Shania Twain, The Woman in Me

I think I remember how I first became a fan of Shania's... I fell in love with a guy when I was much younger and he was a fan of hers so foolishly, I decided to do a few things I wouldn't have normally and tried to like a few of the things he liked... one being Shania Twain.

I had heard a lot of her songs from compilation albums so I bought 'Come on Over'. I loved the CD but wanted more so started looking back over her career and the CD releases she already had. 'The Woman In Me' has to be my second favourite after 'Up'.

Who is Shania? Her real name is Eilleen Regina Edwards and she was born in Canada. At the age of 2 she became Eilleen Twain and adopted "Shania" meaning "I'm On My Way" in 1991. In 1987 her parents were tragically killed in a car accident so she has to take care of her 3 younger siblings. She began in music at a very young age and it continued all through her life. Her debut album, "Shania Twain", released July 6, 1993, contained only one of her own songs, "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That". Caught in a strange "Triple Play" non-marketing experiment, it garnered some critical praise and a CMT Europe "Rising Video Star" Award for Shania, but not much else. Three singles were released which charted moderately. About the same time, Shania met her future husband, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, a famous rock producer (AC/DC, The Cars, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, and others). Shania and Mutt married in 1993 and now have a child Eja (pronouced Asia) who was born in 2001.

About the album: The Woman in Me was released February 7th 1995 and Shania and Mutt wrote or co-wrote every song. Every single off the album was a major hit - four no. 1's, a top 5 and a top 10 in the U.S.; six no. 1's, a top 5 and a top 10 in Canada. This is quite a country album where she does do line dancing in some of the videos.

Track Listing

01. Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)

02. Any Man Of Mine

03. Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?

04. (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!

05. The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You)

06. Is There Life After Love?

07. If It Don't Take Two

08. You Win My Love

09. Raining On Our Love

10. Leaving Is The Only Way Out

11. No One Needs To Know

12. God Bless The Child

My favourite songs on the album have to be "Raining on our love" and "Home Ain't Where his heart is". I don't know whether that is just because of the meaning behind the songs but if my mood changes, then so does my favourite songs on the album.

About the tracks:

1. "Home Ain't Where His Heart is" is one about having a perfect love and nothing can come in between you. Years on and since there have been kids and seeing each other everyday, things have changed and he doesn't see you the same way.

"If foundations made of stone can turn to dust

Then the hardest hearts of steel can turn to rust"

You hope that he can find what you once had to turn back time and have everything the way it was but it isn't going to happen.

2. "Any man of Mine" is one of the songs that is well known by Shania. The video to this one is set in a farm and the barn as she does some line dancing. No matter how bad you look, how bad you cook (ooh, i'm rhyming!), he still better treat you right and tell you that he loves you.

"He's gotta be a heartbeatin' fine treatin'Breathtakin' earthquakin' kind"

3. Who's Bed Have your Boots Been Under" is another famous song. It is very upbeat and is about knowing that your partner is seeing other women but he tries his hardest to pretend that he isn't. You know every single person he has been with and what they have been doing together...

"So next time you're lonely

Don't call on me

Try the operator

Maybe she'll be free"

4. "I'm Outta Here" is about a good looking woman getting chatted up by every guy around and they all want one thing but unless they are going to give you love, you ain't gonna give them anything! They have every line in the book and tell you that you are beautiful and can be a star but this woman is strong and won't take it!

5. "The Woman In Me" is the title album track. Even though this woman may seem strong all the time, she can't be and sometimes just needs to be held in a mans arms.

"When the world wants too much

And it feels cold and out of touch

It's a beautiful place

When you kiss my face"

It is quite a sad song on the album but certainly deserves to be the title of the album.

6. "Is there life After love?" Is about having loved someone and no matter how much you have to forget about them, you are still a fool and love them so much that you cry. She belives in Angels in Heaven but not sure about Life After love.

7. "If It Don't Take Two" is about one person seeming to be in a relationship more than the other. Noah had the idea with his ark and the animals going in 2 by 2 but the guy in this relationship just doesn't get it!

8. "You Win my Love" is kind of contradicting some of the earlier songs she has sung by saying that there is no speed limit and if you want her, go as fast as you can. It doesn't really seem as though she is in it for love in this track but is showing her female dominance.

9. "Raining On Our Love" is one about a guy seeing other women and the woman in a relationship with him is blaming herself and asking if it was her who made him feel so lonely. She thinks that she had her heads in the clouds and was blinded by her love for him that she didn't see how much she was hurting him!

10. "Leaving is the only way out" is about a woman finding the only way into her mans heart is by crying and she is trying to put things back to the way they were but there isn't anything she can do so she has to leave.

11. "No one needs to know" is about a woman that has a big secret and she is publically announcing that she loves him even though he has no idea! She has already started making big plans for them and she will tell him one day.... she has the wedding, kids (and their names!) already figured out!! Maybe a bit too obsessive and not really one of my favourite tracks on the album!

12. "God bless the Child" is a short song.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah

God bless the child who suffers

Hallelujah, hallelujah

God bless the young without mothers

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Let every man help his brother

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Let us all love one another

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Make all our hearts blind to color

Hallelujah, hallelujah

God bless the child who suffers"

This song is just trying to make everything right in the world - take away racism, all the hurt in the world and to get everyone to help each other.

Quote:

"Songwriting is my favorite part of what I do" says Shania. "I like to give every song its own personality and attitude and to sing each one in its own style."

In 1996 she won the Country Album of the Year award for The Woman on Me followed by many more awards for Best Female Country Artist etc.

Overall, I would highly recommend this for country fans as her more recent releases are more pop orientated. All great stuff!