Terri Clark made it clear during her Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame induction that this was the start of a new chapter. And her new album Raising The Bar is a great start to this new phase of her career.
With her 11th studio album, Terri Clark proves that she's still got stories to tell, and she's still at the top of her game.
The 13 tracks on the album are undeniably her. They all sound right in her voice like they'd be missing something if anyone else were singing them. They fit in the long line of hits, fan favourites, and important songs in her illustrious catalogue. They'll make you cry, they'll make you smile, and they'll make you sing along.
Note: I love the nod to her past to Terri Clark's past in the Raising The Bar album art. The significance of Tootsies Orchid Lounge in her life and career probably can't be overstated, and even 11 albums in, she's giving it love.
When she released the first single from the album, Young As We Are Tonight, Rolling Stone said, "Backed by an aggressive beat and featuring Clark's rich, twang-tinged vocals, the tune extols the virtues of small-town life, capturing colorful snapshots of a county-fair midway and encouraging young people to drink life in to its fullest because 'the truth is you and I, we're never gonna be as young as we are tonight.'". They nailed it.
In talking about the album in a behind-the-scenes video, Clark said, "I think this album is going to be one that a lot of people are going to say they feel is my best work to date.". She's not wrong. Those takes are going to come out. And as much as we've loved Terri Clark and her music for a long time, this album is everything we could have hoped it would be at this time in our lives and hers.
Related: Terri Clark Hall of Fame Top 10
From start to finish, Raising The Bar is a great country listen. It holds onto the sound that we're used to from Terri Clark but isn't afraid to take advantage of the newfangled ways (as she calls them in the video below) of making country music.
And while my recommendation is that you hit play and let the entire album run through, I will admit that I've played Cowboys In This Town, Weddings, Funerals, And Empty Hotel Bars, and The One That Got Away (ft. Drake White) most frequently so far.
Let Terri take you through some of the behind-the-scenes on the album...
This is definitely not a riding off into the sunset record. This album is a statement, definitive proof, that Terri Clark is still in the game, and deserves your attention.
As she says, "It's a culmination of all my other records up til now, (with) some fresh new perspectives from people who've come into the project that have lent their talents to it as well. So it feels like the start of the second phase of my career. And I still have a lot of gas left in the tank... I'm not done..."
Thank God for that.
Terri Clark, Raising The Bar Tracklist
1. Givin' Up Givin' A Damn
2. Cowboys In This Town
3. Weddings, Funerals, And Empty Hotel Bars
4. Young As We Are Tonight
5. Half A Bottle Down
6. Bloody Mary Morning
7. Watered Down Whiskey
8. As Long As There's A Bar
9. Right Where You Left Me
10. You Can Have This Town
11. The One That Got Away (ft. Drake White)
12. The Encore
13. Better Than I Was