CD Reviews

Reba McEntire

Reba Duets | MCA

By WERNER TRIESCHMANN | February 12, 2008

2.5 Stars

Reba McEntire became famous in the 1980s, when country music consisted of ballads as big as the hair of the singers who sang them. She’s proved adept at remaining in the spotlight (thanks to a TV show and a critically praised turn on Broadway) even as Nashville has moved on to younger divas and more rock-oriented music. Reba Duets finds the spunky redhead sharing the microphone with country stars like Vince Gill and Faith Hill, as well as poppier stars like Don Henley, Justin Timberlake, and Kelly Clarkson. The best moments are when she plays to her strengths, as on the new old-fashioned tearjerker “Because of You” with Clarkson and the lovely soaked-in-pedal steel “Does the Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma” with Ronnie Dunn. But the duet with Timberlake is tepid, and most of the tempos are slow. Although Reba Duets might look like an exotic buffet, it’s just another opportunity for McEntire to serve up the comfort food she’s been dishing out all along.

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