American Grandstand

Rhonda Vincent & Daryle Singletary

2017 -  Upper Management Music.  Very few times in the music industry that two individual entertainers come together to create a magic that is so intoxicating that you demand more.  Throughout country music we have heard this magic provided by George Jones and Tammy Wynette as well as with Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.  We can also cherish the combination of Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.  Now we can add Rhonda Vincent and Daryle Singletary to this list; or can we?  It’s hard to say… throughout this album, you can hear a beautiful match between Rhonda and Daryle’s vocals.  In fact it is quite elegant to the point that we have not heard such a wonderful match since George Jones and Tammy Wynette.  However… yes there is a however… this album consists of twelve songs that is compiled of eleven covers of well known songs.  These songs include those originally recorded by Tammy Wynette and George Jones with their 1995 hit “One” and their 1976 hit “Golden Ring.”  The album also includes two songs recorded by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn with their 1971 hit “After The Fire Is Gone” and their ever popular 1973 hit “Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man.”  The album opens with Buck Owen’s 1960 hit “Above And Beyond.”  The album also features the 1964 hit song “Slowly But Surely” recorded by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.  Other songs include Billy Yates’ “As We Kiss Our World Goodbye,” George Jones’ 1972 popular hit “A Picture Of Me Without You” and closes with “Up This Hill And Down” that was made popular by The Osborne Brothers in 1965.  In fact the only original song on the album is the title cut, written by Rhonda Vincent.  Nonetheless, when this song is placed within the rest of the songs, it does not measure up in potential.  I must compliment Rhonda and Daryle for their vocal collaboration.  In listening to this album, it brought back many memories of hearing these songs in their original content.  I’m sure that Rhonda and Daryle had lots of fun trying to re-create these legendary songs.  However, when you break it all down—no matter how well these recordings are—this album is just a cover album and nothing more.  Their vocal collaboration is simply elegant, but they should have sought out a collection of new songs or even written their own.  If you enjoy listening to someone performing cover songs then this album is for you.  As for those of us who cherish the originals—this is just a reminder of those songs that once graced the air waves of country radio.  Perhaps, this album is just a prequel to what is to come from this duo as they truly are a match made in music heaven.  I score their vocal collaboration high with $$$$+, but I must weigh the album for what it really is worth.  $

(This review was printed in the November / December 2017 issue of Strictly Country Magazine.)

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