Let's Keep It That Way

I always had the feeling that this is the album that Anne Murray had in her and wanted to do for years. The iTunes review mentions that “You Needed Me” is Carpenters-esque, which I at first found strange because Anne’s rendition of the song is iconic.It owes nothing to any other artist. She “owns” this song and this sound. That being said, the album’s arrangements, done masterfully by Jim Ed Brown, bring country rock from his Eagles work together with Anne’s country and pop sensibilities, which admittedly are near to the Carpenters, if not a bit more gritty. If ever anyone was standing between Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt and Kim Carnes, Anne was doing it on this record. The selection of songs on this album is as good as Anne’s ever done. Even though “You Needed Me” was her mega-hit from this album, all of the songs deserve our attention. “You Needed Me” showcases her voice like few songs can, but she didn’t stay with just that style. She has an Everly Brothers hit done with new sparkle with “Walk Right Back” and “You’re a Part of Me” is a Kim Carnes ballad. She reached way back to Patti Page days with “Tennessee Waltz” and gave a platform for great new Canadian writers with “I Still Wish the Very Best for You”. The variety on this album is incredible, but not as incredible as the fact that it all really holds together as a whole. The album redefined and solidified her sound at the same time and defined Anne’s niche for the next 8 years. It could have been named “Let’s Start it This Way”, but come to think of it, she did “Keep it This Way”with the albums that followed and I’m glad she did!