Tanya Raye Brown
Meet the Mrs. (TRB)
Long in the background providing the infallible acoustic rhythm guitar for husband Junior Brown, Tanya Raye Brown steps up to center stage for this release. Though her guitar-leviathan husband plays on every song (and provides duet vocals on “His and Hers”), this is more than a Junior Brown CD with his wife sitting in on vocals. Tanya Raye’s vocals are strong and soulful, calling to mind Patsy Cline more than once. Her other half tones down the guit-steel gymnastics a bit in order not to upstage his wife, but his presence is unmistakable throughout. TRB is possessed of a good vocal range and a confident voice on pure-D honky-tonkers like “Gad About” and “I Wouldn’t Buy a Used Car From Him.” The only real sore spot on this release is a devotional number called “In Remembrance of Me.” It’s not the keen-on-Jesus aspect of the song that’s a problem, it’s the songwriting and delivery, which would be more in step with a Sandi Patti or Cristy Lane release. Among songs about cheaters, busted love affairs, and honky-tonk life, the song is as inappropriate as fender skirts on a beat-up truck. Otherwise, this is a release that can stand on its own, and definitely rises above being a vanity project.
This article appears in December 3 • 1999.