Album Review – Tony Hannah’s “Love It Or Leave It”

Neotraditional Country (#510.8) and Urban Cowboy (#510.15) on the Country DDS.

Tony Hannah’s Love It Or Leave It is one of those albums you don’t really need to make a convincing argument for. You simply press play, and the music does the rest. It’s so hard to find fault in, and so easy to fall in love with as the ’80s and ’90s soft country sound shepherds you away to a better era in country music and life. This preacher’s daughter from East Tennessee who spent time working on farms in California, and modeling in New York has found her home as a honky tonk angel, cooing out country music for the broken hearted.

Instead of attempting to wow you with some novel, avant-garde approach to country music, Tony Hannah and producer Elijah Ocean keep everything so simple, so plainly-stated, with absolutely no superfulous or gratuitous additions. There not even really any significant instrumental solos, though the playing is all so exquisite and tasteful. This is not your typical retro neotraditional ’90s country album with blazing Telecaster licks and neon sign clichés. Hannah and Ocean find the moments and inspirations from the era that others avoid, and exploit them to very positive results.

Love It Or Leave It is reminiscent of the best moments from artists like Patty Loveless, or maybe a little Juice Newton, and is not afraid to tap into the ’80s and the Urban Cowboy era either, with a sparseness and intentionality reminiscent of peak era Tony Brown production. While all the young boys are out there trying to reenact ’90s country word for word, Tony Hanna is writing songs that feel timeless. Except for a rendition of “An Old Pair of Shoes” originally cut by Randy Travis—and incidentally, penned by Hannah’s late uncle AJ Masters—every song is written or co-written by Tony Hannah herself.

Along with feeling original, the songs of Hannah’s debut album also feel very personal, speaking to the struggles and frustrations of a young woman trying to find love, trying to find a way to make ends meet each month, and trying to find her place in the world. Hannah’s also willing to admit when she’s not 100% in control of moments, like in the great half-time song “Easy on the Eyes” co-written by Stefanie Joyce, or the following song “What The Heart Wants.”

If it was 1987 and Tony Hannah was signed to a major label, “It Takes a Man to Say Goodbye” written with Brennen Leigh would be an all-time solid gold country standard into eternity. Even as presently released, it still deserves to be considered one. Everything is so pleasantly reserved and understated on this album. Instead of taking opportunities to add things, the effort was to avoid layers or additional textures.

In fact, it’s when things try to get a little too expressive like the chorus of “Hollywood” with its unique chord selection, this is when magic begins to weaken. Tony Hannah doesn’t have one of those huge, towering voices with an enviable range. But her tone is incredibly pleasant, and she knows how to make the most of it and how to write and record songs that accentuate what’s so great about it, which is her voice’s sweet disarming nature that swells empathy in the audience.

In a moment in country music when so much else is going on, the release cycle is so busy, everyone’s eulogizing Dolly (as they should be), and drama seems to be the best way to garner attention, Tony Hannah’s debut album with it’s reserved, simple, yet still vibrant and enlivening moments deserves to have a ruckus raised about it like it just cussed out another performer on Instagram. Yet it’s the way it allows you to separate yourself from all the bullshit and melt away into country music bliss that makes the experience so valuable.

8.3/10

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Stream on Spotify