Van Lear Rose is the forty-second solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on April 27, 2004, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Jack White. The album was widely praised by critics, peaking at No. 2 on the US BillboardTop Country Albums chart and at No. 24 on the Billboard 200, the most successful crossover album of Lynn's 60-year career at that point. The track "Portland Oregon" was listed as the 305th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork.[1]
Background
The album was initially intended as a musical experiment, blending the styles of Lynn and producer White. White also co-wrote one track, sings a duet with Lynn, and performs throughout the entire album as a musician. At the time of the album's release, Lynn was 72 and White was 28. The title refers to Lynn's origins as the daughter of a miner working the Van Lear coal mines.
The album was released to glowing reviews and universal acclaim. It received a rating of 97 at Metacritic, the fourth highest score ever and the second-highest for a female to date.[2]Blender magazine called the album "Some of the most gripping singing you're going to hear all year .... A brave, unrepeatable record that speaks to her whole life."[4]Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "The brilliance of Van Lear Rose is not just how the two approaches complement each other, but how the record captures the essence of Loretta Lynn's music even as it has flourishes that are distinctly Jack."[3]Rhapsody ranked the album No. 16 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 2 on the US BillboardTop Country Albums chart, and No. 24 on the US Billboard 200, selling 37,000 in its first week, the best sales week for Lynn in the Nielsen Soundscan era.[13] It has sold over 233,000 copies in United States as of September 2004.[14]
The album's first single, "Miss Being Mrs.", was released in April 2004 and did not chart. Its music video premiered on May 23.[15] The second single, "Portland Oregon", was released in May and did not chart. Two music videos were shot for the single, the first one was filmed on May 18[16] and was not released. The second version premiered the week of October 25.[17]
^ a bSmith, RJ (May 2004). "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Blender. No. 26. p. 123. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
^Browne, David (April 30, 2004). "Van Lear Rose". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
^Hermes, Will (May 2004). "Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 5. p. 105. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
^"Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose". Uncut. No. 85. June 2004. p. 84.
^Asker, Jim (March 15, 2016). "Cole Swindell & Carrie Underwood Take Over Country Songs Charts". Billboard.
^Jackell, Barry (September 28, 2004). "Lynn takes two Americana Awards". Today. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
^Staff 5/21/2004, CMT com. "Loretta Lynn Delivers New Video". CMT News. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon [version 1: unreleased] @ mvdbase.com". mvdbase.com - the music video database. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
^"Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon [version 2] @ mvdbase.com". mvdbase.com - the music video database. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
^ a b"47th Annual GRAMMY Awards". The Recording Academy. January 15, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
^ a b c"Loretta Lynn". The Recording Academy. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
^"The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s: 60-41". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
^"50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
^"Rate Your Music".
^"The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Conclusion: #10-#1 – Country Universe". December 10, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
^"100 Greatest Contemporary Country Albums: #60-#51 – Country Universe". October 15, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
^ a bRyan, Linda (November 27, 2009). "Country's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
^"Norwegiancharts.com – Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
^"Swedishcharts.com – Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
^"Van Lear Rose", [1]. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
^"Loretta Lynn Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
^"Loretta Lynn Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
^"Official Scottish Albums Chart on 9/5/2004 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
^"The ARIA Report: Issue 742" (PDF). Trove. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
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