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Sara Evans

Sara Evans set some clear goals for her sophomore album No Place That Far: "Pick top notch songs and be a little more daring vocally," is how she states them. She manages to achieve both of these with a little help from some friends-Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Grammy winner Alison Krauss and the legendary George Jones. It was the perfect strategy for Evans who had a lot to live up to. Her debut album, Three Chords And The Truth made the 1997 Top 10 lists of The Washington Post, Billboard, Dallas Morning News, Request, Country Music People and American Country. Billboard called Evans "so good she's scary...A preserver of the best of country's history and a progressive writer and singer forging a timeless contemporary sound, she invites favorable comparisons to the best: country divas."

All that and more is apparent on No Place That Far. Working with producers Buddy Cannon and Norro Wilson, they forged a sound which retains the heart of country music while making it easily identifiable as the sound of the late '9Os. Wilson's credits include producing Charley Pride and Tammy Wynette, as well as writing one of the first and biggest country crossover hits in history, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." Together, Cannon and Wilson discovered Shania Twain and have produced Kenny Chesney, George Jones and Sammy Kershaw.

No Place That Far shines on such songs as the title track, a romantic, heartfelt piano ballad featuring Vince Gill on background vocals, which is one of five songs on the album co-written by Evans. She collaborated with Matraca Berg on "Fool, I'm A Woman," a catchy, uptempo tune that Evans describes as a "fun, sassy girls' song." When she was writing the plaintive "These Days" with frequent collaborator Billy Yates, she could hear Alison Krauss harmonizing with her to dramatize the song's heartbreak. Evans, Phil Barnhart and James House (who co-wrote Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing" and Dwight Yoakam's "I Ain't That Lonely Yet") fulfill a fantasy about hitting the road in the opening track, "The Great Unknown," inspired by Jo-El Sonnier's "Tear Stained Letter." The recording closes with "There's Only One," an inspirational piece Evans composed with one of her favorite Nashville songwriters Leslie Satcher. "Last year when we bought our home and remodeled it, I was thanking God that we were able to do it and I decided to write a gospel tune for this record," Evans says. "And what really makes this song special is that it's the first recording featuring both of my sisters Lesley and Ashley singing with me."

Addressing the wide range of music on No Place That Far Evans says, 'It just varies every time you write with somebody. 'Fool, I'm A Woman' is like a tough woman's song, but it's not, because it's making fun of us. The songs that I love are really sad, the tear-your-heart-out country, Tammy Wynette-type songs like 'These Days'."

Evans used the same standards she set for her own songwriting when she carefully chose songs by other writers to complete the album. She picked the beautiful Beth Nielsen Chapman-Howard Harlan lament, "Time Won't Tell," the wistful "I Thought I'd See Your Face Again" by Mary Green and Rick Orozco, and the mid-tempo ballad, "Love, Don't Be A Stranger" by Bill Rice and Sharon Vaughan. Although Evans claims she loves "sad, old fashioned country songs, the 'victim' songs where the woman is not so strong," she was drawn to the declarations of independence in Jamie O'Hara's "Cryin' Game" and "The Knot Comes Untied" by Sam Hogin, Ron Harbin and Ed Hill. The rollicking "Cupid" by Kostas and RCA label mate Keith Gattis was simply irresistible.

Evans summing up the album says: "It's got some poppy kind of fun, country flavors, a waltz and a huge ballad. There is a cross-section of women, women being powerful, yet vulnerable. I did not want to record two or three singles and have the rest of the songs be just okay. I didn't do that on my first record either. I wanted 11 singles. I hope when they hear it, people are going to say, “Man, every song is great, every song is exciting and every song is interesting vocally."

Born in New Franklin, Missouri (pop. 1200), Evans grew up on a tobacco farm and started singing at age four. She moved to Nashville when she was 20 where she supported herself as a waitress while she worked on her music. Songwriter Harlan Howard heard her singing on a demo tape and brought her to the attention of RCA Records in 1995. Her 1997 album, Three Chords And The Truth, earned her an Academy of Country Music Nomination for "Top New Female Vocalist." The video for the title track was nominated for "Country Video of the Year" by the 1998 Music Video Production Association and for "Best New Clip" at the 1997 Billboard Music Video Awards. In addition, Evans was named one of Country America's "Ten To Watch In 1998/Top 10 New Stars Of 1998."

Since her debut, Evans has sung on albums by Vince Gill and Martina McBride, and was the first new country artist chosen by Coca Cola to write and perform a commercial. Evans has also recorded a song for the film Clay Pigeons starring Joaquin Phoenix, Janeane Garofalo and Vince Vaughan and she is the youngest artist to be featured on the just released Tammy Wynette tribute album.

The critical acclaim her debut album received encouraged Evans to continue developing her true voice as an artist on No Place That Far. She explains: "On No Place That Far, I decided I was just going to sing how I feel. I'm really glad I did."

Listeners will be too.

biography courtesy of RCA
Street date: October 27,1998

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