Patty Loveless - Only What I Feel (1993)

"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" was nominated for 1995 Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song.

Patty Loveless has delivered one of the best country albums of 1993 with ONLY WHAT I FEEL. The singer from the Kentucky hills soars through rangy melodies and heartbreak lyrics in what is one of the most comprehensive and satisfying albums of any genre.

The opening "You Will" is an edgy, spirited lesson to a lover, and from her opening note the crystal-clear, mournful, yet determined voice of a woman in control is quite evident. Loveless has a similar hard country approach as her cousin, Loretta Lynn, and she knows how to seamlessly weave her unbridled, bluegrass mountain voice through a contemporary sieve.

Loveless has an effective vocal catch, adding a melancholy soul-grabbing resonance to such tender ballads as "Love Builds Bridges," "Nothing But The Wheel," and the economy-size-Kleenex-box tearjerker "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye." When her heart breaks, the jagged pieces cut everything in sight.

Not that Loveless can't have fun--the litany of her lover's bad qualities, "Blame It On Your Heart," is a laugh-along show-stopper.

Ache and regret might burst forth from this extraordinary album, but it is a woman's strength which gives it its cohesive edge, as in the astonishing "What A Broken Heart." Musical integrity, ethereal vocals, and first-rate material are only parts of this stylist's whole, and Patty Loveless binds them all together with a craftsman-like preciseness unparalleled in contemporary music.

Recorded at Groundstar Laboratories and Woodland Digital, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel includes: Patty Loveless (vocals); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Steve Gibson (guitar, mandolin); Reggie Young (guitar); Sonny Garrish, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Christian Teal, Connie Heard, David Davidson, David Angell, Kristin Wilkinson, Jim Grosjean, Kathryn Plummer, Gary Vanosdale (violin, viola); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); John Catchings (cello); John Barlow Jarvis, Gary Smith, Barry Beckett, Mike Lawler (keyboards); Emory Gordy Jr. (bass); Owen Hale (drums); Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Kostas, Kathy Burdick, Liana Manis, Curtis Young, Carmella Ramsey, Tim Hensley (background vocals); Donna McElroy, Joe Diffie.

Spin (7/93, p.79) - Recommended - "...tribute songs to the condition embodied by Patty's chosen last name....like a warm blanket and three pillows, it'll suck you in, too..."
Entertainment Weekly (12/31/93, p.117) - Cited by Entertainment Weekly as one of `The Best Coutry Records Of 1993' - "...Loveless excels at communicating profound and unshakeable emotional pain without a trace of sentimentality...."
Entertainment Weekly (4/23/93, p.56) - "...rivals the best work of her seminal influences, Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris....she excels at songs that pinpoint moments of naked truth..." - Rating: A+

Tracklist:
1. You Will
2. How About You
3. Nothin' But The Wheel
4. Love Builds The Bridges (Pride Builds The Walls)
5. Mr. Man In The Moon
6. Blame It On Your Heart
7. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are
8. All I Need (Is Not To Need You)
9. What's A Broken Heart
10. How Can I Help You Say Goodbye