Btw: LAW has a single out called “Last Call”. It’s really good!:

http://www.allaboutcountry.com/media/music/ram/Lee_Ann_Womack_-_Last_Call_85408.ram

I think she will do that, in due time. All of the great female artists have done just that, once they tired of chasing the mainstream audience. Womack has been somewhat subversive as a mainstream artist, though. “There’s More Where That Came From” could’ve just as easily been an alt-country album, what with it actually being country and all.

“Something Worth Leaving Behind” did alienate a lot of her core, traditionalist fans. She never quit did get them all back. I fear she is probably seen the best of her commercial days.

I don’t think there has ever been a case where and artist wins the CMA Album of the Year and then never put out a follow up album. It has been four years since “There’s More Where That Came From” was released still no follow up album.

yes, these songs you mentioned from the “dance” album are, individually seen/listened, great tracks but in combination, their impact is not as strong as it should be. i also think, that “ashes by now” would have been the perfect opener for the album.

Womack has said on many occasions that she’s modeling her career after Willie Nelson, who puts out different kinds of albums all of the time. Kinda makes sense through that prism.

Regarding her albums, I was a late arrival to the “Dance” party, and while I agree with you that it’s the second half of that album that really soars, I think there are some great tracks early, particularly “I Know Why the River Runs” and the Bobbie Cryner-penned “Stronger Than I Am.”

I think “Something Worth Leaving Behind” is a fascinating album, and I love the second half of it. I count “Blame it On Me”, “Closing This Memory Down” and the alternate version of the title track among my favorite Womack cuts of all time, meaning that when I make a CD mix of her, they jockey for early position along with “I May Hate Myself in the Morning”, “Stubborn” and “Lonely Too.”

why? well my view is, that’s because lee ann womack is an artistic “piece” of “work in progress”, whose final shape still is pretty much undefined.
after two easy to understand and easy to like albums, her “i hope you dance” record grew on me only very, very slowly. not even the title track can save the first half of the record from being an outright production cock-up, that could have easily ruined the entire project, if it hadn’t been for the strong second half to pull it back on track. while all her albums have seen solid triple digit playing on my player, her “something worth leaving behind” effort has been hardly ever touched after the initial listenings – in csi-terms an almost fingerprint-free zone, that cd-cover. but like all greats, she produced an ace, when it was most needed. moreover, “there’s more where…..”, was a winner of timeless quality.

my prediction is that in ten years time she’ll be much higher on such a ranking but don’t expect a smooth ride. compared to her, dwight yoakam appears artistically almost predictable.