There are moments when the album works. “You Were Never Mine” is a great ballad, and I suppose it's not a coincidence that the best song on the album was written by Delbert McClinton (with whom she should record a duet!), Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), and Gary Nicholson. the music is understated, the song is understated, and there are no hamfisted backing vocals. It's bare, simple, and accentuates Magness' voice. This smoldering song teases us with what might have been.
Much of the rest of the album falls somewhere in between these two extremes. "I Want You to Have Everything" reminds me of Herman's Hermits' "Something Tells Me I'm into Something Good."
Do I Move You? has Magness nominated for three BMAs, so the album is connecting with someone; most likely a female audience. The liner notes practically proclaim this album is reaching for the Thelma & Louise crowd of beer drinkin', hell raisin', hard lovin', good ol' gals out there, but that's not the album she executed. If the music had the same rawness as the attitude of the liner notes, this album might have stood a better chance at scoring that Album of the Year award. She absolutely has the pipes to do it. Let's hope she one day soon gets the material, too.
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1 - Josh Hathaway
There is a companion piece to this review at Confessions of a Fanboy.