Lee Ann Womack

While much of the material on Womack's sophomore effort treads well within the unspoken boundaries of Nashville romance (broken hearts, unrequited love), there are a few gems that hint of a saucy character behind the sweet voice. "I'll Think of a Reason Later" is a funny, honest portrayal of a woman meeting an old lover's new flame. "The Man Who Made My Mama Cry" is an unflinching dismissal of a prodigal father, and "I'd Rather Have What We Had" mourns for the steamy affair that led to a now-mundane marriage. Supported by a pair of Vince Gill duets, Some Things I Know effectively balances country music convention with honest emotion. --Alexandra Russell

Lee Ann Womack is a rarity in modern Nashville--an authentic honky-tonk debut album. Producer Mark Wright has refused to bury Womack's small-town, East Texas drawl under the Hollywood soft-rock cloaking that Music Row favors these days. As a result, the young singer's soprano projects an attitude too unsophisticated to hide any emotion. On the first single, "Never Again, Again," you can hear in quivering high notes the dilemma of a woman who keeps breaking her own promise to never take her ex-lover back. Not every song is that sharply focused, and the obligatory boot-scootin' dance numbers and string-smothered ballads dilute the album's impact. But you can hear Womack's potential when she assumes the persona of a hardened waitress explaining the facts of life to an ex-boyfriend in "Montgomery to Memphis." --Geoffrey Himes

Texas-born Lee Ann Womack made bold new strides with her landmark third album, 2000's I Hope You Dance. With Something Worth Leaving Behind, she's delivered yet another impeccable, mature, and emotionally powerful song collection that will no doubt resound just as dramatically with listeners. Soulful, inward, aching, and cautiously celebratory by turns, these exquisite songs and masterful performances are anchored by the timely and hauntingly introspective title tune. Among the 12 other gems are a pair of powerfully rendered Julie Miller originals (the wailing, teeth-gnashing "I Need You" and the eerie, medieval-sounding "Orphan Train"), a wistful Bruce Robison-penned confessional called "Blame It on Me" (to which Robison contributes harmonies), and an angry, show-stopping Matraca Berg sendoff called "You Should Have Lied." --Bob Allen

On There's More Where That Came From, multiple Grammy-winner Lee Ann Womack's got the controls of country's Wayback Machine set 30 years in the past. The album cover, a soft-focus portrait of the Texas-born singer along with a list of songs, recalls the days when elegant, emotive vocalists like Tammy Wynette, Lynn Anderson, and Tanya Tucker ruled the charts. Yet the real magic's in the traditional-sounding arrangements, colored by gently weeping steel guitar, piano, harmonica, and fiddle; unhurried tempos; and, of course, Womack's lightly sugared confection of a voice. She explores classic themes like cheating ("There's More Where That Came From") and marital collapse ("Painless"), and draws on her own experience for "Twenty Years and Two Husbands Ago." Womack does concede a bit to the present with the dirty guitars and big rhythm of "When You Get to Me." But just a bit, as she proves the enduring appeal of sweet and sad ballads sung from the heart, and bucks the flash that makes so much modern country go pop--and fizzle. --Ted Drozdowski

CMA winning album from the country music stars 2001 album. Includes the bonus track 'I Hope You Dance' (Brian Rawlings Mix). Billboard calls it 'the finest country album post Shania Twain'.

MCA Nashville will officially released Lee Ann Womack's new single "Last Call", to radio June 30. Her highly-anticipated seventh album, produced by Tony Brown and titled Call Me Crazy, will debut this Fall.

"I'm so fired up to be back doing what I feel like I was born to do, which is making country music," said Womack. "The time I spent writing, looking for songs, and meeting with Tony felt so effortless and natural." "One of my favorite things when making a record is working with some of the best singers and musicians in the world...it was so fun to have some of them work on this project."

Four of the twelve tracks are co-written by Womack and fans will discover two other very well-known male voices accompanying the songstress, including Keith Urban and George Strait. Last time Womack and Strait collaborated was for "Good News, Bad News", which earned them a Country Music Association award for "Musical Event of the Year."