Ralphy's C.D. Reviews

Review date 02-02-2000: Shania Twain - C.D. Come on over (int. version)

Yes, I know it's pretty late for a review of "Come on over", but I just liked the CD too much to just let it slip by. I didn't buy it that soon, but now I got a copy since 3 or 4 months. The original CD "Come on over" was released in 1997, this one the so-called international version in 1999. On this version 15 out of the 16 songs have been redone and sound more like popmusic and less like country. "Come on over" is the 3rd album of the 34 year old Canadian country star Shania Twain and the successor to "The woman in me", which was the major (country) breakthrough in the USA and Canada for Eileen Twain (that's her real name). "The woman in me" sold over 9 million copies, but has been surpassed by "Come on over" with more than 14 million copies, making it the second highest selling album by a female artist in the history of the recording industry (number 1 is "Jagged little pill" by Alanis Morissette). Twain may already have been a diva overseas, but in Europe where country isn't a major selling music style she didn't get famous untill this album, but now her fame has spread like a locust plague and she's up there with the big names.

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I first heard of Shania Twain when I saw the video of "You're still the one" in 1997, I think. I liked this lovely ballad at once, but it took until May 1998 before the song became a hit in Holland. The next ballad "From this moment on" was only a very mediocre success over here and deserved more chart success, but most commercial charts are crap anyway. The big Dutch breakthrough came with "That don't impress me much" in May 1999. This funny song became her first number 1 in The Netherlands. Personally I liked the successor "Man! I feel like a woman!" better, because it's more swinging and it didn't get boring after listening to it over and over again as "That don't impress me much" (to me) did. By now Shania music, video's and not in the last place her (good) looks have made her very popular in Holland and her album became also number 1 in the charts.

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When a friend then offered me a copy of this CD clearly I didn't refuse and I'm glad for that decision. In the beginning I was absolutely thrilled by the album, now I have to put a few nuances to that thrill. "Come on over" as a whole is a great listening experience and it is obvious why it has become such a commerial success. It is a mix of catchy poptunes (I wouldn't call these country anymore, perhaps country-influenced is a better description) like "When", soft and sensitive ballads like "You've got a way" and country rockers like "Don't be stupid" (about unreasonable jealousy). The 'but' I built in before is because of the fact that some songs really aren't that noticeable as a separate unit especially "I won't leave you lonely". This song is together with "Black eyes, blue tears" (which is way to up-beat for the serious subject of women's abuse) the low point of " Come on over". Another critic could be that most of her lyrics aren't that deep and very concentrated on the love issue, but I don't know if that's a correct criticism in her case. Twain seems to be at her best with sometimes meaningless lyrics. The title song "Come on over" and "Man! I feel like a woman!" are the best examples for that and they are my absolute favourites on the album. Twain's co-writer, her husband "Mutt" Lange, has always had his songs fixed on the love issue anyway. He produces among others Bryan Adams and what has Bryan's favourite and most successfull topic through the years been. And let's not forget that Shania comes from a country background, need I say more. The criticism that Shania has forgotten the basic rules of country I don't share either, perhaps she may be the best thing that could happen to this musical style, which suddenly has become a world wide commercially succesfull style instead of only an American type of music. A development which I'm very happy with by the way. I always was a (moderate) fan of country. Well now to the difficult task of rating the album. Some will perhaps say it ain't enough, but I rate it with a 8.1 .

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