Tammy Wynette Remembered is not only Nashville's statement
of affection for the first lady of country music, but also a testament
to the scope of her appeal in the music world as a whole. The varied
and diverse nature of the artists which appear on this tribute album
speaks of the impact Tammy had on music.
The albums first cut features the "Queen of England" (as he often
refers to himself), Elton John, with a rather sanitized version of
"Stand By Your Man" followed by "Til I Get It Right" with Trisha Yearwood.
Interestingly, Trisha recorded "Til I Get it Right" for her 1995 album
Thinkin' About You and rather than re-record it, the same cut
is included on this album. K.T. Oslin belts out a fantastic version
of "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," and Rosanne Cash is electric with
the Wynette standard "D-I-V-O-R-C-E."
Other artists which were gracious enough to appear include Melissa
Etheridge ("Apartment #9"), Wynonna ("Woman To Woman"), Lorrie Morgan
("You And Me"), Sara Evans ("I Don't Wanna Play House"), Faith Hill
("Til I Can Make It On My Own"), and a quartet comprised of Emmylou
Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Anna and Kate McGarrigle with a blue-grassy
version of "Golden Ring."
In 1996 Brian Wilson (of The Beach Boys) asked Tammy to sing "In
My Room" for an album of country stars singing Beach Boys hits. That
duet, which is as haunting as it is melodic closes out the album,
but the most enduring and poignant cut to be found on the album is
performed by Tammy's ex-husband and duet partner, George Jones, who
chose "Take Me To Your World" and with a little artistic license reinterpreted
the song as "Let Me Take You To My World."
With the passing of Tammy Wynette on April 6th of this year, another
legend of country music has disappeared into the vast rememberances
of country music fans.
Roseanne Cash wrote in eulogizing Tammy in Time magazine, "the world
will never be innocent enough again to produce a Tammy Wynette." Truly,
Tammy was unique and Remembered puts the sincerity back in
the term 'tribute album.'
-Charlton Wiggins
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