[.ca] Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen is sweet when it's Reba:
This was the first Reba album I ever heard, and to this day I can listen to it all the time and never tire of it. It is one of her best, at least to me. The songs range in sound, but are all awesome. From her excellent cover of Cathy's Clown, to the rather bittersweet It Always Rains On Saturday, the range is absolutely awesome. She picks up the pace for the closer, A New Love, but it still undoubtedly has that country sound that Reba is known and loved for. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

I Am Reba's Clown.:
I Like This CD. The Songs Are Great On Here. She Did A Remake Of The 1960's Everly Brothers Hit "Cathy's Clown". I Like The Lyrics On That Song. Other Hits Included On Here Are: "Til Love Comes Again", "Little Girl" And "Walk On". Reba Fans, You Must Buy This CD Today.

Great album shows Reba in happy mood:
Reba's traditional country phase of the mid-eighties ended with this album, which signalled the start of a move to the pop-country sounds that brought Reba greater success in the nineties. Nevertheless, the production remains simple here so all but the most die-hard traditionalists can enjoy this. This album opens with Reba's brilliant cover of Cathy's clown, the Everly Brothers classic, with the lyrics adjusted to present Cathy's perspective, giving it a slightly more upbeat feel. Not many people know this, but Reba actually recorded this after hearing an unreleased Dolly Parton recording. It seems that Dolly changed the lyrics but elected not to make her version available to the public. Dolly's version remains unreleased to this day. You can hear an optimistic view of a sad situation in Till love comes again. A slightly sad song is It always rains on Saturday. Am I the only one who cares, Somebody up there likes me, You must really love me, Say the word, Little girl, Walk on and New love are all upbeat in mood although they vary in tempo. This album, with so many upbeat songs and with even the sad songs not being especially sad, may lack the gravitas that a real tearjerker would give this album, but Reba has recorded plenty of those elsewhere. This is a good-time album with which to forget about all life's problems. As such, it is among my favorite Reba albums.

Another good effort from Queen of Country:
This is the first album Reba recorded after falling in love with her manager, Narvel Blackstock, and her happiness shows through on this 16th studio album (hence the title). This is also the first studio album by a female artist to remain at number one on the Billboard Charts for an unprecedented 13 weeks. It contains the hits "Cathy's Clown," "Little Girl," and "Walk On." Other highlights of the album include the self-penned "It Always Rains on Saturdays," and "Am I the Only One Who Cares," two of Reba's best song-writing efforts, and the up-tempo, feel-good "A New Love." The one thing absent is a trademark Reba heart-wrenching ballad, unless you count "Cathy's Clown." I guess that's what falling in love will do to you.

A mix of C & W and more 'sophisticated' tracks:
Apparently this album charted highly about 10 years ago, and it is reasonably easy to see why. The early tracks are very much country and western in the Tammy "Whinette" style but the later ones are in a more contemporary style, all bound together by Reba's powerful delivery and those stretched vowel sounds. In the sleeve Reba describes this as a coming of age CD and it does contain a mix of styles in terms of tracks. Worth buying at a reduced price just for the very cleverly adapted and performed "Cathy's Clown" track.

• Cathy's Clown
• 'Til Love Comes Again
• It Always Rains on Saturday
• Am I the Only One Who Cares
• Somebody Up There Likes Me
• You Must Really Love Me
• Say the Word
• Little Girl
• Walk On
• New Love