A reunion with producer Mark Bright, who produced her 2005 album Real Fine Place, may suggest Sara Evans is returning to the country on her 2014 record Slow Me Down, but a better indication of the sound of this album is in its artwork.
The glamour shot showcasing Evans' long legs in all their glory is hardly down-home and neither is Slow Me Down.
The singer may collaborate with songwriter of the hour Shane McNally on the exceptional "You Never Know," but a better indication of her frame of mind is how Isaac Slade from the Fray is brought in for a duet on "Can't Stop Loving You" and Gavin DeGraw pops up for "Not Over You," a song the AAA crooner co-wrote with pop hitmaker Ryan Tedder.
All this suggests how thoroughly pop Slow Me Down is.
Forget country-pop -- this is an adult contemporary pop album through and through, all slick surfaces and insistent melodrama, the kind of music made for the crossover diva Evans now is.
Evans elegantly matches the oversized arrangements, matching each crescendo and hushed moment, while the songs are cannily constructed pieces of pop, sounding stronger with each play.
Certainly, fans hoping that Evans will return to country music will be disappointed, but Slow Me Down is something that is rare in 2014: an unapologetic, big-scale adult pop album, constructed with grace and care.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slow Me DownMarv Green, Heather Morgan, Jimmy Robbins | Sara Evans | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Not Over YouGavin DeGraw, Ryan Tedder | Sara Evans | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Put My Heart DownNathan Chapman, Andrew Dorff, Elizabeth Huett | Sara Evans | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Can't Stop Loving YouVictoria Banks, Phil Barton, Emily Shackleton | Sara Evans, Isaac Slade | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | You Never KnowSara Evans, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne | Sara Evans | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | If I RunSara Evans, Karyn Rochelle, Shane Stevens | Sara Evans | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Sweet SpotSara Evans, Karyn Rochelle, Shane Stevens | Sara Evans | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Good Love Is Hard to FindDave Berg, Busbee, Sarah Buxton | Sara Evans | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | Better OffMarla Cannon-Goodman, Karyn Rochelle | Sara Evans | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Gotta Have YouVictoria Banks, Phil Barton, Emily Shackleton | Sara Evans | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | RevivalDarrell Brown, Jay Clementi, Radney Foster | Sara Evans | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 39 mins | 90 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 277 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Ascroft | Management, Photography |
| 2 | Chris Ashburn | Assistant |
| 3 | Adam Ayan | Mastering |
| 4 | Robert Bailey, Jr. | Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Victoria Banks | Composer |
| 6 | Phil Barton | Composer |
| 7 | Derek Bason | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 8 | Dave Berg | Composer |
| 9 | Mark Bright | Producer |
| 10 | Darrell Brown | Composer |
| 11 | Busbee | Composer |
| 12 | Sarah Buxton | Composer |
| 13 | Marla Cannon-Goodman | Composer |
| 14 | Nathan Chapman | Composer |
| 15 | Jay Clementi | Composer |
| 16 | Perry Coleman | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Eric Darken | Percussion |
| 18 | Gavin DeGraw | Composer, Featured Artist |
| 19 | Andrew Dorff | Composer |
| 20 | Kaelin Evans | Hair Stylist, Make-Up, Stylist |
| 21 | Sara Evans | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Radney Foster | Composer |
| 23 | Ben Fowler | Digital Editing, Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | Vince Gill | Featured Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Marv Green | Composer |
| 26 | Kenny Greenberg | Guitar (Electric) |
| 27 | Mike "Frog" Griffith | Production Coordination |
| 28 | Vicki Hampton | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Aubrey Haynie | Fiddle, Mandolin |
| 30 | Elizabeth Huett | Composer |
| 31 | Charlie Judge | Synthesizer |
| 32 | Trey Keller | Digital Editing |
| 33 | Shane McAnally | Composer |
| 34 | Chris McHugh | Drums |
| 35 | Jerry McPherson | Guitar (Electric) |
| 36 | Heather Morgan | Composer |
| 37 | Greg Morrow | Drums |
| 38 | Jimmy Nichols | Accordion, Keyboards |
| 39 | Josh Osborne | Composer |
| 40 | Matt Rausch | Engineer |
| 41 | Jimmy Robbins | Composer |
| 42 | Karyn Rochelle | Composer |
| 43 | Emily Shackleton | Composer |
| 44 | Isaac Slade | Duet, Primary Artist |
| 45 | Jimmie Lee Sloas | Bass |
| 46 | Chris Small | Assistant |
| 47 | Shane Stevens | Composer, Whistle |
| 48 | Alex Stone | Assistant |
| 49 | Ryan Tedder | Composer |
| 50 | Todd Tidwell | Engineer |
| 51 | Ilya Toshinskiy | Banjo, Dobro, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 52 | Brian David Willis | Digital Editing |
| 53 | Kristen Wines | Production Assistant |
| 54 | Jenifer Wrinkle | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |