Description
Shania Twain – Now – Deluxe Edition – Double Vinyl Records
Shania Twain’s Now, released on September 29, 2017, marked her long-awaited return to the studio after a 15-year hiatus from releasing new material. This album is deeply significant—not only as a musical statement but as a personal and emotional comeback for one of country-pop’s biggest icons. Her previous studio album, Up! (2002), capped off an era of global dominance that had made Twain the best-selling female country artist of all time. But what followed was a long, painful journey through illness, vocal trauma, personal heartbreak, and ultimately reinvention. Now is the product of that journey—an album that’s as much about resilience and self-determination as it is about hooks and harmonies.
At its core, Now is a self-penned, self-directed project. Unlike her ’90s and early 2000s output, which was famously co-written and co-produced with her ex-husband and creative partner Robert “Mutt” Lange, Now finds Twain writing every lyric herself and working with a diverse group of producers including Ron Aniello, Matthew Koma, and Jake Gosling. This shift is monumental; it represents a full reclamation of artistic agency. After years of being uncertain whether she would ever sing again due to vocal cord damage caused by Lyme disease, the fact that Now exists at all is a kind of victory.
The album diverges from Twain’s classic pop-country hybrid in some notable ways. While there are echoes of the stadium-sized choruses and genre-blending that defined albums like Come On Over and Up!, Now is more eclectic and intimate. It weaves together elements of acoustic pop, light rock, EDM, and even indie-folk, often with understated arrangements that foreground Twain’s voice, which is now huskier and more textured due to her vocal challenges. Rather than trying to recreate her earlier vocal acrobatics, she leans into the warmth and emotional expressiveness of her new sound.
The lead single “Life’s About to Get Good” sets the tone with a bright, hopeful melody and lyrics that reflect on heartbreak, recovery, and optimism. Its breezy pop feel and layered production signal a departure from country radio expectations and an embrace of personal storytelling. Other songs like “Poor Me” and “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” delve more explicitly into the pain of betrayal and emotional loss, widely interpreted as reflections on the collapse of her marriage with Lange. Yet even at its darkest, the album maintains an undercurrent of strength and survival.
One of the most striking tracks is “I’m Alright”, which closes the album on a reflective, almost meditative note. With its minimalist acoustic production, it showcases Twain’s evolved vocal phrasing and lyrical honesty. This is the voice not of the brash country-pop superstar in leopard print, but of a woman who has faced profound adversity and come out the other side more grounded, if somewhat changed.
Songs like “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed”—an upbeat anthem of defiant confidence—and “We Got Something They Don’t”, which leans into a brassy, almost Motown-inspired vibe, show that Twain hasn’t lost her knack for crafting catchy, empowering tunes. But the sheen is subtler, the performances more lived-in. In this sense, Now is not so much a comeback album in the traditional sense, but a declaration of independence—musically and personally.
Now received a mix of positive to mixed reviews. Many praised Twain’s lyrical vulnerability and applauded her for returning with a bold, self-authored project. Others noted that the production, while polished, lacked the dynamism of her earlier work with Lange. But even critics who were ambivalent about the sound recognized the emotional depth and courage behind the album. Commercially, Now debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making Twain the first female country artist to top the chart in three different decades—a testament to her enduring popularity and fan loyalty.
In the context of Shania Twain’s career, Now is not a reinvention so much as a reclamation. It’s the sound of an artist reestablishing her voice—literally and figuratively—on her own terms. It may not have the massive crossover impact of Come On Over, but it is arguably her most personal, vulnerable, and human record to date.
Deluxe Edition with bonus tracks
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed
Home Now
Light Of My Life
Poor Me
Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl
More Fun
I’m Alright
Let’s Kiss And Make Up
Where Do You Think You’re Going?
Roll Me On The River
We Got Something They Don’t
Because Of You
You Can’t Buy Love
Life’s About To Get Good
Soldier
All In All
