Music Review: LeAnn Rimes' `Family'

LeAnn Rimes, "Family" (Curb)

With "Family," LeAnn Rimes matures from a performer into an artist. Not only does this album triumphantly celebrate the difference between a great voice and a great vocalist; the 25-year-old former child star also shows she's grown into a good songwriter, one brave enough to tell the truth and clever enough to make it entertaining.

Co-writing everything but the two bonus cuts — previously released duets with Reba McEntire and Bon Jovi — her songs focus on relationships. Some are about a woman and her lover, but others probe the complexities of the bond between an adult and her parents, The most striking cuts are the autobiographical title cut and the sensitive ballad, "What I Can Not Change," featuring the most emotionally raw yet nuanced vocals of Rimes' career.

Both songs address family issues with unusual candor. Rimes doesn't fall into the Nashville trait of painting her parents as hard-working and self-sacrificing; her warts-and-all portrayal of those she loves makes her prideful declaration, "I make no apologies, this is my family," ring true.

Rimes occasionally sidesteps her theme, as on "Nothing Wrong," a funky, playfully seductive duet with Louisiana soul man Marc Broussard. But even her departures add up to the same conclusion: Rimes has arrived a full-grown, creatively vibrant artist.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: Rimes has always been a power-packed singer, but on "One Day Too Long," she shows how soulful she's become.

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