The World Famous Ultimate Twang: Classic Album Review-Judds "Heartland"

Classic Album Review-Judds “Heartland”

February, 1987. The Dow closes above 2,200 for the first time; Madonna is singing “Open Your Heart”; ABC airs the miniseries, “Amerika”; David Hartman leaves “Good Morning America”; “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville”, Bill Elliott outran Benny Parsons and Richard Petty for the Daytona 500; and one of country music’s hottest acts, The Judds, were on the market with their fourth album, “Heartland”, which would peak at number one on the country album charts.

The album starts off with a little rockabilly sound, as they tackle the Elvis classic, “Don’t Be Cruel”. While I still believe Elvis’ is the best version, The Judds have nothing to ashamed of with their version of the song. It is one of the best tracks on the disc. As a single, “Don’t Be Cruel” was a top ten hit in the early spring of 1987.

“I’m Falling In Love Tonight” is a nice ballad. Not anything especially memorable, but not a bad cut. For me, the biggest issue with the song, is that, musically, the verse could be a bit more melodic, as it seems to be a bit boring, but get to the refrain, it’s a different story.

March, 1988, “Turn It Loose” became The Judds’ eleventh number one hit. For me, there are other songs in their repertoire that I like better, but many Judds fans count this one as a favorite. The song is an up tempo, rockin’ tune.

“Old Pictures” may remind you a bit of an older Statler Brothers song titled “Pictures”. The premise is the same, looking back at old photos and remembering. This one is actually one of the album’s best tracks.

Up next, The Judds reach back into the 1940’s for the next track, “Cow Cow Boogie”. Previously recorded by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Frankie Laine, and Gene Krupa, among others, The Judds give it a good dose of twang, but not losing the jazzy feel to the song. And it actually works pretty well.

Perhaps the best song on the disc is the ballad “Maybe Your Baby’s Got The Blues”. A great track that I think is one of their underrated songs, even though it was a number one hit, in fact, their tenth number one hit, in late 1987. A perfect blend of lyrics and melody, further enhanced by the typical stellar Judd harmony.

The other song that would vie for the album’s best track would be “I Know Where I’m Going”. Some of the best vocal work of their career is heard, here. Put that with a track that has a great melody, and good lyrics, throw in a good beat, and you have a winner. It was a great summertime hit, becoming a number one hit in the summer of 1987.

“Why Don’t You Believe Me” is another strong ballad that highlight their stellar vocals. Again, a good melody, good lyrics, and the arrangement is perfect.

The album wraps with a remake of Emmylou Harris’ “The Sweetest Gift”. Emmylou had initially made the song a hit, as a duet with Linda Ronstadt, in 1976. Here, Emmylou joins The Judds for what may be an even better version than the original. At the very least, an equal to the original. What I like here, is how well Emmylou melds with their vocals, to create an amazing sounding trio, which luckily, is allowed to shine, as the arrangement is very minimal, a great decision by the producer, Brent Maher, to do so.

As for availability, that’s a bit interesting. It has been on CD, but is not currently in production, though I found several new and used copies, on line. It is, however, available for download as an MP3. There are also numerous used vinyl copies available, plus I also found several used cassettes, more than I’ve seen on any of our reviewed albums.

Overall, this is some great work by one of country music’s greatest duos. No really weak songs, as the non-singles are of comparable quality to the singles. My only complaint is the length, only 9 songs, a couple of more wouldn’t have hurt. I will rate this one a 5 out of 5. And your opinion is?