Leann Rimes hasn’t reached the top ten on the charts since she nearly hit number one back in 2006 with “Something’s Gotta Give.” With her career in a bit of a slump, it’s a bit of a surprise that she’s chosen to release an album of cover songs rather than delivering new music. The first single off her upcoming Lady and Gentlemen album is a cover of John Anderson’s flirty 1983 classic, “Swingin’.” Does Leann do enough with the song to make it a hit for this generation of country fans?
On “Swingin’,” Leann Rimes takes a fearless plunge into recreating the song and making it fit her style and personality. Obviously Leann had to go from singing about Charlotte Johnson to Charlie Johnson instead. The song has always been a flirtatious ditty about a young infatuation but Rimes manages to make the song more energetic and flirtatious with her delivery and production changes.
Rather than being filled with horns and organ are left behind and are replaced by killer guitar playing from producer Vince Gill and fantastic steel riffs. In fact, it’s easy to see this song being played back in the 1990’s because the production is similiar to some of Gill’s uptempo classics from that decade. The tempo of the song has been increased to become more energetic and playful. Meanwhile Leann provides excellent articulation and avoids slurring words together to keep up with the song’s quicker tempo.
It’ll be interesting to see if Leann can compete with the current country-pop fluff that is filling the airwaves right now with this country ditty. But, whether it gains radio play or not, this is probably one of Leann Rimes’ strongest singles to date.
Listen to the song below.
All Things Country 