Van Lear Rose
Van Lear Rose is the forty-second solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on April 27, 2004, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Jack White, then of the White Stripes. The album was widely praised by critics, peaking at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and at No. 24 on the Billboard 200, the most successful crossover album of Lynn's 60-year career. The track "Portland, Oregon" was listed as the 305th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.[1]
Van Lear Rose | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 27, 2004 | |||
Recorded | ca. January 2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:30 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer | Jack White | |||
Loretta Lynn chronology | ||||
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Singles from Van Lear Rose | ||||
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Background
The album was initially intended as a musical experiment, blending the styles of Lynn and producer White. White also co-wrote one track, sings a duet with Lynn, and performs throughout the entire album as a musician. At the time of the album's release, Lynn was 72 and White was 28. The title refers to Lynn's origins as the daughter of a miner working the Van Lear coal mines.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 97/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Blender | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Mojo | [7] |
Pitchfork | 9.3/10[8] |
Q | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Spin | A[11] |
Uncut | [12] |
The album was released to glowing reviews and universal acclaim. It received a rating of 97 at Metacritic, the fourth highest score ever and the second-highest for a female to date.[2] Blender magazine called the album "Some of the most gripping singing you're going to hear all year .... A brave, unrepeatable record that speaks to her whole life."[4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "The brilliance of Van Lear Rose is not just how the two approaches complement each other, but how the record captures the essence of Loretta Lynn's music even as it has flourishes that are distinctly Jack."[3] Rhapsody ranked the album No. 16 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and No. 24 on the US Billboard 200, selling 37,000 in its first week, the best sales week for Lynn in the Nielsen Soundscan era.[13] It has sold over 233,000 copies in United States as of September 2004.[14]
The album's first single, "Miss Being Mrs.", was released in April 2004 and did not chart. Its music video premiered on May 23.[15] The second single, "Portland, Oregon", was released in September and did not chart. Two music videos were shot for the single, the first one was filmed on May 18[16] and was not released. The second version premiered the week of October 25.[17]
Accolades
Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Van Lear Rose | Best Country Album[18] | Won |
"Portland, Oregon" | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals[18] | Won | |
"Miss Being Mrs." | Best Country Song[19] | Nominated | |
"Portland, Oregon" | Best Country Song[19] | Nominated | |
"Miss Being Mrs." | Best Female Country Vocal Performance[19] | Nominated |
Best-of lists
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
Pop Matters | The Best 100 Albums of the 2000s[20] | 2014 | 59 |
Rolling Stone | 50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own[21] | 2015 | 12 |
CMT | CMT 40 Greatest Albums[22] | Unknown | 18 |
Country Universe | The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[23] | 2009 | 8 |
Country Universe | 100 Greatest Contemporary Country Albums[24] | 2006 | 59 |
Paste Magazine | The 50 Best Albums of the Decade[25] | 2009 | 48 |
Rhapsody | Country's Best Albums of the Decade[25] | 2009 | 16 |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Loretta Lynn, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Van Lear Rose" | 3:50 | |
2. | "Portland, Oregon" (duet with Jack White) | 3:49 | |
3. | "Trouble on the Line" |
| 2:21 |
4. | "Family Tree" | 3:03 | |
5. | "Have Mercy" | 2:35 | |
6. | "High on a Mountain Top" | 2:44 | |
7. | "Little Red Shoes" |
| 3:33 |
8. | "God Makes No Mistakes" | 1:45 | |
9. | "Women's Prison" | 4:16 | |
10. | "This Old House" | 1:56 | |
11. | "Mrs. Leroy Brown" | 3:38 | |
12. | "Miss Being Mrs." | 2:50 | |
13. | "Story of My Life" | 2:40 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "Just to Have You Back" | 3:32 |
Personnel
- Loretta Lynn - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- David Feeny - pedal steel guitar, dobro, percussion, background vocals
- Patrick Keeler - drums, percussion, background vocals
- "Little" Jack Lawrence - bass guitar, percussion, background vocals
- Dan John Miller - acoustic guitar, percussion, background vocals
- Dirk Powell - fiddle, bowed bass, banjo
- Jack White - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, organ, piano, percussion, background vocals, duet vocals on "Portland, Oregon"
- Brendan Benson - engineer
- Eric McConnell - engineer
- Stuart Sikes - mixing
- Russ Harrington - photography
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- "P2K: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s". Pitchfork. August 17, 2009. Section "500-201". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011.
- "Reviews for Van Lear Rose by Loretta Lynn". Metacritic. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn". AllMusic. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Smith, RJ (May 2004). "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Blender. No. 26. p. 123. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Browne, David (April 30, 2004). "Van Lear Rose". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Petridis, Alexis (April 30, 2004). "Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
- "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Mojo. No. 127. June 2004. p. 98.
- Deusner, Stephen (April 29, 2004). "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Q. No. 215. June 2004. p. 102.
- Sheffield, Rob (April 21, 2004). "Van Lear Rose". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Hermes, Will (May 2004). "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Spin. Vol. 20 no. 5. p. 105. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Uncut. No. 85. June 2004. p. 84.
- Asker, Jim (March 15, 2016). "Cole Swindell & Carrie Underwood Take Over Country Songs Charts". Billboard.
- Jackell, Barry (28 September 2004). "Lynn takes two Americana Awards". Today. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- Staff 5/21/2004, CMT com. "Loretta Lynn Delivers New Video". CMT News. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- "Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon [version 1: unreleased] @ mvdbase.com". mvdbase.com - the music video database. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- "Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon [version 2] @ mvdbase.com". mvdbase.com - the music video database. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- "47th Annual GRAMMY Awards". The Recording Academy. January 15, 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- "Loretta Lynn". The Recording Academy. May 14, 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s: 60-41". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- "50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- "Rate Your Music".
- "The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Conclusion: #10-#1 – Country Universe". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- "100 Greatest Contemporary Country Albums: #60-#51 – Country Universe". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- Ryan, Linda (November 27, 2009). "Country's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Van Lear Rose", . Retrieved October 15, 2016.
- "Loretta Lynn Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Loretta Lynn Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.