“There is No Arizona”
Jamie O’Neal
Written by Lisa Drew, Jamie O’Neal, and Shaye Smith
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
February 17, 2001
Jamie O’Neal’s debut single is a very cool record.
It blends the southern Gothic sounds of those classic Gentry and Tucker records with imagery of the American Southwest. O’Neal’s storytelling skills are sharp and she emotes effectively enough to make me hear shades of “Down From Dover” on this record.
At this point of the new century, it felt like the new artists who seemed poised for long careers would do so with a sophisticated blend of pop-country that innovated on traditional country sounds while grounding the material in more adult themes. O’Neal seemed perfectly positioned to be a leader on that front and give some gravitas to the catchy hooks that were dominating the pop and country airwaves at the time.
The genre ended up going in a very different direction, heavily influenced by a catastrophic event that is only a few months away.
Hearing it again today and thinking about those promises unfulfilled gives the song’s theme a bittersweet boost for me. I’ve always loved this record, but I’ve never felt it in my bones the way that I do now.
“There is No Arizona” gets an A.
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A fantastic song. Clever hook, great vocals, amazing production. This one captivated me from first listen. I fondly remember my mom, sister, and myself hearing it for the first time on a trip to Traverse City, and by the second chorus we were singing along. This is my favorite single of 2001.
I had totally forgot her and this song but what a great performance. I felt every word. It’s a shame country radio didn’t go in this direction. “A-“.
I agree with the sentiment here almost across the board. While I enjoyed this song plenty back in 2001, I also feel like I may have taken its excellence for granted because there was so much quality and potential out there at this snapshot in time. Listening again to the lyrics of “There is No Arizona”, it feels like we’re the narrator, enticed by the tease of an “Arizona” of better times and better music ahead but feeling disappointment and betrayal on the other side when the promise and potential was left unrealized. That might be a bit melodramatic, but it underscores how relatable this lyric is and how, with the help of a haunting vocal performance and an even more haunting musical arrangement, the song is able to serve as something of a white board for which the listener can impose their own nostalgia-unfulfilled “Arizona” upon.
An interesting anecdote I recall from this song is that, three years later, I occasionally watched an updated version of “Star Search” on CBS with Naomi Judd and Ben Stein as regular judges. I can’t remember who the other judge was and it may have rotated week to week. Aspiring country singer Rissi Palmer sang “There is No Arizona” and did a great job on it. Naomi Judd was vociferous with praise while Ben Stein gave more qualified praise saying he liked the performance but “didn’t consider that country”. I was impressed a few years later watching CMT and seeing none other than Rissi Palmer with a video for her first single, but–imagine that–she ended up being another in a long list of promising female newcomers chewed up and spit out by Nashville in the 2000s, a list that you could argue included Jamie O’Neal herself. To be fair though, O’Neal never had another single in the league of “There is No Arizona”.
Grade: A-
I agree that this is a great song. So well written and performed. I feel bad for her that there were so many starts and stops for her during her career. I think her voice and even her songs were just as strong as big voiced people like Martina McBride and Faith Hill. I think one of my favorite singles of hers is “Trying to Find Atlantis.” I remember rooting for it and hoping that it would do well on the charts, but it’s chart run was disappointing.
…..please tell me that was a different Ben Stein
I suspect it’s the Ben Stein you’re thinking of. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. “The Wonder Years”. “Win Ben Stein’s Money”. Somebody at CBS must have thought he’d be an excellent choice to stand in judgment of other people’s musical ambitions.
Still think this is her best single and the parent album was great as well (not as big as fan of her next Number One, but that’s for next time I guess). Strong, McBride-esque voice; kinda surprised she didn’t resonate more beyond that first album and the one or two singles from her second record.
I remember hearing this quite a lot on the radio during the late winter of 2001, and it seemed like Jamie was trying to maintain the same vibe that women had for most of the previous ten years into the new millennium. It’s catchy pop/country without being too terribly cloying.
On a more humorous note, to Jamie re. the title of the song: Don’t tell Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, or Steven Spielberg that there is no Arizona, because all three of them are from there (LOL).