Shania Twain being reviewed by a website devoted to rock music? Hear me out for a moment. Her multimillion selling ‘Come On Over’ album changed the relationship between the previously insular world of country and the wider rock and pop world for ever. Without it you wouldn’t see bands like Blackberry Smoke and The Cadillac Three move as easily as they do between the worlds of rock and country, Bon Jovi’s ‘Lost Highway’ would never have been made and on the other side of the fence, neither would Dolly Parton’s recent rock album. Plus, it was with his then wife that legendary producer Mutt Lange continued to weave his sonic perfection after creating masterpieces for AC/DC, Foreigner and Def Leppard.

This bill at 2024’s British Summer Time- quite a rock-lite festival compared to the previous two years graced by the Stones, the Eagles, Guns’n’Roses and Springsteen- saw Hyde Park turned into what looked like a Guinness World Record attempt at the biggest ever hen night, with twenty, thirty and forty-something women (and the odd chap) sporting pink cowboy hats or Shania’s trademark leopard print. There was an all female line up on the main stage ranging from more recent acts like Anne-Marie to late nineties contemporaries Natalie Imbruglia and The Corrs.

I arrived on site in time for the latter, on a night which would have particularly delighted former football pundit Andy Gray who in one of my favourite ever quotes said –

‘People say footballers have terrible taste in music but I would dispute that. In the car at the moment I’ve got The Corrs, Cher, Phil Collins, Shania Twain and Rod Stewart’.

The Corr siblings – with a touring line up expanded to six members- looked pretty similar to back in the day, and indeed were brave enough to play in front of a backdrop of the contemporary glamorous videos of some of their old hits. After ‘Only When I Sleep’ with Sharon Corr’s violin solo prominent, ‘Give Me A Reason’ was pleasantly rocky in a live setting, and both that and ‘Summer Sunshine’ were strongly written pieces of pop rock bliss.

At times the sound was very mainstream though it did feel more celtic on songs where the violin was more prominent like ‘Forgiven Not Forgotten’, and the Irish reel of ‘Haste to the Wedding’, featuring singer Sharon Corr playing the tin whistle and even a guitar solo from one of the guest musicians. ‘What Can I Do’ was the first of the big hits with a looping almost trip-hop rhythm, while my thought on songs like ‘White Light’ or ‘Queen of Hollywood’ was that in a live environment they were not a million miles away from the poppier end of my own melodic rock bread and butter like Romeo’s Daughter.

As the hits kept coming, hands and even the odd cowboy hat were waving to ‘Radio’ and their cover of ‘Dreams’, and ‘So Young’ featured an audience sing and clapalong. Indeed after a brief diversion away from the obvious in ‘I Never Loved You Anyway’ with a bit of a jam and closing drum solo from Caroline Corr, by the time of ‘Runaway’ and ‘Breathless’ the whole place seemed to be dancing, and this was the rare event of a nominal support act attracting the levels of crowd enthusiasm and participation you expect from a headliner.

In their well-written songs, rootsy sound with prominent violin and sibling connection I’d been reminded of the Dixie Chicks slot supporting Springsteen last year, minus the politics. In the main, their sound was not overtly Gaelic, yet interestingly they finished with an Irish reel in ‘Toss the Feathers’, as if to prove a point. I would never have expected myself to be saying this in their heyday when I sneered at them 25 years ago but I thought they were outstanding.

Still giving off an air of glamour and wearing a short skirt suit in a patterned shade of red, Shania Twain opened with the fun ‘Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)’. The prominent violin sound on this song was another comparison with The Corrs, but in contrast to them she made the most of a headliner’s full stage show with colourful and spectacular backdrops, including a fruit machine to ‘You Win My Love’.

This was not the best night to pass judgement on how her voice has been affected by serious illness, as she admitted she was suffering from a cold and did a couple of very public expectorations, so on songs like ‘Waking Up Dreaming’ she was well served by a couple of male backing vocalists (in a mixed backing band). After an enjoyable ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good’, she took to a seat with acoustic guitar for a couple of songs, though she left much of the singing of that fine ballad ‘You’re Still The One’ to the crowd and encouraged some ‘who-oa-oah’ chanting prior to ‘Come On Over’.

The next section was the most overtly country- right down to the hat she sported- with ‘Any Man Of Mine’, ‘Giddy Up’ and ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under’ accompanied by a mocked up ‘Twain’s Town Saloon’ backdrop and the crowd’s dancing reminding me of how line dancing was such a craze around the time she was breaking through. However I did find myself viewing her lengthy and vapid between song improvised ramblings, not to mention an annoying laugh, with a mixture of bemusement and irritation.

Photo: Andy Nathan

Preceded by an over lengthy call and response, ‘Honey I’m Home’ included (in the verses) some distinct Mutt-isms that reminded me of a couple of Def Leppard hits and a slide guitar solo. On ‘From This Moment On’ she duetted with one of the backing singer’s Paul, but I finally joined along with the fun, if cheesy, ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’, even if her vocals seemed rather buried.

From that point onward the set was rockier, or certainly a lot more tempo. Impressive guitarist Lindsay Ell was brought centre stage for ‘Party For Two’- which sounded a little like Bryan Adams, especially in the overly obvious rhyming couplets, then after ‘Rock This Country’, ‘If You’re Not In For Love I’m Outta Here’ was preceded by one of her cringeworthy literal-minded intros, yet was one of the songs with greatest substance.

Photo: Andy Nathan

Unfortunately by this stage the need to escape the enormous post-gig rush for transport on a Sunday night meant the crowd had thinned a little by the time that other great sassy anthem to female empowerment in ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman’ sparked a final outbreak of dancing and a few people perched on others shoulders.

While I thought the Corrs were the more musically impressive, a quarter of a century after her heyday, Shania Twain certainly can still put on a big, fun and hit-packed show. Never mind a ‘party for two’, this was a party for 65,000.

Review by Andy Nathan

Photos by Dave Hogan (except where stated)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)