| · Coal miner’s daughter is one sexy grandma.
Loretta Lynn is so punk. For a 70-year-old country-western singer, that’s quite a feat. Born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky and married at the young age of 14, Lynn had four children before ever having dreams of making it big in Nashville.
Her new album, Van Lear Rose, was produced by Jack White of the White Stripes and not unlike what Rick Rubin did for Johnny Cash, White manages to capture the raw talent of a true country legend. Instead of trying to make Lynn more palatable to a younger audience, White lets her do what made her famous in the first place. The result is an album with a whole lot of heart, sex appeal and raucous energy.
A woman comfortable with her sexuality and the mistakes that sometimes come from that, her record strings together a series of tales about infidelity, family and fame. However, her cleverness and talent for witty banter makes it so she never comes across as being oppressed. Lynn opts to embrace life, a sentiment expressed on the songs "God Makes No Mistakes" and "Have Mercy" (a steamy honky-tonk alluding to her affair with Elvis).
Her duet with White on "Portland Oregon" (about getting drunk on "sloe gin fizzes") is magnetic and seductive, making you forget all about the 40-year age difference between the two. With backing band, the Do Whaters (handpicked and arranged by White), the rockabilly garage sound is so much fun, it’ll make you want to get in a bar fight (Hey! Jack’s got your back). But don’t count Lynn out – she can take care of herself. "Mrs. Leroy Brown" is a good, old fashioned fightin’ song about getting even while driving around in a big ol’ pink limousine.
Lynn writes songs about good people who do bad things, while maintaining a wicked sense of humour and crooked smile. She’s a woman who makes her own bed and depending on how she’s feelin’ might let you lie in it.
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