Search - Juice Newton :: American Girl

This album brings Juice Newton truly back to us!!!

10/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"October 12, 1999 After a year of touring all over the country, Juice Newton has released her second recent new album, "American Girl". The album contains 10 never-before recorded hits, plus two rearranged hits from her "Trouble with Angels" album which was released just last year. The album is produced by Otha Young, Juice's long-standing musical partner, who composes many of her songs, in the past and currently, and who also backs up with vocals and guitar. Just like Juice's Gold albums of the 1980's this album is comprised of a mix of fast-paced upbeat numbers and some slower poingant love songs. These songs deliver to us more of what Juice was famous for in the past, in Juice's famous Grammy-winning voice, which only improves with time. A real fast-paced song "They never made it to Memphis" is a tribute to Elvis, and one number, written by Juice, brings back the old big band sound of the 40's. The banner song "American Girl" was first introduced on the "Trouble with Angels" album and was the inspiration for this new album. The closing number on the album "You Can't Say You Don't Love Me Anymore" is a real tearjerker for anyone has been in the situation depicted. For anybody who ever appreciated Juice Newton in the past, and for you newcomers too, I can tell you, Juice is truly here again for our enjoyment!!!"

Juice Newton is back...with a great CD!

Invisiboy2001 | Chicago, IL United States | 02/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With "American Girl," Juice Newton proves why she has always been an outsider in the music business. Despite a string of Gold and Platinum albums and twenty Top-40 hits to her credit, Newton never achieved the success that she should have. She is a remarkable singer; if anyone doubts that, just listen to her Grammy-winning rendition of "Break It To Me Gently". The trouble with Newton's career history is a lack of clear direction to the albums; the individual songs are great, but contorting them to make a cohesive album has never been Newton's forte. Many of her albums are a confusing (albeit enjoyable) hodgepodge of rock disguised as country, and vice versa. It is true that several of Newton's eleven solo albums have hit the mark, most notably her superb solo debut 1978's "Well Kept Secret" and 1989's "Ain't Gonna Cry"...and, gladly, "American Girl" can be added to the short list of albums that really showcase Newton's potential. From the opening licks of "Ask Lucinda," Newton reminds us why she was a radio fixture throughout the '80s. She glides effortlessly from rollicking numbers like "They Never Made It To Memphis" and "Listen To The Radio" to heart-wrenching ballads like "You Can't Say You Don't Love Me Anymore." Much of the country-rock material is borrowed from other artists, but Newton does admirably well on the rock classics "Love Hurts" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." A real gem of this collection is Newton's self-penned swing song "Nighttime Without You." With this track, Newton proves that she is an interpreter purely by choice..the lady has a talent for writing a good song! (Other great songwriters are represented on the CD: Tom Petty, Otha Young, and Nanci Griffith, just to name a few.) The single most important factor with "American Girl" is that you can actually sense how much FUN Newton had making the record. That sense of humor translates to some great performances for us, the listeners. So, welcome back, Juice. Let's hope there are more great CDs where this came from!"