Country Song Round Up March 1995

Country Song Round Up

March 1995

Shania Twain -- It's Her Party

by Jennifer Fusco-Giacobbe

Shania Twain is beaming. It could be because she is a newlywed--last December she married producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It could be because her second album, of which she is incredibly proud, is finally finished. Or it could be both, since Shania has melded both her personal and professional life, working with her husband on The Woman In Me.

Shania and Mutt met at 1993's Fan Fair. Apparently, Mutt was quite familiar with her talents--he had her album, her videos. But Shania really didn't know who Mutt was. It didn't take me long to find out," she says with a laugh. "I'm bad at reading the back of album covers. I don't read them, so I didn't know he was a producer. I had no idea--not just that he was a producer, but that he was a famous producer."

Their following courtship resulted in a marriage--and a musical partnership. The pair collaborated in the writing of the material and co-producing Shania's new product. For two people with such busy careers with the potential of not having much time to spend together, this was the perfect opportunity. "There's a song called 'The Woman In Me' that is one of the first songs we wrote together. Actually, the first song we wrote together was called 'Home Ain't Where His Heart Is Anymore.' The last song that we wrote for the album, which was a last minute song, I think we wrote it two weeks before we went into the studio, it's called 'If You Not In It For Love, I'm Outta Here,' it's a really fun, uptempo {track}. There's a title that I wrote last year called, 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under,' it's a fast song, it's a kicker. He dug the title and said, "Let's write a song around that."

"One of my favorites on the album--and this is a very vain statement--but I wrote this one by myself [laughs]. This song is true country, it's the real thing, and you don't hear much of it anymore. It's called 'Leavin's The Only Way Out,' and it's a very sad song."

According to Shania, there are several heartwrenching ballads on the album. But don't expect her to lose it when she performs her own material live--though you might catch her getting teary eyed while singing another writer's emotional interlude. "I get more choked up if I sing a ballad that someone else wrote, more than I would by own," she admits. "Like a fan would, if a fan is sitting in the audience or listening to the radio and they hear a song, a ballad a tearjerker that an artist is doing, they can relate to it, in whichever way it pertains to their life, or however it relates to their own circumstances. In that regard, I'm a fan, I'm reacting the way a fan would react. It's gonna touch me the way it's gonna touch a fan. When I write my own ballad, you sit there for hours trying to get the lyrics right, and getting the mood right, and the feel and the melody, you're working away."

Shania believes her sophomore effort is a natural progression. It's not too far removed from her debut, but it does take her tastes a step further. "It's the same [as the first] in one aspect, the fact that it's got variety," she says. "I would get bored very quickly if I had too much of one thing. I need to have the variety. So this album, the margin is fairly wide as far as the style. I mean, it's country, there's no doubt about that, but you're still gonna get the blues inflections, you're still gonna get the rock inflections. It's my generation to have those."

Although Mutt is prominently known in the industry for his work with rock artists, Shania stresses that he had nothing to do with her leaning toward an edgier sound. "I'm naturally influenced in that way," she says. "Like I was saying, it's similar to my last album that way, you're still gonna hear that. Mutt's such a country fan, he wouldn't want it to be rock, he does that all the time."

If Shania sounds confident, it's because she's taken all of the things she's gone through during her first whirl around the music business to heart. "I've learned a lot from my first album, and my first year, just in what I've experienced," she says. "The whole first year I learned how to pace myself. I'm much more prepared for a hit album. The first album prepared me musically, as a performer, as a professional, prepared me for the industry, prepared me for the fans--everything. It's been a workhouse. I'm ready to go. This album is going to have an experienced artist behind it.

Shania attributes much of her own confidence to the belief she has in her husband's production talents. "He's a great quality-control. I mean, I can write songs 'til I'm blue in the face, but he knows when he hears a hit. His track record is incredible. It's like none other. When he says it's a hit, I believe him. When he says the vocal's right, I believe him. I have total confidence in him."

There are occasions though, when Shania questions his ear. "I know things I don't like," she adds. "I'll do it 'til I get it right."

Though she is quite confident in her latest release, she says she is realistic about the business. "I just go out and do what I do and some people like it, not everyone's gonna love it, and there's always gonna be someone better than you, and I never want to forget that," she states. "I don't ever want to change that, because it's just always gonna be that way and I accept that--until I have a track record, I have to prove myself."

The competition is tough. There are so many talented female singers who are fighting for chart positions, radio play, and awards. Shania doesn't believe it's getting too crowded, and she certainly doesn't feel as though there won't be a place for her. "I think there's room for everybody. As long as there's fans, and as long as country music is popular, there'll be room for all of us. We're all individuals, I feel--myself in particular--[I] might be a little bit more individual than some artists, [because] I write my own material. I know a lot of females don't do that, which I think is unique. But I think everyone has their own niche."

Shania has definitely found her own niche and she has plenty of faithful fans. All the attention that goes along with being successful is something that Shania is still getting used to. "It's not that I don't like being recognized, but I'd rather not be... it's a little embarrassing. I'm a little shy that way," she admits. "When I'm on stage and when I'm on the radio, I hope everybody knows who I am, but when I'm in private, I don't want to be featured or praised in that way at all."

But there are times when, try as she might to avoid it, she just can't. "I was in this clothing store once and this lady says, 'You're Shania Twain," she relates. "And for some reason--it was a nervous reaction--I said, 'No I'm not.' I lied! I said, 'No, you've made a mistake.' And she said, 'No, I know you're Shania Twain, I see you on TNN all the time,' and she started arguing with me. So of course I made a complete fool of myself, and I had to admit that I was Shania Twain. But I'm getting used to it now. When you're in your private realm, you just forget who you are. I don't want to think I'm a star 24 hours a day. That's such a vain thing."

Even when she is on stage, her attitude is the same. Though she's out there under the lights, and she is the main attraction, she wants her audience to look at her differently. "I have a lot of energy, I like to get it out on stage and rock, even though it's country music. I like to get out with the audience. If you're sitting in front, you may end up on stage. I can't go though a show without bringing someone up on stage. I love it. I'd bring everybody up if I could, 'cause I want to party with them. I just have a great time when I perform, and want everyone else to have a great time. It's not like, 'Everybody look at me, I'm a star.' I feel like I'm just the hostess."