Reba McEntire | Stronger Than The Truth (LP)

Double vinyl LP pressing. 2019 release. Stronger Than the Truth is the 32nd studio album from country music singer Reba McEntire. The album was produced by Buddy Cannon and features 12 new tracks. Stronger Than The Truth is McEntire's follow-up to her 2017 gospel project Sing it Now: Songs of Faith and Hope. In a statement, McEntire said the album is a return to her roots. The album features songs co-written by familiar names, such as Brandy Clark, Erin Enderlin, Jaida Dreyer and Leslie Satcher. McEntire also co-wrote a song with Ronnie Dunn and Donna McSpadden titled "No U in Oklahoma."

Stronger Than the Truth -- the 32nd studio album from Reba McEntire and the first of secular material since 2015's Love Somebody -- kicks off with "Swing All Night Long with You," a joyous slice of western swing that functions as a manifesto of sorts: unlike the gleaming Love Somebody, Stronger Than the Truth is a pure, unadorned country album. McEntire delivers on this promise, albeit in her own fashion. While she returns to this hardcore sound on occasion throughout the record -- witness the skipping "No U in Oklahoma," so nimble it could've been part of the Texas Playboys' repertoire -- McEntire sticks to the kind of country that made her a star back in the '80s, emphasizing nuanced ballads and well-rendered narratives. Tempos rarely quicken on Stronger Than the Truth -- apart from the two western swing numbers, there's the gilded confidence of "Storm in a Shot Glass," but not much more than that -- but the album doesn't feel soft or meandering. Thanks to the co-production of Buddy Cannon -- a Nashville stalwart who regularly recorded with Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney in the 2010s -- the album feels flinty even when it's tender, a combination that's long been a signature of McEntire's. She channels this empathetic toughness into a series of songs that plays like short stories -- there are tales of dashed dreams, managed expectations, and earned love, along with many other manners of adult concerns -- and that deft, subtle blend of music and message gives Stronger Than the Truth a lasting emotional resonance.

Tracklist

A1        Swing All Night Long With You
A2        Stronger Than The Truth
A3        Storm In A Shot Glass
B1        Tammy Wynette Kind Of Pain
B2        Cactus In A Coffee Can
B3        Your Heart
C1        The Clown
C2        No U In Oklahoma    
C3        The Bar's Getting Lower
D1        In His Mind
D2        Freedom    
D3        You Never Gave Up On Me

*Audio and/or tracklist may vary slightly from the vinyl version.

Label: BIG MACHINE RECORDS
Rel. Date: 04/26/2019
UPC: 843930039852

• Genre: Country
• Format: Vinyl