Everybody Knows (MCA, 1996)

For five years, Trisha Yearwood has been the best female artist in country music, and she remains at the top of her game here. As usual, she comes up with a batch of wonderful songs and arrangements. She records Craig Carothers' "Little Hercules" acoustically, a song about people who put too much pressure on themselves, and "Hello, I'm Gone" is an old Kevin Welch song that opens with twin fiddles.

Yearwood also remains a great interpreter. She imbues "I Need You" with a quiet longing that grows in its urgency as the song proceeds, and "Maybe It's Love," featuring Vince Gill singing prominent backup, has just the right tone of cautious joy. She even has a few potential hits with the lead single, "Believe Me Baby," featuring the outstanding Kim Richey as both co-writer and backup singer, "I Want to Live Again," and the title track.

In short, this is another outstanding album from Yearwood, who always seems to find an eclectic mix of wonderful songs that use her considerable vocal talent to its fullest.