As the fourth album
Loretta Lynn released on Sony/Legacy,
Still Woman Enough feels familiar enough in tone and aesthetic that it may take a minute to realize the record's concept: it's a collection of songs that celebrates women in country music.
Lynn is positioned squarely in the middle of this continuum, as she revives her old hits "One's on the Way" and "You Ain't Woman Enough" with
Margo Price and
Tanya Tucker, respectively, making a nod to two different generations of
Loretta disciples, then nods at her predecessors by covering "Keep on the Sunny Side," the signature song of
the Carter Family. The theme isn't seamless -- it's unclear how
Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light" fits into the concept -- yet the musical execution is. Drawing from the same sessions masterminded by producers
Patsy Lynn Russell and
John Carter Cash that provided the source material for
Full Circle,
White Christmas Blue, and
Wouldn't It Be Great,
Still Woman Enough sounds spare, nimble, and clean -- proudly traditional in its form and relaxed in its delivery. If the format doesn't seem as fresh as it did back in 2016, when
Full Circle was the first record released from the sessions, that's only due to it being the fourth in a series of albums. On its own merits,
Still Woman Enough is strong and vibrant, a testament to
Lynn's enduring gifts and place in the firmament of 20th century country music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine