What A Man My Man Is
Columbia Records C 33293 | Released November 1974 | Peak Chart Position: 18
Lynn & Glenn still session
THE LINER NOTES
Equal parts irony, ego and romance, and written undoubtedly with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, only Glenn Sutton, Nashville’s very own Merry Prankster, would’ve had the brilliant idea to write a song extolling his own virtues as a partner, lover, husband, friend, and man…to pitch to his wife.
And ‘brilliant’ might be selling it short. The first and only single from this twelfth Columbia release, “What A Man My Man Is” shot to the top of the charts within hours of hitting the street, giving Lynn her first Number One single since ‘73’s monster hit, “Keep Me In Mind” – also from the heart and pen of Glenn Sutton. In both cases, his genius as a writer and producer shine like the surface of a new album just out of the sleeve. Drop the needle down on this track, and you can literally feel the driving wheels pumping a classic boogie backbeat under a Lynn Anderson vocal that’s delivered in her strongest country-rock bid yet. Every line punched out with a wry grin, letting us know she gets the whole ‘equal parts irony, ego and romance’ thing, and she’s having a blast with it.
Backed by The Carol Lee Singers, Lynn’s riff on Connie Francis’s 1960 hit, “Everybody's Somebody's Fool” takes it out of the skating rink lineup, and plugs it straight into the juke box at the Dairy Queen. Veteran writer Liz Anderson’s "I Feel Like a New Man Today" takes us back to the sound of Lynn’s first hits, and takes the double-entendre win for best country title of 1974. And pop prince Peter Allen’s "I Honestly Love You" gives us a dialed back, deeply sensitive read from Lynn that brings a new…honesty to the song.
But it’s her take on the Kris Kristofferson classic "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" that stands head and shoulders above every track on this collection. Hands down her most stunning vocal since “Cry”, her voice has never been richer; or more fluid, rippling with a tremolo and rise and fall that literally leaves you breathless…and leaves you with no doubt that Lynn Anderson was one of country music’s greatest stylists.
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J Buck Ford
THE TRACKS
"What a Man My Man Is" / "I Honestly Love You" / "Everything's Falling In Place (For Me and You)" / "Tell Me a Lie" / "Someone to Finish What You Started" / "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" / "I Won't Go Back to Denver" / "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" / "Walk Me to the Door" / "Where Is All That Love You Talked About" / "I Feel Like a New Man Today"