Classic Rewind: Diamond Rio – ‘The Ballad Of Conley And Billy (The Proof Is In The Picking)’

Single Review: Terri Clark – ‘Northern Girl’

Country music has always been very closely associated with the American South, and we’ve become accustomed over the years to hearing our favorite singers pay tribute to their hometowns and states of origin, whether their homes be in Alabama, the Tennessee mountains, or the great state of Texas. As such, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that country music is enjoyed around the world, and it can be a bit of a jolt to hear about different locales and customs in songs such as Terri Clark’s latest offering, “Northern Girl” in which she jubilantly sings about driving on black ice, tunneling through snow and trying to survive the frigid Canadian winters. All in all, it’s a refreshing change from songs about tractors, the Georgia rain and steamy southern summer nights, and provides for Terri’s strongest single release in recent memory.

Although the opening electric guitar riffs and the percussion are a bit too loud for my liking, there is plenty of steel guitar throughout the track to compensate. The chorus is somewhat reminiscent to the song “Country Girl”, which was the theme song to Barbara Mandrell’s 1980-82 variety show. In a version included on her 1981 live album, Mandrell sang:

I’m a country girl from head to toe
Came a long way down that country road
I came to town to see the sights,
Big skyscrapers and neon lights
Now I can find my dreams around the world,
But I’ll always be a country girl.

Clark likewise sings:

I’m a northern girl, wild and free
I’ve got four strong winds to carry me
I’ve been east to west
And all around the world
But I’ll always be a northern girl

Similarities notwithstanding, “Northern Girl” is a nice change of pace from the usual fare and better than anything on Terri’s last album The Long Way Home. It’s off to a strong start in Terri’s homeland, debuting at #26 on the Canadian charts, but the Canadian references and lack of major label support in the US will probably doom the record to languish in obscurity south of the 49th Parallel. It is, however, available for download at both Amazon and iTunes, so American fans will be able to hear the song while waiting for Terri’s next album to be released.

Grade: B+