Anne Murray is still a class act and her new album shows it!

By John Lewis
Posted Friday, January 25, 2008

Canada's Anne Murray was a huge Country Music star back in the 1970's, and she's back, sounding as good as ever she did. Her new album - "Duets - Friends And Legends" is a delight in many ways.

Ok, so this is NOT cowboy or red dirt Country.  This is smooth orchestrated pop-Country, but what is significant is that the people Murray duets with are almost all made to sound better for her presence.

Martina McBride has, on occasion, shown herself to be a brilliant vocalist with a voice to die for. But on "Danny's Song", she sounds so much better.

Murray smoothes the edges, yet keeps a cut in her voice which breaks through the hefty backing.

My favorite track here is "Daydream Believer" - the John Stewart song which was made so famous in the 1960's by The Monkees. Few will realize that, ten years after the made-for-TV band topped the charts with it, Murray took it and made it a hit again.

Murray's vocal, almost cracking as she opens the song making this a tour-de-force. The only downside is Nelly Furtado. Her thin reedy, nasal vocals go as far as they can to wreck the song.

Fellow Canadian, Shania Twain gets a part here too, and her usually thin voice is given depth by Murray's presence on "You Need Me"

There is an astonishing version of The Beatles classic "You Won't See Me" with Shelby Lynne giving the song some real oomph.

Other duetists include The Indigo Girls, Carole King, Emmylou Harris, and Amy Grant.

A word of warning: this is almost a pop album, and you may feel it has no place in a Country Music reviews section.

That it is almost pop is hardly surprising: the producer is none other than Phil Ramone who's past client list includes Elton John, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand.

But Anne Murray is an iconic figure with a history in Country music, and I feel she deserves recognition for that.

My View: If you like Murray, and you can forgive Ramone's insistence on using less able pop stars as duetists, give this a try.

Anne Murray: "Duets - Friends and Legends".
Release date: January 15,  2008. (Manhatten)