THE LINER NOTES

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When you’ve recorded and released one of the biggest-selling albums and singles of all time, what you follow it with may underscore who you are as an artist, but the choices you make may well define your career.

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At 24 with eleven albums in her repetoire, capped with 1970’s monster, crossover, ‘Rose Garden’, Lynn Anderson was faced with that very choice. She was standing at the crossroads of the third major shift in her career; a wrong turn was a guaranteed dead end. Before the second track on the first side of this fourth LP for CBS is halfway to the chorus, it’s abundantly clear that producer Glenn Sutton has found the key—literally and figuratively.

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Doing far more than simply measuring up to ‘Rose Garden’ ‘You’re My Man’, in many ways (eleven, to be precise) exceeds it. Layered in his signature Countrypolitan production, Sutton has crafted arrangements with tempos and grooves that don’t force Lynn’s vocals, and in keys that give her the room she’s always needed as a singer…and together they use every square inch. And while this eleven-song collection includes five notable covers, it may be the most consistent set of her career; each song capturing something elemental of her talent as a singer and stylist.

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Her unbridled ride on Hoyt Axton’s “Joy To The World” is matched only by her drive on John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary”, both showcasing her ability to bring country sensibilities to rock and roll classics. Producer Glenn Sutton’s “I Can Spot a Cheater” , co-written with Paul Tannen, firmly establishes her as one of the best ballad singers in the business, and while “Cry, Cry Again” is the only Liz Anderson-penned tune on this set, Lynn’s emotional and moving delivery makes it one of her best.

 

Shooting to the top of the Billboard charts virtually overnight, ‘You’re My Man’ marks the third number one album for Lynn Anderson, and stands as one of her best.

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J Buck Ford