Wynonna Judd – ‘Sing - Chapter 1’ – Album Review

By Mateo Gamboa Feb 4, 2009, 13:21 GMT

Twenty five: the number of years the incredible songtress Wynonna Judd has been bringing her amazing voice, her inspirational stories and her unique blend of country, soul and good ‘ol Rock’n’Roll to the masses. In celebration of this illustrious career, Wynonna will be releasing her 7th studio album in 2009 – an eclectic assortment of standards paying homage to all the different genres and songs that have formed the soundtrack to her own life.

Wynonna Judd’s new cover album, ‘Sing - Chapter 1’ is a collection of songs that have influenced her musical taste and style. It consists of lyrics that the once popular country singer feels has significant emotional attachment with her life.  Unfortunately, the concept of this album is just as boring as it sounds.

The album has several classic covers (including “When I Fall in Love” and “Woman be Wise”), but the songs fail to deliver the same way that their predecessors did. I found myself waiting for each song to end, hoping the next might be a little bit better. 

Overall, the album is beyond disappointing. The only semi-enjoyable song was the only original song on the disc: “Sing.”

Where other cover albums have success, this collection has enormous shortcomings. Good cover albums make each rendition sound unique, but “Sing: Chapter 1” falls short and almost does the original songs an injustice.

Soundtracks like “Across the Universe” and “Mama Mia!” make listeners want to pick up their old Beatles and ABBA albums while highlighting the success each group had in their time.

The quality of the music on ‘Sing – Chapter 1’ can be summed up in one word: gimmicky.

Wynonna Judd fans may still buy this album to hear the soulful country singer belt out a couple of old tunes, but as a country fan, I think Wynonna’s music is best left in the 90s.