Review: Reba’s Sold-Out Nashville Show Was Epic

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

October 26th, 2022 2:57 PM

It had been several years since I saw Reba McEntire in concert. Last weekend when she played Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the first time, it was sold out. However, I admit, I didn’t expect her show to be just as energetic and great as it was in her heyday of the mid -1990s when she reigned over country music.

Back in the day, every concert was Vegas-style for Reba, with set changes, multiple outfit changes, and more. At nearly 70 years old (I’m sure she would hate me for pointing that out), it was hard to believe she could put on the same type of show on Friday night (10/21).

As a journalist, I have seen almost every show that comes through Nashville for over twenty years, so I get a little numb and a bit jaded now and then, but when I saw Reba, something overcame me. As my astonished husband pointed out, my teenage years came flooding back to me as I sang every word to every song and had so much fun. I’m sure my kids would have been embarrassed if they had been there. That’s what Reba was for me: My crazy teenage years as I began to discover my love for country music with my best friend from high school, whom I texted multiple times during the show.

I wasn’t the only one singing along; almost 20,000 fans in the arena sang along to every word. I had never heard an audience sing so loudly or so much to what I assume were many of the soundtracks to their youth. At one point in the show, Reba could not hear herself sing and started to giggle, then put her hand on her heart and smiled with joy at the deafening sound of her faithful following singing along.

Reba sang for an hour and a half, singing 30 songs, many of which were her big hits, including her first chart-topper, “I Can’t Even Get The Blues.” She paid tribute to her songs that make you blue in her catalog, wearing a blue dress and then stripping off the bottom to return to rocking the crowd. She also sang a couple of songs from her gospel album and kept the four generations of fans on their feet.

Then she left the stage for one final costume change. We all knew what it was: The finale song of “Fancy.” She started off the anthem in a sparkling silver dress and stood in the same position on the stage. When she got to the chorus, a couple of stagehands ripped her silver dress off to reveal a little red dress perfect for the song and the moment.

Before the show, Reba was honored for selling more than 58 million albums sold worldwide. Universal Music Group Nashville President Cindy Mabe and Chairman/CEO Mike Dungan presented Reba with a plaque to commemorate the impressive accomplishment. It helped set the stage for one impressive show that reminded me why I love country music so much.

40 Reba McEntire Songs We Should All Know By Heart

• 40 – “The Heart Won’t Lie” (with Vince Gill) (1993)

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  Reba said of the song when it came out: "Originally Kenny Rogers and I were looking at doing this song as a duet, but we could never get it to sound just right because of the different ranges of our voices. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. Later when I was working on a new CD, I remembered that song and called Kenny to see if he was recording it and if not, could I have it and he passed it along to me. We asked Vince Gill to sing the background harmonies on the song."

• 39 – “You’re the First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving” (1983)

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  This song was released in January 1983 as the third single from the album Unlimited. The song was McEntire's second number one on the country chart.

• 38 – “If You See Him/If You See Her” (with Brooks & Dunn) (1998)

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  A solid duet that both Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn featured as the title track to each artist's respective 1998 albums (If You See Him for Reba, and If You See Her for Brooks & Dunn). They were both released on June 2, 1998.
• 37 – “I’m Not That Lonely Yet” (1982)

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  This tender song was released in June 1982 as the first single from the album Unlimited. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of September 4, 1982.

• 36 – “Just a Little Love” (1984)

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  This is the title track from Reba’s1984 album. This song was part of why she won her very first CMA Female Vocalist Award, which she also won from the CMA in 1985, 1986, and 1987.

• 35 – “Forever Love” (1998)

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  This song was also the title track for a made-for-television movie “Forever Love,” which aired the same year, starring Reba and Tim Matheson.
• 34 – “What Am I Gonna Do About You” (1986)

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  So simple, yet so good. The song is a touching and emotional slow ballad, which describes how a woman tries to recover from a love affair, asking throughout the song, "what am I gonna do about you."

• 33 – “The Last One to Know” (1987)

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  This song tells the story of a woman being the “last one to know” that her man is leaving. It was Reba’s ninth number one song.

• 32 – “You Lie” (1990)

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  This song’s video was filmed entirely in black-and-white, the video features Reba as the wife of a ranch owner, distraught as her marriage is collapsing while her husband spends most of his time taming a wild horse. After an argument with Reba, the husband packs his bags and leaves her, leaving her to tend to the ranch herself.
• 31 – “Sweet Dreams” (1979)

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  I personally saw Reba perform this song days after her band was killed in a plane crash in March of 1991. Dressed in street clothes, Reba sang this acapella. Her rendition of this Patsy Cline cover brought the stoic crowd to tears. I remember it like it was yesterday. Her cover of this song was also one of her first singles in Nashville. She released it in 1979.

• 30 – “One Promise Too Late” (1987)

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  This number one song (her eighth) tells the story of a woman who meets a man and falls in love, but she is already married and refuses to break her promise to her husband. She expresses regret that the man hadn't entered her life at a time when she could act on her love for him.

• 29 – “Walk On” (1990)

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  This song never topped the country chart, it stalled at number 2 on Billboard, but it remains to this day a sort of anthem for Reba. The beat and the song’s message are infectious. The song’s opening line is “Ain’t life wonderful when everything is right.”
• 28 – “(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven” (1980)

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  An early release from Reba. She promoted the song by singing it on television shows in 1980 including “Hee Haw” and “Pop Goes The Country.” She also sang it at the 1980 Academy of Country Music Awards.

• 27 – “Little Rock” (1986)

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  This tune is super catchy and it’s no wonder it was a chart-topper for the 1986 CMA Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year. The song is about a woman who marries a wealthy man and is at first enamored at the prospect of living a wealthy lifestyle and "having all the finer things." But she soon grows tired of not being truly loved by her husband.

• 26 – “Rumor Has It” (1990)

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  The title track from the album with the same name with an album cover that Reba herself told me was inspired by Barbra Streisand's look. The music video premiered in early 1991. It depicts Reba performing the song in a smoky, deserted warehouse.
• 25 – “For My Broken Heart” (1991)

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  The title track of the somber album Reba recorded after the death of her entire band in a plane crash in 1991. The album is, as McEntire states in the album's notes, "a form of healing for all our broken hearts" and the songs were chosen to that effect.

• 24 – “Can’t Even Get the Blues” (1982)

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  The first big hit for Reba brings back memories for me personally of first seeing Reba in concert in 1983 at a state fair performance. It was Reba’s first number one song. In her most recent concert tor, Reba sings this song and then sings her latest number-one song. "Consider Me Gone."

• 23 – “Love Will Find Its Way to You” (1987)

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  Such an uplifting song. It was previously recorded by Lee Greenwood for his 1986 album of the same name and by Marie Osmond on her 1985 album, There's No Stopping Your Heart. It was Reba's version that went to number one on the Billboard country charts.
• 22 – “Sunday Kind of Love” (1988)

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  Reba covered this classic that was first published in 1946. Her version went top five on the Billboard country charts, it was featured on her album Reba. It was on that same album that Reba covered Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”

• 21 – “Consider Me Gone” (2009)

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  Proof that Reba has longevity as this song topped the Billboard Country charts in 2009. It was her 24th trip to the top of the charts. The song is also her longest-lasting number one at four weeks.

• 20 – “The Fear of Being Alone” (1996)

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  The guitar riff on this song is epic. The music video for "The Fear of Being Alone" was released in late 1996. It was filmed at Starstruck Studios and features Reba singing at a recording studio.
• 19 – “Somebody Should Leave” (1985)

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  A classic Reba ballad. The song describes a woman who finds herself in a loveless relationship with her husband. She realizes a divorce is needed, but they are faced with a dilemma, as she states in the song, "he needs the kids and they need me."

• 18 – “I’m a Survivor” (2001)

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  The theme song to Reba’s CW TV show “Reba” that ran for six seasons. The song’s lyrics tell the story of a premature baby, who later becomes a single parent. In early 2024, it was announced Reba would star in another yet-to-be-named TV sitcom along with her friend and "Reba" co-star Melissa Peterman.

• 17 – “Whoever’s in New England” (1986)

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  A number one song from the album with the same name. The album's phenomenal success proved to be a turning point in McEntire's career. It was her first platinum record and solidified her new superstardom when she was named the “Entertainer of the Year” by the CMA in autumn 1986.
• 16 – “Strange” (2009)

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  McEntire debuted the song on the Academy of Country Music awards the week before its release to country radio. It is the first single from her twenty-fifth studio album, Keep On Loving You.

• 15 – “Just Like Them Horses” (2016)

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  Reba chose to record this emotional song because it reminded her of her father. She had intended to record an acoustic version for her father's funeral, knowing that he was coming to the end of his life. Her father, Clark McEntire, died in October of 2014.

• 14 – “Does He Love You” (with Linda Davis) (1993)

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  This song had originally been pitched to Barbara Mandrell, but McEntire ended up recording it. She had wanted to include Linda Davis, then a vocalist in her road band, as a duet partner. Reba's then-husband and manager, Narvel Blackstock, told her that MCA Records "would rather [she] record this with somebody more established," such as Wynonna Judd or Trisha Yearwood. Reba then submitted a demo to Judd and, after not hearing back from her, recorded the song with Davis. In 2021, Reba re-recorded the song with Dolly Parton.
• 13 – “Turn On the Radio” (2010)

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  Filmed over 2 days in a warehouse in Nashville, the video (filmed during a lightning storm; a tornado warning pushed shooting an extra day), begins with Reba wearing a black hooded cloak humming the song to herself while entering the warehouse as a train passes by. She is then seen in a dimly lit hallway with swinging lights hanging above her. After taking her things off, she takes out a box-cutter and opens boxes containing radios, which she puts on a rack filled with other radios.

• 12 – “I Don’t Think Love Ought to Be That Way” (1981)

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  A love song that gets right to the point. "I Don't Think Love Ought to Be That Way" was released in February 1981 as the third single from the album Feel the Fire. The song became a top 20 hit.

• 11 – “Only in My Mind” (1985)

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  "Only in My Mind" was recorded at the MCA studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The song was the only track on Reba’s Have I Got a Deal for You album that was written by McEntire.
• 10 – “Why Haven’t I Heard from You” (1994)

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  The music video premiered on CMT on March 23, 1994. It starts with Reba and her co-star boyfriend in a restaurant with a mariachi band playing in the background. The boyfriend asks her to “go away together,” and, after a ponderous think about it, she says “YES!!!” The boyfriend then says, “I’ll call you at the Hollywood Parlor, at 7.” The word “7” echos and the song begins. Sadly, he never calls her. Can you imagine ghosting Reba like that?

• 9 – “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1995)

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  A solid looking-for-love kind of song. The lyrics of the chorus read, “Will the heart is a lonely hunter / With only one desire / To find some lasting comfort in the arms of a lovers fire / Driven by a desperate hunger / To the dark of the neon light / The heart is a lonely hunter /When there's no sign of a love in sight.”

• 8 – “Because of You” (with Kelly Clarkson) (2007)

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  A duet version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Because Of You” on the Reba: Duets album. The two, who would later be in-laws (although they are not in-laws anymore), would often sing it together on stage.
• 7 – “The Only Promise That Remains” (with Justin Timberlake) (2007)

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  Another amazing song from the Reba: Duets album. "The Only Promise That Remains" is a duet recorded by Reba and Justin Timberlake. It was written and produced by Timberlake. McEntire and Timberlake met at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in February 2007, where she asked him to be a part of the album.

• 6 – “Cathy’s Clown” (1989)

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  A story song at its very best. A cover of an Everly Brothers song, Reba’s version hit number one on the country charts. McEntire’s video of the song featured 1980’s TV actor Bruce Boxleitner.

• 5 – “Why Do We Want (What We Know We Can’t Have)” (1983)

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  It’s a song with a title we can all relate to, and it’s a good question: why *do* we want what we know we can’t have? Reaching the top ten, the lyrics include: “Why we always looking / At what's just out of our grasp / Why do we want / What we know we can't have.”
• 4 – “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” (1992)

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  This is a remake of the Vicki Lawrence song.... yeah *that* Vicki Lawrence that stars in the 1980s TV show “Mama’s Family.” Reba’s version is amazing and is featured on her For My Broken Heart album.

• 3 – “Does He Love You” (featuring Dolly Parton) (2021)

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  This song version ranks so high on our list of Reba songs because it is the first and to date, only time Reba and Dolly Parton teamed up musically. Their version of the song is spot on, and it is a pleasure hearing their two voices blend together so perfectly. It also adds to the emotion that the song’s subject matter and lyrics provide.

• 2 – “How Blue” (1984)

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  One of Reba’s early number one songs, “How Blue” was one of several new tracks released on McEntire's second MCA album, My Kind of Country, which mainly included traditional country songs. The song describes a woman who asks herself "how blue" or lonely she can feel until she has gotten over her lover, whom she had recently broken up with.
• 1 – “Fancy” (1991)

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  This is a no-brainer for being number one on the list. The song is epic, the video is epic, and Reba sings it to close out every one of her shows. "Fancy" is a song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry in 1969. Reba said that over the years she has tried and tried to get together with Bobby Gentry, talk about the song and life, and as of 2022 has yet to do so.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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