‘Now’ review: Shania Twain returns with triumphant sound
Shania Twain's "Now" Credit: Mercury Nashville
SHANIA TWAIN
“Now”
BOTTOM LINE The country superstar’s long-awaited return is designed to impress us much.
Welcome to the new Shania Twain.
She would have to be new, right? “Now” (Mercury Nashville) is her first album in 15 years — her first musical statement since she nearly lost her voice to dysphonia, a vocal cord disorder that she contracted along with Lyme disease, and since her very public split from ex-husband and musical collaborator “Mutt” Lange.
But the biggest surprise on “Now,” which Twain wrote on her own, is how well she has come through her struggles.
“I wasn’t just broken, I was shattered,” she sings to start the first single “Life’s About to Get Good,” co-produced with Ron Aniello and Seaford native Matthew Koma. But soon the optimistic track is moving forward with gospel flourishes and catchy na-na-na-na-nas.
For the first time, Twain also gets to show the full range of her artistry in one place, moving from her jazzy approach to “Light of My Life” to the country-rock of “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl?” to the irresistible, island-tinged pop of “Let’s Kiss and Make Up.” Throughout “Now,” Twain sounds more worldly, more nuanced, like she’s living from this moment on.
