Album Review – Pam Tillis – “Looking For A Feeling”

The first solo effort from Pam Tillis in some 12 years deserves the serious attention of a true comeback record. It finds the 62-year-old and Grand Ole Opry member looking for a spark of inspiration, and finding it in reigniting her zest for music by adding a splash of soul and classic rock to the country mix, resulting in a loose and gritty good time, along with some truly touching moments.
The picture of Pam on the cover in a dated shower stall, wearing sunglasses while sipping wine and eating an Oreo cookie is probably the best illustration of what you get on Looking For a Feeling. If she was looking for a feeling, she found one in moving to east Nashville a few years ago, and working with producer Jimmy Ritchey on this new record that sees musical contributions from Jim Moose Brown on keys, steel guitar licks from Dan Dugmore, and songwriting assistance from folks like Waylon Payne, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, and Matraca Berg.
Finding that little place in time when country got a little funky, folk fused with rock, and everyone was feeling a little less inhibited, Looking For a Feeling finds a cool mood and groove, and sits right down in it. When a jaw harp emerges on the song “Demolition Angel,” you know this isn’t a selection pulled from a Sunday hymnal. Phase guitar sets the mood on “Lady Music” about how the best rarely choose music as a profession, it’s music that chooses them. And the title track gives you all kinds of cool “Ode To Billie Joe” vibes while talking about trying to feed a deeper hunger.

Tillis even has a little funky country moment paying tribute to Dolly Parton in spoken word verses of “Dolly 1969.” As the daughter of Mel Tillis, Pam saw the world through country music eyes from a tender age, and can now tell her tales. But there are some more understated moments and somber tones on the record as well, like resolving past grievances in “Better Friends,” or the grateful and reminiscent “Last Summer’s Wine,” which like so many of the tracks on the record, sets the perfect backdrop for Pam’s soaring voice.
And just in case some of Pam’s Opry faithful were worried, she does a rendition of Gillian Welch’s “Dark Turn of Mind” that is slightly faster, significantly more twangy, and absolutely perfect for the dance hall or honky tonk. It really helps ground Looking For a Feeling, and underscores the variety, taste, and ear for a good songs Tillis brought to this record.
Some of the slower songs of the album may feel a little too “adult contemporary” for some in the country audience. And when you take some chances like Tillis does here, you may not always stick the landing. You appreciate what Pam was trying to go for on “Karma,” but the results kind of remind you of off-brand 80’s New Wave. But it’s those chances that also result in a record that isn’t just your average and safe late career effort to keep your constituents happy.
It’s a common challenge for artists later in the careers to grow and build and retain the same passion they had for music while they were starting out. It’s similarly a challenge to simultaneously not let the expectations of fans hem in a performer’s creativity, while you still must find a way to fulfill those fans’ desires and expectations. By finding some good songs and bringing together the right collaborators, Pam Tillis turns in a record that feels alive and anew. She went looking for a feeling, and found it.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)
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Purchase Looking For a Feeling
April 24, 2020 @ 9:01 am
She’s Lorrie Morgan (who is pretty great herself), but with more twang, and fewer divorces. I miss early 1990’s country. Yea!
April 24, 2020 @ 10:43 am
I haven’t had time to listen to the record yet however I did listen to the song attached above. I am not sure how I feel about it. My initial impression is I don’t really care for it. It has a nice little grove to it but I guess I was expecting 90s style country from her not a 70s groovy production. That’s my fault for setting an expectation on what the record would/ should sound like.
April 24, 2020 @ 11:17 am
I think it’s a bit better than your comment suggests and to be honest i wouldn’t have had a clue what to expect from Lorrie after an absence of 12 years. Good to have her back on record and the voice is just unmistakable her.
April 24, 2020 @ 2:05 pm
Sorry, must be this lockdown! Getting Lorrie and Pam mixed up unforgivable.
April 24, 2020 @ 11:43 am
None of the songs from this album are on YouTube, so unfortunately I did not have my pick of the litter to present here like I normally do for an album review. This is the only song available to post publicly. I don’t think it’s a bad song, but not what I would pick to be indicative of the album. Check out “Lady Music,” “Dolly 1969,” or “Dark Turn of Mind.” Those were the ones I wanted to post here.
April 24, 2020 @ 12:51 pm
Thanks. I still plan on checking out the record. That song just isn’t personally my thing. Too bad they didn’t have a better roll out plan for her. Lots of people utilize YouTube. Seems like a missed opportunity to not have the record on there.
fyi Her record is on amazon music for those who use that
April 24, 2020 @ 12:13 pm
Swamp pop? Definitely gotta STRONG Muscle Shoals vibe with maybe a touch of Stax added in. Man, you could of told me Auerbach produced this and I would have believed you. Apparently that whole early 70s pre disco era is becoming a thing again. As a fan of the 70s southern rock movement I loved the Capricorn stuff,, Duane Allmans Muscle Shoals contributions in particular, so this sound perked my ears up . And yes, a spot on similarity to Ode To Billy Joe , particularly the intro.
I admit I’m surprised Tillis is going there. Its definitely not country music per se. Her voice sounds great though. Haven’t heard the other tracks to have a decided opinion on the record as a whole. Is she going Americana now?
April 24, 2020 @ 12:25 pm
You’ve really just got to listen to the record. Frustrated none of these tracks were made public so I could present the variety the record contains. There definitely a Stax vibe to some of the tracks, but it doesn’t feel like an Auerbach project, and some of the songs are straight up country.
April 24, 2020 @ 12:29 pm
No new “Maybe It Was Memphis”?
No.
But a follow-up to “Cleopatra, Queen Of Denial”?
Nope.
The sound & production of Pam Tillis 2020 is not the sound of heyday Pam Tillis (the 90’s). You can like it or not…but the voice of PT is still front & center on all tracks. Hard to pick the highlight on Looking For A Feeling.
The album will not make my list for AotY.
New Stuff:
Clint Black – “America (Still in Love With You)” – Single/Track – Released
&
Teddy Robb – Teddy Robb – EP (5 Tracks) – Released (04/16)
New Stuff Australia:
Michelle Cashman – “Real Love” – Single/Track – Released
Round Mountain Girls – “First To Let Go” – Single/Track – Released
Shane Nicholson – “Don’t Take John Prine” – Single/Track – Released
Della Harris – “Raining On My Wedding Day” – Single/Track – Released
Aleyce Simmonds – “We Will Not Let Them Forget” – Single/Track – Released
New Stuff Canada:
The Reklaws – “Where I’m From” – Single/Track – Released
Shawn Austin – “Send It My Way” – Single/Track – Released
High Valley – “River’s Still Running” – Single/Track – Released
Gord Bamford – “White Oak Cathedral” – Single/Track – Released
Tenille Townes – “The Most Beautiful Things” – Single/Track – Released
Hunter Brothers – “Just Wanted You To Know” – Single/Track – Released
Madeline Merlo – “Kiss Kiss” & “If You Never Broke My Heart” – Singles/Tracks – Released
&
Eric Ethridge – Forever With You – EP (5 Tracks) – Released (04/23)
April 24, 2020 @ 1:34 pm
“Dark Turn of Mind” is a winner and sounds fantastic. What a bombshell of a chick. Who produced this miracle of a track? It even sounds good on my bitty phone speakers.
April 24, 2020 @ 1:35 pm
That photo of Pam in the shower stall, wearing sunglasses, eating the Oreo cookie and sipping and holding the glass of wine, looks like it came from the shoot for the Dos Divas album that she made with Lorrie Morgan half a dozen years ago.
Pam would be in my list for Top 3 women mainstream country artists of the ’90s, so I hope this CD does well for her. As long as it doesn’t have anything as atrocious as the “Two Kings” duet single she put out a few years ago. That was something to behold.
April 24, 2020 @ 6:48 pm
1. ashley cleveland 2. leann rimes 3. roseanne cash 4. kathy mattea 5. carlene carter 6. patty loveless 7. pam tillis 8. sweethearts of the rodeo 9. suzy bogguss 10. terri clark 11. k d lang 11. k t oslin 12. matraca berg.
April 24, 2020 @ 2:08 pm
Love her!
April 24, 2020 @ 2:18 pm
kind of boring . doesn’t really showcase her vocals …doesn’t showcase much of anything . its like nobody at the session knew how to breathe life into it .
April 24, 2020 @ 2:24 pm
See, in situations like these when I only have one song to post, and it’s not a particularly good one and isn’t really indicative of the album, I’m better off just not posting any example of the music.
Pam Tillis’s vocals are stellar on this record. I would suggest listening to “Last Summer’s Wine.”
April 24, 2020 @ 3:18 pm
This is a hard album to judge. I’m an 80’s/90’s kid, so I know Pam Tillis from her heyday. I wanted to love this album, but the album doesn’t do much for me. The first three tracks are — while full of talent — not memorable. The fourth track, “Dolly 1969,” is when things start getting interesting. This would have been a cool way to start the album, followed by “Last Summer’s Wine.” Then “Lady Music” has a nice sound, great production, even though a bit bland overall.
But then we’re back to more forgettable stuff — with little of the passion and charm that made Pam Tillis so beloved. “Dark Turn” is obviously a stand-out, though I can’t honestly say I will repeat it often. I’m glad to see that the album is doing well in streaming today, and if that means a younger audience will check out her 90’s stuff, all the better. As far as late career albums this year, I’m still digging the John Anderson album, one of my favorites.
April 24, 2020 @ 8:01 pm
I love the John Anderson record. It also sent me back to his first two and those are sublime.
April 24, 2020 @ 3:19 pm
I loved this record! It was a big change and it pays off. It’s similar to Lee Ann Womacks last record kinda. I highly recommend this.
April 24, 2020 @ 3:22 pm
Would love to see track listing with songwriters if possible…
April 24, 2020 @ 3:31 pm
I could care less about the “album”- I like this song.
I think Pam Tillis has the sexiest voice in Country Music with KT Oslin gone.
Yes, I said sexiest. Most of the girls today all sound alike to me- nasally and whiney.
No, I don’t listen to anything they put out except what’s put out here. If I didn’t like them in the first place (most of which I don’t) I won’t likely listen to it here. But that’s Okay, by me- and I’m the one who counts for my taste.
BTW, good to have the Thank You button back.
April 26, 2020 @ 10:25 am
I’m getting some 60’s Bobbie Gentry vibes here. Nike Hoeky, Family Reunion, hell Delta Sweetie in general.
April 28, 2020 @ 3:23 pm
The overall feel of “Last Summer’s Wine“ reminded me too much of that hit from yesterday…”Strawberry Wine” which was perfect in my opinion. Sometimes you wonder, with all of the song resources at their disposal, why artists choose the ones they do, including songs already recorded by other artists (“Dark Turn”/Gillian Welch for example) who have pretty much left their definitive imprint on a particular composition. Vocally, she does sound really good on this new collection.
April 30, 2020 @ 8:01 am
This album has a really cool feel to it. Great sound throughout, and Pam’s voice is amazing. Different from her previous work while still representing her well, IMO.
Listening to the one song Trig had access to above does nothing to tell you what kind of a record this is.