Reba Gets By With a Little Help From Her Friends

As one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2007, Reba McEntire’s Duets project had a lot of fan and industry expectations to live up to. Well, Miss Reba and company did not disappoint. The disc, released September 18, garnered Reba the highest chart debut week of her career and landed her on top of the Billboard 200 for the first time.

I purchased this cd the week of its release, and it has been in heavy rotation in the car and at home ever since. This is simply the one cd I can’t stop listening to at the moment. There is not a bad song in the bunch. Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything but the best from the stellar group of guest artists Reba lined up to work with her in the studio.

The one collaboration that really surprised me when I first heard about it, though, was with “Mr. Sexy Back” himself Justin Timberlake. When I learned he also had written a song for the project, I was really anxious to hear what kind of song he would write to sing with Reba. After hearing “The Only Promise That Remains,” I was absolutely floored. It is a beautiful love ballad, not quite what I would expect from J.T. After the mega-success of the CMA-nominated first single released from the cd, “Because of You” with Kelly Clarkson, word is this song will be the next single released to radio.

Of the many standout tracks, “Sleeping with the Telephone” with Faith Hill, “Every Other Weekend” with Kenny Chesney and “She Can’t Save Him” with Trisha Yearwood are among my favorites and really stand out. When listening to the Faith Hill duet, you can’t help but visualize a video playing in your mind as you hear the haunting lyrics about a military wife’s fear of losing her husband who is off at war. The chilling last line of the song, “Something awakes me from where he should be. I reach for him, the telephone rings,” lets the listener imagine their own ending, whether it be happy or tragic. I can absolutely see this song as a potential single with the powerful, signature Reba video to go along with it.

“Every Other Weekend” is a heartbreaking tale of divorced parents who alternate time with their children. Even though they still love each other, neither one tells the other, and they secretly wish they were still together. This track, from what I’ve read, has created a lot of buzz around Nashville and could be a potential hit for Reba and Kenny.

Trisha Yearwood lends her subtle, yet strong vocals to the powerful track, “She Can’t Save Him.” In this song, Reba and Trisha sing as old friends sharing their concerns about a mutual friend’s troubled relationship. I also see this as a possible choice for release as a single.

Reba and Ronnie Dunn, her good friend and fellow Okie, co-wrote the track “Does the Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma” for the project; and no Reba duets record would be complete without an appearance by her old pal Vince Gill. Their duet, “These Broken Hearts,” is perhaps their best collaboration to date.

The rest of the tracks, with friends LeAnn Rimes, Don Henley, Carole King and Rascal Flatts, are also great and stand up well against the others. Reba has said on numerous occasions that she had a great time working with her friends in the studio for this special project, and that atmosphere of fun and friendship shines through in every song on the album. I highly recommend picking this one up. Reba Duets is, hands down, one of the best releases of the year.