'Rose' grows where Loretta goes

Ever since Loretta Lynn released her first single 44 years ago, her heart and soul have remained intimately tied to her childhood as a coal miner's daughter in rural Kentucky. She's never forgotten who she is and where she came from, never left behind the life lessons she learned growing up in Butcher's Hollow and watching her father toil in the nearby Van Lear mine.\nAnd, fortunately for us, her latest release lets us know that right from the start. Van Lear Rose begins with the title track, a song that could very well be about her parents, or even Lynn and her husband, Oliver "Doo" Lynn, themselves: a father tells his daughter about the Van Lear Rose, a beautiful woman who teased the coal miners but whose heart was eventually won by a poor boy who supposedly had no chance with the much-pursued Rose.\nThat boy, it turns out, is the singer's father, and the listener is instantly captivated, just like the Van Lear Rose was captivated with her poor-boy suitor. The entire CD, like much of Lynn's stuff from her heyday in the 1960s and '70s, is direct, honest and powerful, so much so that we can almost see what she sees, feel what she feels, live what she lived.\nSome of the credit must be given to producer Jack White, who took a break from the White Stripes to help create a passionate statement by an American legend. The CD's sound is full and rich without being cluttered and confusing. He also contributes gritty electric guitar on fiery tracks like the almost-jazzy "Have Mercy" and the mournful "Women's Prison" and affecting vocals on the album's duet, "Portland Oregon."\nBut while White and others fashion a rich backdrop for her, the CD is Loretta's and Loretta's alone. Her gutsy vocals have faded little since she belted out groundbreaking feminist anthems four decades ago. She displays her versatility by showing subtle anguish on "Miss Being Mrs." (which could very well be dedicated to Doo, who passed in 1996) and raucous rave-up on "Mrs. Leroy Brown."\nUp to this point, Loretta Lynn has produced 52 Top 10 hits and 16 No. 1s. Whether Van Lear Rose adds to those totals really doesn't matter. What does matter, however, is whether modern country fans give Lynn the immense respect she deserves. Perhaps more than any artist in country-music history, she's been able to both rise above and remember her humble beginnings, and Van Lear Rose is a triumphant statement by a woman who in many ways has no peer.