If Reba’s twenty-seventh studio album ‘Love Somebody’ is some kind of mission statement, then it’s an appropriately-titled one. Although not always amidst settings of romantic bliss, the characters on this dozen-track record are all entangled in some form of love, relationship or heartbreak, each song a chapter, each narrative a carefully-delivered emotional angle that plays to Reba’s strengths as a vocalist and storyteller. In all honesty, the lead single had worried me; ‘Going Out Like That’ had the best intentions, but was shrouded in a modern lyric and sound (recalling the likes of Lady Antebellum’s ‘Bartender’ and with unnecessary auto-tune) that I felt didn’t fit at least mydefinition of who Reba is as an artist, if not the wider public view. I struggled with the way its heavy guitars, drums and synths merged seamlessly into a sea of mainstream radio fodder, and I was worried that this signalled an attempt to become commercial.
Luckily, I was wrong. The remainder of the tracks on ‘Love Somebody’ are individual components of another great Reba album, structured around pillars like the unmistakable groove and foot-stomping of ‘Until They Don’t Love You’ (about the striking realization that you have mistreated your lover and their leaving is surprisingly devastating to you), and the perfectly-crafted, emotionally-fraught power duet with Jennifer Nettles ‘Enough’ (‘Does He Love You’ twenty-one years later – reminding us Reba is the Queen of female duets). She opts for big, mountain-moving romantic gestures on ‘Promise Me Love’ and subtle, vulnerable insights on the beautiful ‘She Got Drunk Last Night’ (written by Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, this is my favorite track on the album and would fit perfectly with Brandy’s solo material for style and theme). Unlike many of those dominating radio who weren’t even born when she was first topping the charts, Reba makes sure to touch as many corners of sonic and lyrical arenas as she can, within the underlying theme of love and a revised, fresher but quintessentially Reba sound. Naturally this record includes her usual energetic female power song, and ‘Livin’ Ain’t Killed Me Yet’ is up with the best of them for its tapping into the struggles of everyday women and celebrating overcoming those obstacles.
Reba may be trying new things on this record (such as the semi-rap delivery, hip hop beats and gospel choir chorus of the title track which makes for a fascinating listen I don’t quite know what to make of), but she largely does not stray from what she knows works, and her incredible storytelling ability comes out in the tear-jerking ‘Love Land’, which Martina McBride recorded on her 2007 album ‘Waking Up Laughing’. While Martina’s is a wonderful rendition, there’s something about the snappier phrasing and Reba’s worldy vocal expression that guides us most effectively through the trials, tribulations and eventual peace of the lead character, and the likes of ‘That’s When I Knew’ and ‘I’ll Go On’ also remind us just how much of a wonderful interpreter and conveyor of emotion Reba is. Some artists run out of gas or lose their touch as they continue to fervently create into their fifties and sixties, but she sounds as passionate and as on form as she ever was, and that is no mean feat. Nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Just Like Them Horses’, a song that she performed at her father’s funeral. The vivid imagery of Liz Hengber’s words, combined with the beautiful melody of regular Reba collaborator Tommy Lee James, and topped off with how close to home we know this hits for the songstress, means that there’s hardly a dry eye in the house.
It seems appropriate, therefore, that the record ends on ‘Pray For Peace’, the standalone single she released a couple of years ago that, aided by a Nashville gospel choir, Kelly Clarkson and Ronnie Dunn, was built into an epic bid to spread peace in the world. There are many moments of fear, heartbreak, loneliness, vulnerability, inner turmoil and doubt on ‘Love Somebody’, but we come out of the listening experience feeling positive and hopeful, and part of that is down to the placement of ‘Pray For Peace’. Reba is telling these stories because she knows it is important, but she cares deeply for those suffering and doesn’t let them leave without her good wishes for healing, faith and serenity. If she was the warm, comforting hand in a time of need before, then this album only goes to reaffirm how we felt about her. This is a great record, and if there’s any justice in the world it’s going to give the shallow bros a real run for their money.
