The Ways to Love a Man/Nashville By Carr

This EMI Gold two-fer assembles a pair of country-inspired albums cut by songstress Vikki Carr in the early '70s. Although Carr's vibrant, emotional vocals may seem better suited for the Great American Songbook than the Acuff-Rose catalog, Nashville by Carr transcends novelty status. Given the obvious parallels between the string-sweetened countrypolitan sound and traditional pop, Carr makes only a few adjustments and tweaks to fit comfortably within Julian Lee's sensitive arrangements, and her poignant voice is well calibrated for heartbreakers like "Today I Started Loving You Again" and "Everybody's Talkin'." To her immense credit, Carr also avoids the aw-shucks, down-home clichés that so often plague projects of this nature, and her sincere appreciation for the sound and spirit of country music is essential to Nashville by Carr's success. Carr continues her detour into Music Row with The Ways to Love a Man — the title cut, a cover of the Tammy Wynette classic, proved a big hit and its mature, thoughtful approach to the countrypolitan formula shapes Ron Bledsoe's production throughout the LP. As on Nashville by Carr, the singer refuses to pander to yokel clichés — she also knows a good song when she hears one, tackling material from composers including Willie Nelson ("Healing Hands of Time") and Mickey Newbury ("Sweet Memories") while largely eschewing standards and hits in favor of lesser-known tunes perfectly pitched to her plaintive but powerful vocals.