This is unlike Sara's subsequent albums, which have enabled her to achieve great success as a contemporary country singer. Produced by Pete Anderson (famous as Dwight Yoakam's producer), this is one of the finest traditional country albums to appear on a major label in recent years. The Bakersfield influence is reinforced by the inclusion of I've got a tiger by the tail (one of the best covers of a Buck Owens song I've heard) and another up-tempo song, If you ever want my lovin', that sounds like it could be a Buck Owens song but is actually an original, one of seven songs here that Sara co-wrote.

Among the other songs are two other covers of country oldies from the sixties - Imagine that (Patsy Cline) and Walk out backwards (Bill Anderson). They are excellent, but what really makes this album are the brilliant original songs, Sara's great voice and Pete's tasteful production. Sara proves to be equally capable of the slow songs (including the poignant title track) and the rousing up-tempo numbers.

I enjoy Sara's subsequent albums but this seems likely to remain my favorite. If you enjoy traditional country music, especially if you like Dwight Yoakam, you'll love this. If you became a Sara fan because of her more recent albums (especially Born to fly) and you're not sure about this, you ought to hear some samples before buying this.

Note that the USA and European versions of this album have different packaging but the music is identical.

This is Sara Evans' debut CD and it is by far the best of the three she has released so far. Her powerful vocals are at the forefront with a (relatively) simple arrangement for most of the songs. Sara wrote or co-wrote 7 of the 11 songs and the writing is truly superb. If you ever want to know why people listen to country music at all, the title track explains it thoroughly. Sara displays a little attitude with the upbeat numbers "Shame about that" and "If you ever want my lovin'". "I don't want to see the light" and "Unopened" are, along with the title track, some of the best country ballads to come along in recent years. "The week the river raged" is an impressive semi-gospel number and her cover of the Buck Owens classic "Tiger by the Tail" is very well done--it so impressed the song's co-writer Harlan Howard that he helped her get a record deal.

Sara Evans music has devolved in her last two albums to something you wouldn't recognize as country at all. It's hard to blame her given that she's on a major label and radio has essentially blacklisted anything traditional. Still it is a sad development when you know what kind of talent she has.

If you pick up any Sara Evans CD, get this one. It's all downhill from there.

Sara Evans' debut CD, Three Chords And The Truth, is truly fantastic. She has a wonderful, powerful voice, which can go from belting out the gospel-flavored "The Week The River Raged", to the hushed, breathy verses of "I Don't Want To See The Light". Evans sticks mainly with traditional-sounding songs on this one, but it's easy to hear some modern influences. For instance, the piping organ background on "Shame About That" would be just as much at home in a song by one of today's ska bands. Overall, the title track, "Three Chords and the Truth" and "I Don't Want To See The Light" are my picks for the strongest songs on this album. How can you go wrong with a line like, "Found a pay phone at a truck stop / Said a prayer as the quarter dropped / Oh, please be home, I know that I was wrong..."? I'd say that fans of Patty Loveless will probably appreciate this album, I hear definite parallels, musically and vocally, between the two. Ms. Evans also gets a couple of extra points in my book for having a hand in writing a lot of her own music... 7 out of the 11 songs on the album have her name listed as one of the song's writers. As someone who grew up listening to bands like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC... I can't really be called the world's biggest country music fan. I like some country music, I can't stand some... but this album has a place of honor on my CD rack. It's definitely a keeper.

This is simply a fantastic traditional country album. After listening to so much pop-country on the radio this CD is wonderfully different. The songs are all great, the instrumentation is delightfully hard-core country and Sara's vocals are powerful and strongly convey the emotions of each song. It is a real shame that country radio never gave these songs much airplay. Just in case you are wondering, I don't like traditional country because of nostalgic memories from many, many years ago; I have only been listening to country for about six years. Sara's second album is also good but, unfortunately, it has a more mainstream country sound. I don't blame her for changing her sound; she is just doing what she has to do to become successful and keep her recording contract. Hopefully she will eventually return to this style of music. Then again, this could be the only hard-core traditional album she will ever record, which would be sad but it would also make this album all that much more precious.

On the strength of a single song Sara Evans sings on the soundtrack for the movie "Songcatcher," I decided to buy one of her CDs. I am now thanking my lucky stars that I have discovered her for myself, and am telling everyone I know about her! This album, "Three Chords and the Truth" is an absolute delight. The woman sings superbly--with a rich caramel tone and rippling vibrato in her voice, she immediately raises the ghost of Patsy Cline. Evans wrote seven of the eleven songs on this album as well, and her songwriting deftness is clear in every single one of these well-crafted tunes.

"Shame About That" is a sassy, in-your-face anthem to seeing an ex-lover go down for a fall. The rhythm drives the song forward, reminding me of Dwight Yoakam's backing band. "If You Ever Want My Lovin'" laughs at the futility of what you want and what you end up with:

If you ever want my lovin'
There's a few things you should do
Bring me coffee in the early morning
And roses in the afternoon
If you ever want my lovin'
You gotta show me every day
But if you're thinkin' that you won't
And even if you don't
You're gonna get it anyway

"Imagine That" is a smoky, atmospheric piece that brings to mind not only Patsy Cline, but Etta James. It's glorious in its rich and evocative portrait of being misused emotionally by an unreliable man. On the classic Buck Owens/Harlan Howard song "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail," Evans swings out into the lyrics with an energy that's positively infectious. Whooeeee! This album is just a big ol' treat!