Come On Over
Come On Over is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain. Mercury Records in North America released it on November 4, 1997. Similar to her work on its predecessor, The Woman in Me, Twain entirely collaborated with producer and then-husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange. With both having busy schedules, they often wrote apart and later intertwined their ideas. Twain wanted to improve her songwriting skills and write a conversational album reflecting her personality and beliefs. The resulting songs explore themes of romance and female empowerment, addressed with humour.
Produced by Lange, Come On Over is a country pop album with pop and rock influences. The songs contain country instrumentation such as acoustic guitars, fiddles, and pedal steel, in addition to rock riffs and electric guitars. She released an international version on February 16, 1998, with a pop-oriented production that toned down the country instrumentation. Then Twain embarked on the Come On Over Tour, which ran from May 1998 to December 1999. The album spawned 12 singles, including three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hits: "You're Still the One", "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much."
Come On Over received mixed reviews from music critics. Some appreciated the album's crossover appeal and country-pop experimentation, while others criticized the lyrics and questioned its country music categorization. At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999, Come On Over was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Album. The album reached number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, while topping the charts in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, and the UK.
Come On Over is the best-selling studio album by a solo female artist, the best-selling country album, and one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over 40million copies worldwide. It was certified 20× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2004. Retrospectively, music journalists praised the album for revolutionizing country music, both musically and visually, and discussed its influence on subsequent country artists.
Background
Canadian singer Shania Twain signed to U.S. label Mercury Nashville Records in 1991, and released her eponymous debut studio album in April 1993. It was a commercial failure, reaching number 67 on the U.S. Top Country Albums chart and selling just over 100,000 copies. However, the music video for the album's lead single, "What Made You Say That," and Twain's singing voice attracted the interest of Zambian record producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The two collaborated on songwriting via phone calls, and met for the first time at the Nashville Fan Fair festival in June 1993. Soon after, they established a romantic relationship and wedded in December 1993. Together they worked on Twain's second studio album, The Woman in Me. They released it in 1995, and it represented Twain's break with the conventional country music formula to experiment with a rock-influenced country pop sound.It sold over 10 million copies, surpassing Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits as the best-selling female country album of all time, and establishing Twain as a sensation on the country music scene. The Woman in Me spawned four number-one singles on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and won Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 31st Academy of Country Music Awards and the 38th Annual Grammy Awards, respectively. Despite the commercial success, Twain refused to embark on a tour to support it. Her risky decision sparked criticism and speculation from Nashville industry experts that she was a manufactured artist with no ability to perform live. Twain cited a lack of logistical support, her reluctance to sing cover songs due to not having enough powerful music, and also a desire to take time off and focus on writing songs for her next album. A concert tour, she suggested, would have distracted her from improving her songwriting.
Writing
As with The Woman in Me, Twain and Lange composed all of the songs on Come On Over. They crafted material for the album "sporadically" as early as 1994, including "You've Got a Way." Twain composed the lyrics at Michael Bolton's New Jersey home, while Lange worked on Bolton's 1995 greatest hits compilation. Due to Twain's busy promotional schedule for The Woman in Me, she and Lange often worked separately, and then later amalgamated the parts. Twain documented her ideas on devices she carried with her at all times. She wrote rough drafts of music and lyrics in a notebook, and recorded bits of melodies on a small tape recorder or a MiniDisc. She explained, "We write everywhere. When we're driving to the grocery store we write. Sometimes, I come up with a melody when we're in the car and if I didn't bring the tape deck, I have to sing it all the way home so I don't forget it. When I get home I run to the tape deck to record it." Twain's longtime friend, Hélène Bolduc, noted how the singer perpetually observed others. She then wrote these observations in her notebook, and later referred to them while composing or when coming up with a title.When Twain and Lange wrote together, it was typically after they had spent significant time in each other's company. The couple found it difficult to compose music after being separated for a long time. Rather than scheduling time for songwriting, they waited for it to surface gradually. The pair wrote much of the material when they were relaxed, almost bored, because that was when the process felt most natural. While Twain concentrated on the concepts and themes, Lange worked on the music and arrangements. Conceiving Come On Over as a conversational album, Twain incorporated common phrases used in everyday language into her songwriting. As a result of the positive response to The Woman in Me, she also felt "freer and more comfortable" to continue writing songs that expressed her personal beliefs and attitudes. "People seemed to like hearing my perspective from a woman's point of view," she said, "and they seemed to like a sense of humour, so it seemed natural to continue on with that."
Production and recording
Twain and Lange began the recording process for Come On Over in late 1996. Before recording, Lange called session drummer Paul Leim and played him every song, singing and accompanying himself on guitar. Wanting to capture "a real fun Motown feel," Lange had several conversations with audio engineer Jeff Balding, singing and detailing the musical direction. Balding added, "A lot of thought went into it before we came into the studio to do the tracks." All tracks were recorded over three weeks at Masterfonics Tracking Room in Nashville, Tennessee. Finding the right location to place the drum kit was one challenging task, and they tested several locations. Leim recorded the drums for most songs in a room with a stone floor, and walls made of reflective rock faces. He recorded the ballads in "small 'dead booths.'" Joe Chemay played electric and fretless bass, Biff Watson played acoustic and nylon-string guitar, and Twain sang scratch vocals. Steppenwolf member Larry Byrom played the slide guitar tracks, and then recorded them at the GBT Studio. Olle Romo programmed the music at Sven Studios in Mamaroneck, New York. Twain and Lange recorded the background vocals in Toronto at the Glenn Gould Studio, and later returned to Masterfonics for overdubs.Whilst having a specific vision for the sound of the songs, Lange also left room for the musicians to come up with their own touches. Recalling the recording of "You've Got a Way," Chemay remarked: "The fretless bass allowed me to slide and make gradual note and pitch changes. I had quite a lot of input on that song." For the fiddle recording, both Twain and Lange were of the opinion that the instruments did not sound "big enough." Thus, Lange brought in four fiddle players: Rob Hajacos, Joe Spivey, Glen Duncan, and Aubrey Haynie. They played the exact same part in unison. Additional engineer Bob Bullock noted that this technique made the instruments sound big without being cluttered, creating a different effect than "simply doubling or tripling a part by the same player." For some songs they placed microphones six to eight inches from each fiddle. For other songs, all four fiddle players stood in a semicircle, using two Neumann KM 582 microphones. After recording was finished, Mike Shipley mixed Come On Over using a SSL 9000 J console. Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics mastered the album with a SADiE's Apogee UV22 plug-in.
Musical style
debated the album's genre. Most categorized Come On Over as country pop. Christopher O'Connor of MTV News and Miriam Longino of The Atlanta Constitution remarked that the songs combined country music instruments, such as fiddles, pedal steel, and acoustic guitars, with radio-friendly pop hooks. Pitchforks Allison Hussey stated that "fiddles are the key element in transmitting Come On Overs country core," but the "smeared edges of production master the illusion of genre." Others argued that the album's production leaned more toward pop and adult contemporary music than country. Twain described Come On Over as a diverse and upbeat album that equally combined elements of country, pop, and rock music. Many critics noted rock influences in the album's instrumentation.According to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, the verses on Come On Over contained "a big, blunt rock beat," while the choruses were country, with fiddles and pedal steel guitars. The album's opening track, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," uses twang vocal delivery, synthesized strings, and electric guitar, which some journalists compared to Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky". Described as a "country-pop-metal mix," "Love Gets Me Every Time" blends steel and "funky" electric guitars with fiddle and pedal steel. "Honey, I'm Home" is an uptempo country rock track featuring bluesy fiddles, guitars, and drums. It incorporates a stomp-clap rhythm which some critics found similar to Queen's "We Will Rock You". "If You Wanna Touch Her, Ask!" and "Black Eyes, Blue Tears" are guitar-driven songs; the former is a blues rock song, while the latter features grunge pop influences.
"I Won't Leave You Lonely" is a "European-flavored" song with juxtaposed accordions and pedal steel. The rhythm guitar track has been noted for its similarities to the Police's "Every Breath You Take". On "Rock This Country!," Twain sings over "pounding" beats, power chords, electric guitars, and fiddles. Some critics described other tracks with more uptempo productions, such as "Don't Be Stupid " and "That Don't Impress Me Much," as dance-able country pop numbers. In addition to an electronic Caribbean beat, the mandolin and accordion-led Latin percussion on the title track create a Cajun sound. Among the ballads on the album, "From This Moment On" combines country and rock elements. The piano-based "You're Still the One" features breathy vocals and instrumentation from guitar, organ, and mandolin. The closing track "You've Got a Way" is a Spanish guitar-driven ballad with "gentle" drums.