Search - Lynn Anderson :: What She Does Best

Under the boardwalk never sounded better

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 02/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lynn Anderson recorded this album for Mercury in 1988, five years after her previous album on the small Permian label and eight years after her last album for Columbia, the label that she was with throughout the seventies. Based on the quality of the music, this attempt at a comeback deserved to succeed but didn't, so Lynn never recorded for Mercury - or any major label - again. Nevertheless, this is one of the finest albums Lynn ever recorded and is well worth tracking down.Lynn's hit-making years are generally remembered for her up-tempo songs (Rose garden, You're my man, Top of the world, Listen to a country song, How can I unlove you) - she seemed to be particularly suited to those songs although she also recorded some fine ballads. By 1988, she had been married and divorced a couple of times so maybe her outlook on life had changed. Whatever the reason, the up-tempo songs are largely missing from this album, which is mainly filled with ballads.The tempo of the album starts fairly briskly with Lynn's stunning cover of Under the boardwalk, which became a top thirty country hit. I was, of course, familiar with the original version by the Drifters but I hadn't realized what a great song it is until I heard Lynn's version, which I believe to be superior to the original. The Drifters' classic songs seem to suit country singers - both Buck Owens and Emmylou recorded outstanding covers of Save the last dance for me.Once past the opening track, we are treated to one excellent ballad after another. How many hearts was expected to be a major country hit but it barely scraped into the chart. The album closes with two Harlan Howard songs (Turn the page, Odds and ends).Lynn was in peak form on this album, which is certainly among the best she ever recorded. This was not her last album. A new album seems to appear every five years or so. There has been the Cowboy's sweetheart album (which I regard as her best ever album), a live album and a Christmas album. But if you want to hear Lynn singing ballads, this is the album you want.TracksUnder the boardwalk
As long as the memory survives
What he does best
Somebody's shoulder
Martha
How many hearts
Take me like a vacation
It goes without saying
Turn the page
Odds and ends"