Terri Clark may be a glamour queen, with lots of high style and flash. But then so is Dwight Yoakam, and he's a hell of a singer and songwriter, right? Clark is a honky angel singer with ambition, taste, looks, and a voice that's as big as a canyon. Oh yeah, and she's a fine songwriter as well. So bring on the glamour if it brings out the music. Luke Lewis over at Mercury has got to believe in this woman — she gets a producer's credit alongside Keith Stegall! Not every country singer or songwriter gets a production say on her second record. And this one develops the strengths that made her debut so compelling, even if it was flawed. Choosing to cover Warren Zevon's "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" after the Linda Ronstadt version takes guts. But Clark has more than that; her version is as valid as her predecessor's and as full of rock & roll heart as the songwriter's own version. Other than this, Clark, Chris Waters, and Tom Shapiro wrote the majority of this album. They're a decent team, though the fullness of Clark's potential as an emotive artist — without sentimentality — is not exploited in these songs. They are solid, they belong here, and they're good listening, but given what she is obviously capable of, they are workmanlike. Other than the aforementioned, the best two tracks on the set are "Something in the Water," where Clark gets her blues growl out into the mix, "Twang Thang," which is as tough as anything Alan Jackson ever wrote and sung with twice the verve and grit, and the ballad "Keeper of the Flame," which Clark wrote on her own. In this song, the protagonist's hope is what keeps a relationship together, and in the grain of her voice one can hear both weariness and determination; when she gets to the top of her contralto in the refrain, chills run down the listener's spine and recall the fine songs of Lacy J. Dalton, Trisha Yearwood when she was a singer instead of a status symbol, and Loretta Lynn when trying to deliver a countrypolitan song with Kentucky grit. She's not there yet, but so close you can hear the train coming all the way round the bend. Pick it up.

TERRI CLARK
JUST THE SAME
(Mercury 532879)
November/5/1996
Produced by Keith Stegall & Chris Waters

Brent Mason, Brent Rowan, John Willis - guitar
Paul Franklin - steel
Michael Rhodes, Duncan Mullins - bass
Eddie Bayers - drums
Stuart Duncan, Audrey Haney, Joe Spivey - fiddle
Steve Nathan, Gary Prim - piano
Carl Marsh - strings
Background vocals:
John Wesley Ryles, Ricky Skaggs, Dennis Wilson, Cheryl Wolff

1.
EMOTIONAL GIRL
(Chris Waters - Rick Bowles - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Chris Waters Music, BMI / Hit Haven Music, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

I've been looking at you looking at me
Bet your thinking that what you get is what you see
But underneath this cool exterior a raging river flows
So before you get any nearer I better let you know

I'm an emotional girl I can't help myself
Sometimes I laugh sometimes I cry
Sometimes I do both and I don't know why
Got a passionate heart and that's just the way things are
You and me could give it a whirl
But I'm warning you boy I'm an emotional girl

I like music that's loud and lights down low
I like driving my car too fast and dancing slow
Some folks may say I'm too extreme cause I can't stop once I start
But I never could do anything with half my heart

I'm an emotional girl...
[ fiddle - steel ]
I'm an emotional girl...
Yeah I'm warning you boy I'm an emotional girl
**********
2.
POOR POOR PITIFUL ME
(Warren Zevon)
« © '73 Dark Room Music, BMI / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing, BMI »

Well I lay my head on the railway track waitin' on the Double E
But the train don't run through here no more poor poor pitiful me

Poor poor pitiful me poor poor pitiful me
All these boys won't let me be Lord have mercy on me
Whoa whoa it's me

Well I met a man out at Hollywood I ain't namin' names
But he really worked me over good just like Jesse James
Yes he really worked me over good he was a credit to his gender
Put me through some changes Lord sorta like a waring blender

Poor poor pitiful me...
[ guitar ]
Well I met a boy in the Vieux-Carres down in Yokohama
He picked me up and he threw me down sayin' please don't hurt me mama

Poor poor pitiful me...

Poor poor poor me poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor poor me poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor poor me poor poor pitiful me
**********
3.
JUST THE SAME
(Chris Waters - Tom Shapiro - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Hit Haven Music, BMI / Mike Curb Music, BMI /
Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

You could've walked along a back road or on a lonely stretch of beach
You could have sat there on a park bench a Sunday paper at your feet
If you'd been waitin' for a taxi or at a bus stop in the rain
I would've found you I would've found you just the same

You know you could've been a gambler whose luck was running low
Or just another drifter without a single place to go
You could have been a broken dreamer without a penny to your name
I would've loved you I would have loved you just the same

No it really didn't matter who you'd been or what you'd done
Where we met or when it happened you'd still be the one
There's no way to know the future but one thing will never change
I'm gonna love you I'm gonna love you just the same
I'm gonna love you I'm gonna love you just the same
**********
4.
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
(Chris Waters - Tom Shapiro - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Chris Waters Music, BMI / Hit Haven Music, BMI /
Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

Somebody's restless she feels second best
And the girl across town is thinking about a permanent change
And the lady livin' next door won't take it anymore
There's a whole lot of love gone wrong goin' round these days

Must be something in the water something in the air
Cause every girl I talk to is going through the same thing I'm going through here
Must be something in the teardrops they've been falling too long
Must be something in the water making me wanna move on

I understand the heartache it leaves such a bitter taste
Makes you go crazy thirsty for something else
The way that it used to be now ain't enough for me
Cause the love I ain't gettin' is like drinkin' from a dry well

Must be something in the water...
[ guitar ]
Must be something in the water...
**********
5.
NEON FLAME
(Tom Shapiro - Chuck Jones - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Hit Haven Music, BMI / Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

Don't worry baby about that man at the bar that I just talked to
It's been so long I can't recall his name
Well he's just somebody who could never make me feel the way that you do
He's just an old neon flame

He shines bright on a Friday night but he burns out about daylight
And he's always hanging where the jukebox plays
He ain't nothing to me just a dance or two before you even knew me
He's just an old neon flame
[ steel - guitar ]
Give me a quarter and I'll pick out a number that's a slow one
And tonight we'll start a fire we can't contain
His heart's a cold one and I think I've been around enough to know one
He's just an old neon flame

Well he shines bright on a Friday night...
Oh honey he's just an old neon flame
**********
6.
ANY WOMAN
(Chris Waters - Tom Shapiro - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Chris Waters Music, BMI / Hit Haven Music, BMI /
Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

Every time you ask her out she turns you down
You've seen a tear roll down her cheek when she thinks no one's around
You don't know what's going on but you know there's something wrong
Well it don't take much to figure this one out

Any woman who's been hurt by a man understands
It'll take some time for her to find a way to love again
She may be crying but she's trying to do the best she can
Just ask any woman who's been hurt by a man

She lies in bed with questions on her mind
Was she so wrong about him and is she gonna be all right
The night can be so cold when a memory's all you hold
Yeah I know what she's going through tonight

Cause any woman who's been hurt...

Her broken heart will come around
She just needs a chance to heal right now

Cause any woman who's been hurt...
Just ask any woman who's been hurt by a man
**********
7.
TWANG THANG
(Chris Waters - Tom Shapiro - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Chris Waters Music, BMI / Hit Haven Music, BMI /
Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

A beer stain on a jukebox a tractor in a field
Fireflies on a screen door a home cooked meal
Rolling down a dirt road listenin' to a George Strait song
If it ain't pure and simple it ain't gonna turn me on

It's gotta have a twang thang it's gotta bend a heart strang
Like a scuffed up boot or a boy with two first names
I gotta feel a deep pang when I hear the songs they sang
If it don't kick up a little dust it ain't got much of a twang-ang thang

If I tried to describe it well I don't think I could
It's like swimming in a cold creek cause it just feels good
No matter where you find it there's a down home quality
It ain't sophisticated and that's just fine with me

It's gotta have a twang thang...
[ guitar ]
It's gotta have a twang thang...
It's gotta have a twang thang...
**********
8.
DO YOU OR YOU DON'T
(Bob DiPiero - Karen Staley)
« © '96 Tree Publishing, BMI »

Come on darling get down off that fence don't even try and make it make sense
It's got nothing to do with your mind take a leap of faith this time

Tell me what you're feeling deep in your heart
Love ain't followed by a question mark
It should be simple should be easy we're not talkin' brain surgery
You do or you don't you do or you don't
You do or you don't love me
[ guitar ]
You can make a list of pros and cons check 'em all off baby one by one
But all I really wanna know tonight is are you always gonna want me in your life

Tell me what you're feeling deep in your heart...
[ guitar - fiddle ]
Tell me what you're feeling deep in your heart..
**********
9.
KEEPER OF THE FLAME
(Terri Clark)
« © '96 WB Music, ASCAP / Lac De Charles Musique, BMI »

We pass in the hallway I stop to kiss you on the cheek
But you're in a hurry you've got a deadline you must meet
You're working so much these days you don't have time to spend with me
But I keep hoping we might get back to the way love used to be

I am the keeper of the flame you only helped me build the fire
And it's gettin' harder every day to make our love burn with desire
Cause if I left it up to you only ashes would remain
When it needs shelter from the rain I am the keeper of the flame

We live here together but I feel we're worlds apart
When I tell you I love you you never listen with your heart
I may look like I'm doing fine but I'm dying deep inside
Cause I've done all that I can do to try and keep this love alive

I am the keeper of the flame...
Oh oh when it needs shelter from the rain I am the keeper of the flame
**********
10.
NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR
(Chris Waters - Tom Shapiro - Terri Clark)
« © '96 Chris Waters Music, BMI / Hit Haven Music, BMI /
Music Of Stage Three, BMI / Tree Publishing, BMI »

For two weeks I ain't heard the phone ring just a warning bell
My friends tell me they know things I should know as well
I can't deny it I've been told a voice inside says let you go

But that's not what I wanted to hear
Not what I wanted my heart to say to me
That you'd be long gone before too long
And that's not what I wanted to see
Cause nobody wants to believe they could be so wrong
But one thing is clear
It's what I needed to know
But oh it's not what I wanted to hear

Sometimes my intuition can get carried away
But right now I'd better listen to what it has to say
Cause when I tried to believe you're mine I just got silence every time

And that's not what I wanted to hear...
[ guitar ]
That's not what I wanted to hear...
**********
11.
HOLD YOUR HORSES
(Carl Jackson - Pam Rose)
« © '91 Universal PolyGram Int, ASCAP / Home Sweet Highway Music, BMI / Music Of Stage Three, BMI »

Well you thundered into my life like a steed out of control
Tried to rope my heart and tie me down with a little band of gold
And I hate to break your spirit cause I know your mind is set
Well you may be but I ain't ready yet

Hold your horses you're steppin' out of line
Like a team of untamed stallions tramplin' on this heart of mine
I'm no good beneath the reins used to making my own choices
Hold your horses

I don't mean to act so skittish but when it comes to changing names
There's a mighty sense of freedom still a rushing through my veins
And your urgent need to settle down has got me running scared
Cause I ain't quite ready for the rocking chair

Hold your horses you're steppin' out of line...
[ fiddle - steel - piano - guitar ]
Hold your horses you're steppin' out of line...
Hold your horses you're steppin' out of line...
Hold your horses hold your horses
**********