Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, "Ka-Ching!"

2003 | Peak:  #2 (Europe, Austria, Sweden); #3 (Germany); #8 (U.K.)

Shania Twain at her most deliciously subversive.

“Ka-Ching!” stands in such sharp contrast to her entire catalog that it's something of a shock that she wrote and recorded it.

Even more shocking is that this biting indictment of consumer culture was originally written for her Christmas album, but she added it to Up! when that project was shelved.

Less shocking is that she chose not to release it in America, given that the bulk of her descriptions might resonate a little too deeply with her target audience stateside.   The red “pop” mix is better than the green “country” one anyway, channeling all that is best about Abba without sounding dated.  No wonder it was a huge hit in Scandinavia.

I hope that if she ever does come out with another album – almost ten years and counting – her observations are as razor-sharp and sing-along catchy as they are here.

Written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain

Grade: A

Next: Forever and For Always

Previous: Up!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEe3hBXZEyI

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3 Comments

  1. I love this. I’ll take either the red version or the green version. A great example of Twain’s often-underappreciated talents as a songwriter.

    I’ve pined for a new Twain album as much as anyone else, but by now I’ve mostly lost hope. It’s as if her heart’s just not in it anymore. It seems every now and then she’ll release some statement saying that she has new music in the works, and then one or two more years will pass with no new music seeing the light of day. I’ll believe it if and when I hear a first single and a release date.

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