Full Circle
by Loretta Lynn
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. The Guardian
    Mar 3, 2016
    60
    It’s less experimental but still impressive, for Lynn, who is 83, is in remarkably powerful voice, mixing nostalgia with new songs.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Best Album of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 3 out of 21
  1. Custom_Concerns
    Mar 29, 2016
    7
    Loretta Lynn is some kind of musical anomaly. How she manages to keep producing high-quality, pleasant-as-hell golden age country records 50Loretta Lynn is some kind of musical anomaly. How she manages to keep producing high-quality, pleasant-as-hell golden age country records 50 years later is beyond me, but she sure does. Full Circle is loosely themed around a revisiting of her entire career. Most songs here are reworkings of other, older tunes, including a version of (apparently) the first song Lynn ever wrote. Full Circle is an ode to one of the most consistent folk/country artists out there...if not the most, decades later.

    77/100    … Full Review »
  2. NaomiJudd4ever
    Jan 29, 2023
    10
    Loretta does not disappoint on this album. There are several remakes of her classic tunes but there are several new songs, as well. The duetLoretta does not disappoint on this album. There are several remakes of her classic tunes but there are several new songs, as well. The duet with Willie Nelson, Lay Me Down, is awesome. The mountain classic In The Pines is very robust and erie at the same time, the way Loretta' s voice keeps fading through the ending of the song. Not going to say much more but this album is very much worth adding to your collection!… Full Review »
  3. axel_bogay
    Jan 24, 2018
    10
    Full Circle is Loretta's first studio album since 2004s exquisite collaboration with Jack White, Van Lear Rose. If it were anyone else it'd beFull Circle is Loretta's first studio album since 2004s exquisite collaboration with Jack White, Van Lear Rose. If it were anyone else it'd be hard to believe - to be recording some of her most innovative, interesting and vocally brilliant songs in her 80s. But when you're dealing with Loretta Lynn, it's hardly a surprise at all.

    Taking from it's title, the album is almost a retrospective of her career & life, but it's also looking forward with a couple of new songs towards the end.

    The standout for me is the first song Loretta ever wrote, Whispering Sea. A lament of lost love and the other person moving on. The new arrangement and quality recording really lets it shine - and a superb opener. Remarkable this being one of the first songs she ever wrote, and aging so well. I think it speaks to her song writing talent, that hasn't wearied at all over her 60 year career. As the two closing numbers of the album (one a duet with Elvis Costello and the other with none other than Willy Nelson) are both originals. At very different ends of the spectrum, they sound modern yet have that classic, almost timeless quality that the high points of Loretta's song writing can reach. Lay Me Down is really something else.

    There are new takes on some of her back catalogue - Fist City still packs a proverbial punch. And I wouldn't want to take on Loretta lest she grab me by the hair a the head and lift me off the ground!

    Some of the most magical moments on the album are her interpretations of traditional country songs - Black Jack David speaks to her unsurpassed phrasing and fascinating interpretation on such an old song. I wonder if in some ways she's reflecting on her 45+ years with Doolittle. They married when she was 15!

    I've never been the biggest fan of Always On My Mind, but I really appreciate Loretta's take on it. She's most certainly singing to Doolittle, and reflecting on their time together.

    In The Pines is a solid number - the production by Patsy Lynn Russell & John Carter Cash takes it to another level. She uses her lower register & the deep, rich quality of her voice to bring the lyrics to life.

    I Will Never Marry is another standout. The fragility of Lynn's voice, the journey of the song to the sad conclusion. She is a master story teller and there really is no one like her.

    Can't wait for this year's Wouldn't It Be Great, and many more albums after.    … Full Review »
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