Album Review: Trisha Yearwood - "Every Girl"

It's been twelve years since Trisha Yearwood gave the world a completely brand new collection of songs. Does "Every Girl" manage to stand up to Trisha's legacy of strong albums? Let's find out!

It’s been a long time coming. For Every Girl, her first collection of all-new music since the release of Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love in 2007, Trisha Yearwood has chosen fourteen diverse songs which showcase her pristine voice, an instrument as strong today as it has ever been, if not more powerful.

“Workin’ On Whiskey” kicks off Every Girl and it immediately showcases the nuance and power in Trisha Yearwood’s voice. One thing folks have never seemed to realize outside of the country music world is how versatile a singer Trisha Yearwood is. While she’s fantastic on torch country ballads (there may be none better this side of Tammy Wynette), Trisha is brilliant when tackling sounds that may not necessarily be associated with traditional country sounds, like the Lucie Silvas-penned “Find Away,” a bouncy, jangl-y slice of classic soul that few women could sing as well and as playfully as Trisha Yearwood.

Not afraid to tackle classic songs (she did release an entire album of Frank Sinatra classics earlier this year), Trisha takes on the Karla Bonoff-penned “Home,” a song which was cut in 1977 by Bonnie Raitt. Here, Trisha’s voice carries the song with the peacefulness of being home with almost only piano and steel guitar to accompany her and it’s a master class of nuanced emotion. Another cover is “When Lonely Calls,” one of the songs from the criminally under heard Sons of Palomino album featuring ace songwriter Jeffrey Steele. The song, here, is tweaked a bit but it still has the big, booming chorus where Trisha lets her inner diva soar.

There’s her first Top 30 hit since 2006 in the de facto title track “Every Girl In This Town.” The song, which sonically feels like an amalgam of the best parts of 90s country and 2010s country and it’s also a lyrical cousin to “XXXs and OOOs (An American Girl).” It was a smart single choice and reminds girls that they have the ability to chase their dreams and do it while being exactly who they are, themselves. The sweetly soulful grooves of “What Gave Me Away” joins the record’s brightest moments and features Trisha’s husband Garth Brooks on harmony vocals. Garth and Trisha have always sang well together and it’s pretty easy to feel like this song is the story of their relationship, where it was obvious to everyone that they were destined to be together.

“Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” features fellow powerhouse vocalist Kelly Clarkson on harmony vocals but this is clearly still the Trisha Yearwood show as she sings about getting into a relationship and the emotions that come along with those relationships. “Bible and a .45” is another great moment on the record, Written and originally recorded by Ashley McBryde, the song features the great Patty Loveless on harmony vocals and is as sweet as ever in its reverence for fathers. It’s traditional country storytelling at it’s best. Speaking of storytelling, the Gretchen Peters-penned “The Matador” is it’s a metaphor-filled story song, a lost art in 2019, which Yearwood spins a tale about a relationship doomed for failure as she becomes the matador taken down by the bull of a relationship. Another vocal master class, the song finds every nuance of the lyric and emotional peak and valley showcased through Trisha’s storyteller voice. In years past, this would be a huge radio hit, the kind of award-winning song but instead, we have what may be the very best song on a very strong record.

When listening to Every Girl, you wouldn’t know it’s been a dozen years between all-new albums for Miss Trisha Yearwood (how Garth Brooks once introduced her to me), but that’s exactly the case and it makes me hope that her creative spirt of albums (a Christmas duets project with Garth in 2017, the Sinatra covers record Let’s Be Frank earlier this year, and this album) is going to continue in the years to come. I simply cannot and will not be able to go on without more new music from Trisha Yearwood.

Listen to Every Girl at Apple Music:

2 Comments

  • Michele Lee

    This is a stunning album. Have missed her on songs like these. Her voice...ever beautiful, rich and soaring.

  • Neal V

    12 years was worth the wait! Truly the best CD I've bought in 5 years, and I have over 5000! Usually there are 2-3 tracks that I like on a new CD. This one I liked 13 of 14! It made up for her Frank Sinatra CD, which I enjoyed because it was Trisha but not nearly as much as this. Let's get her out of the kitchen and back on stage! Food is temporary but her music can be enjoyed forever!