She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left Of Me)

Album review

Another Place Another Time kicked off Jerry Lee Lewis' career as a straight-ahead country singer, bringing him his first hit in nearly five years. Renewed success was a long time in coming, so it made perfect sense to follow it up with a record that pretty much mirrored its predecessor, right down to another fine Merle Haggard cover (this time, "Today I Started Loving You Again"). While it is accurate to call She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me) similar to Another Place, it's hardly devoid in inspiration; it was more like Jerry Lee found a good groove and continued to ride it, turning out another terrific hardcore country record. This time, the pain perhaps runs even stronger, with the Killer sounding tormented on the classic title track, remorseful on "Listen, They're Playing My Song" and heartbreaking on "To Make Love Sweeter for You," where his phrasing gives lie to the sentiments he's crooning. He also sounds a little emboldened by his success, not afraid to revisit the Sun side "Let's Talk About Us" and rock "Louisiana Man" pretty hard. Still, this is hardly a rock & roll record -- it's a pure country record, made for late nights and smoky bars, and it's nearly as good as Another Place, containing the same consistent high quality of songs and performance. Based on this, the Killer had clearly entered a second golden age at the end of the '60s. (Footnote: the cover of this album, featuring a reflected Jerry Lee in the mirror of a desolate motel room -- a tremendous visualization of the title song -- is one of the greats.)

© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo