter / Bob Dipiero)
12. Angel Without a Prayer (Deana Carter / Michael Smotherman / Michael Dan Ehmig)
Songs from Did I Shave My Legs for This?: Strawberry Wine, We Danced Anyway, Did I Shave My Legs for This?, Count Me In, How Do I Get There, I’ve Loved Enough to Know
Songs from Everything’s Gonna Be All Right: You Still Shake Me, Absence of the Heart, People Miss Planes
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