Reba McEntire to Reissue Deluxe Edition of Landmark Album
Reba McEntire at her finest is some of the best country music you can find. She proved that when she released her latest album, 2019’s Stronger Than The Truth, which marked the redhead’s return to the more traditional-sounding country of her early career, and it turned out to be one of the best albums released all year.
Well she’s hearkening back once again by making her next release a deluxe edition reissue of her landmark triple platinum album Rumor Has It from 1990 to mark the 30th Anniversary. Her first pairing with producer Tony Brown known for working with George Strait and Vince Gill as well, Rumor Has It included Reba’s signature hit “Fancy” written by the elusive Bobbie Gentry, along with other great songs.
“I never imagined I’d get the chance to put out an album for a second time,” McEntire says. “It’s just so much fun to look back and remember where we were and what we were doing when they were originally released. This album in particular is very special to me because it was the first time I got to record with Tony Brown and he was the reason I finally got to record ‘Fancy.’ Now here we are 30 years later and I never end a show without singing that song.”
Rumor Has It went on to be a massive critical and commercial success, but it took some time for it to stick. Though most recall “Fancy” as Reba’s biggest hit, the song only reached #8 on the country charts at the time. “You Lie” was the #1 from the album, with “Fallin’ Out of Love” hitting #2, and “Rumor Has It” peaking at #3. It took time for “Fancy” to be revealed as the country music standard that it is today.
The new deluxe edition of Rumor Has It will be made available on limited edition orange vinyl, with a bonus acoustic version of “Fancy” that was recorded live at the The Ryman Auditorium. The CD and digital versions will also include the Ryman bonus track, as well as a (gulp) “dance” version of “Fancy.”
The Rumor Has It 30th Anniversary edition will be released on September 11th, and is now available for pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
1. “Climb That Mountain High”
2. “Rumor Has It”
3. “Waitin’ for the Deal to Go Down”
4. “You Lie”
5. “Now You Tell Me”
6. “Fancy”
7. “Fallin’ Out of Love”
8. “This Picture”
9. “You Remember Me”
10. “That’s All She Wrote”
11. “Fancy” (Dave Aude Remix) [Bonus Track]
12. “Fancy” (Live at the Ryman) [Bonus Track]
August 2, 2020 @ 10:47 am
Obviously “Fancy” is the classic, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a mainstream album with three finer singles than “You Lie”, “Rumor Has It”, and “Fallin’ Out of Love”
August 2, 2020 @ 10:53 am
I’ll have a lot to say about this album later tonight. But I’ll add now, when ‘Fancy’ was released, the plane crash killing her band members and tour manager occurred (that month if memory serves me right). Who knows what effect that had on the single, but Reba’s attention wasn’t on promoting that single. Her first appearance after the plane crash was the Oscars and she sang “l’m Checking Out.”
Just an incredible album during a incredible time during Reba’s career that she was reinventing after a couple lukewarm albums.
I’ll add more tonight.
August 2, 2020 @ 11:06 am
If memory serves me right, “Climb that Mountain High” was a rejected song for the movie Tremors. Delta Burke use it for her post Designing Women sitcom … some sitcom about Washington DC.
August 2, 2020 @ 2:00 pm
You’re on the right track. “Women of the House” was the (brief) CBS spinoff of “Designing Women” where Suzanne Sugarbaker inherited a congressional seat from her late husband and moved to Washington D.C. After that, she starred in ABC’s “Delta” with Earl Holliman and Bill Engvall. Burke went blonde and played a recent divorcee from the west (LA or maybe Vegas) who moves to Nashville to become a country star. It lasted one season. “Climb That Mountain High” was the theme song to that show…and it was the perfect choice.
August 2, 2020 @ 8:15 pm
“Ain’t it funny how his voice cracks when you’re sayin’ goodbye” Fallin Out Of Love. That song as has always ranked high on favorite Reba songs.
August 3, 2020 @ 4:50 am
As an album track, “Fallin Out of Love” wasn’t a favorite of mine, but its run on the radio made me a fan. I heard it everyday on the radio that summer.
August 6, 2020 @ 9:15 am
“Why Not Tonight” was played over the ending credits of Tremors
August 2, 2020 @ 11:45 am
I’m listening to the album while working now. This was a huge comeback album for Reba. 86-90 were awkward years for Reba. Albums weren’t selling as strong. She’d chart a #1 here and there but they were forgetful songs (Sunday Kind of Love, Cathy’s Clown, I Know How He Feels). Award shows stopped inviting here. KT Olsin was the reigning queen, Tanya Tucker was mounting a huge comeback, Patty Loveless was breaking. The Judds were doing crazy shit. This album put her back on top.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:24 pm
@hop: 1986-90 were not awkward years for Reba. They were boom years.
She had 9 #1 singles in those years before “Rumor Has It” and her 4 albums from those years all went platinum. She never put together a singles run like that in the ’90s.
As far as albums, the difference was that the early ’90s was the Garth era and when the CD era took hold and all the top acts had much higher album sales than the top acts did in the ’80s. Garth, Clint Alan, Travis Tritt, B&D, Vince, Wynonna–even secondary stars like Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie and Tracy Lawrence–were going platinum in the early ’90s. Holdover acts from the ’80s’ Reba, Alabama, Strait and Yoakum all went multi-platinum in the early or early-mid ’90s and broke their previous sales records.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:39 pm
I shouldn’t have included 86. Go from 87-90z There are 5 #1s, but I credit that to the Nashville machine and Reba’s name More than quality of song. I don’t know if any of these make her greatest hits today and I doubt any have been played in concert for 20 years:
The Last One to Know
Love Will Find it’s Way to You
Sunday Kind of Love
I Know How He Feels
New Fool at an Old Game
Cathy’s Clown
Til Love Comes Again
Little Girl
Walk On
None of those hold a candle to singles that are staples in Reba’s concerts and greatest hits from Rumor Has It – Read My Mind.
Those songs from 87-90 were very adult contemporary, a shift from her previous work.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:41 pm
In my opinion, her Reba album from 1988 was her worst.
August 3, 2020 @ 9:32 am
Gee, and that’s one of my favorites, but I think “Read My Mind” is her best from this era. I’d consider “Sweer Sixteen” her weakest.
August 2, 2020 @ 1:43 pm
Most of these songs have saxophone in them!
August 3, 2020 @ 6:41 am
Maybe a little nod to Barbara Mandrell who employed sax in many of her songs? Reba had jumped more than a little into the country-pop sound too.
August 3, 2020 @ 4:48 am
Full disclosure, I was born in 1976. But, like my father used to say, “that kid loves the saddest songs.” In middle school, I performed “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” at a talent show (only after “I Never Go Around Mirrors” was rejected).
Reba was played while I was in the cradle. Around 10 or 11, there was a radio station out of Bowling Ky that played a syndicated show geared towards truck drivers. They played old school music including Reba’s “I’m Not That Lonely Yet,” “You’re the First Time I Thought About Leaving”… I was hooked. So post the 1986 Greatest Hits compilation, I was disinterested in the Adult Contemporary, saxophone and synthesizer heavy produced music Reba was putting out. I saved up my allowance and bought The Last One to Know, but I never bought Reba or Sweet Sixteen until an adult. I was that disinterested in the music she was releasing during that time.
Listen to some of those songs. Except for “Walk On”, none ended up being career defining songs:
The Last One to Know
Love Will Find it’s Way to You
Sunday Kind of Love
I Know How He Feels
New Fool at an Old Game
Cathy’s Clown
Til Love Comes Again
Little Girl
Walk On
So 13 yo me heard “You Lie,”I was blown away. It was country and sad and it was larger than life. I remember a story about how they had to bring in 6 backup singers to match Reba’s range on the chorus. I was 14 and entering highs school by the time the album was released in the fall (also when I attended my first concert – Reba, Ricky van Shelton and Doug Stone). I ended up buying multiple copies of Rumor Has It because I wore out the cassettes. I believe For My Broken Heart is Reba’s masterpiece, but Rumor Has It is in the top 5 (I’d rank My Kind of Country and Have I Got a Deal for You ahead of it).
August 3, 2020 @ 10:18 am
Her 1987 single “Let The Music Lift You Up” is quite good and underrated.
August 2, 2020 @ 11:14 am
What they should have done was add some unreleased songs from that 1989/1990 era to this anniversary edition!!! (Granted if there were any unreleased songs from that time?!!)
August 2, 2020 @ 11:30 am
“Waitin’ For The Deal To Go Down”…well…beside the Reba McEntire version the track was also recorded by the criminal underrated Cee Cee Chapman for her debut album back in 1988 & by the long forgotten band Dixiana.
The Dixiana version was a Top 40 hit in 1992.
The track was written by Charlie Black, Bobby Fischer & Austin Roberts. The trio also produced the Cee Cee Chapman debut album & wrote the majority of songs.
I have all three versions…Dixiana made my playlist with “Waitin’…” a couple of weeks ago.
Out of the three…Reba McEntires “Waitin’…” is the least favourite one.
I love her version of “Fancy”, “Fallin’ Out Of Love” & “Rumor Has It”…the rest of the album not so much.
August 4, 2020 @ 10:59 pm
I love Dixiana’s version of “Waitin’ For The Deal To Go Down.” I remember it being on the radio in ’92 when I was little.
August 2, 2020 @ 11:31 am
She looks incredibly sexy on that cover. Less isn’t always more, ladies.
Reba is one of the gems of country music. Love her voice.
August 2, 2020 @ 4:34 pm
Agreed. Damn!
August 2, 2020 @ 5:03 pm
90’s fashion was something else
August 2, 2020 @ 1:47 pm
I wouldn’t “gulp” at the dance version of “Fancy.” It was remixed by Grammy winner Dave Aude, who recently remixed the excellent version of “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed.” Reba has been remixed before (“You Keep Me Hangin’ On””) and her fans will probably love the fresh take on “Fancy,” especially from Aude.
August 2, 2020 @ 8:24 pm
A great artists. Many achievements. Deservedly so. I just have never cared for her voice. It’s just a personal taste and nothing against her talent. It just never resonated with me for some reason.
August 3, 2020 @ 11:56 am
This was the album that introduced me to Reba. I saw that tour and she blew my mind. It’s still one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. As much as I love Fancy, I wish there were some missing tracks or bonus live songs from that tour – other than Fancy. There are few albums that you can listen to from start to end, but Rumor Has It is one. It’s still solid.
August 4, 2020 @ 9:17 am
Reba Nell Mcentire /album, 1986
One Promise too Late
Somebody Should Leave
Those 2 song’s tore me up, given circumstances of the time.
August 5, 2020 @ 11:23 am
I kinda checked out of Country music before she really hit it big (I don’t think she ever did here), and only really checked back in when I discovered this site. Post-1970s Country is a scary wilderness for me, one I’m still not entirely happy in, but I am trying. Consequently I am completely unfamiliar with her music – to me she’s the woman from “Tremors.” 🙂
But maybe I’ll check this out and my mind will be changed.