Canadian Country music ‘90s legend Terri Clark revisits her bestselling hits with a few friends on her latest album ‘Take Two,' including Ashley McBryde, Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson and it is one of the best albums of 2024.
The Stetson-wearing Clark’s personality shines through the album in song and partner choice, showcasing the distinctive vocals and traditional Country sound that brought her to Nashville’s attention in the mid-‘90s, brought her multi-platinum albums, six number one songs and a bathroom full of awards (I don’t actually know where the awards are kept, but it’ll be someplace fun).
You may know Clark from her stage appearances – she’s walked the boards with Toby Keith, George Strait, Brooks & Dunn and Brad Paisley and in 2022/23 joined Reba on tour. You may know Clark from her eleven studio albums over the last three decades. You may also know Clark from her appearance with Hot Country Knights in 2020 on You Make It Hard. Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Clark exudes fun in her performances.
While duets featuring Wilson, Alaina and Johnson are always going to capture the attention of honky tonk loving fans, the soaring ballad duet with Kelly Clarkson, If I Were You', is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and the first one I popped on repeat. Their voices just work so well together. The number one song featured on Clark’s debut, eponymous, album in 1995, along with the top ten ‘Better Things To Do', which Ashley McBryde lends her vocals to on Take Two. The uptempo sassy song about an ex that comes wandering back is lyrically perfect for both performers; “I could wash my car in the rain/change my new guitar string…I don’t need to waste my time…I got better things to do.”
Cody Johnson and Clark meet on the banjo-infused argument song, “we’ve been married seven years now/some days it feels like twenty-one…I think I’m right/I think you’re wrong…please don’t make me smile/I just want to be mad for a while”. Clark fought for this song to be the lead single on her 2003 album Pain to Kill, and it’s hard to imagine this as a solo; CoJo and Clark could have always sung together. And should do again.
Ben Rector joins Clark’s soaring vocals on the ballad ‘Now That I’ve Found You' and the reimagined song sounds like one of those classic radio songs you turn up when you hear it.
Lainey Wilson helps Clark refresh the ‘70s rock song, ‘Poor Poor Pitiful Me' originally a hit for Warren Zevon and later for Linda Ronstadt before Terri recorded it on her second studio album. Wilson and Clark give the song bite, demonstrating the versatility of Clark’s vocal range; each of the eight duets feature artists with different voices and Clark’s blends harmoniously with each one.
If C2C 2025 are looking to reopen their legends slot, then we’d love to have Terri Clark over to the UK; with her brand of humour and song delivery style we’d know we’re in the presence of a Country music legend.
When you’ve listened to Take Two all weekend, do yourself a favour and spend some time diving into Clark’s thirty year back catalogue.
Track list: 1. Just Wanna Be Mad (featuring Cody Johnson) 2. Poor Poor Pitiful Me (featuring Lainey Wilson) 3. ‘Better Things to Do (featuring Ashley McBryde) 4. Now That I Found You (featuring Ben Rector) 5. I Wanna Do It All (featuring Lauren Alaina) 6. If I Were You (featuring Kelly Clarkson) 7. Girls Lie Too (featuring Carly Pearce) 8. You're Easy On the Eyes (live) (featuring Paul Brandt) Record label: Mercury Nashville/Ume Release date: 31 May 2024 Buy ‘Take Two' right here
