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Van Lear Rose is the forty-second solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on April 27, 2004, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Jack White. The album was widely praised by critics, peaking at No. 2 on the US BillboardTop Country Albums chart and at No. 24 on the Billboard 200, the most successful crossover album of Lynn's 60-year career at that point. The track "Portland Oregon" was listed as the 305th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.
Background
The album was initially intended as a musical experiment, blending the styles of Lynn and producer White. White also co-wrote one track, sings a duet with Lynn, and performs throughout the entire album as a musician. At the time of the album's release, Lynn was 72 and White was 28. The title refers to Lynn's origins as the daughter of a miner working the Van Lear coal mines.
The album was released to glowing reviews and universal acclaim. It received a rating of 97 at Metacritic, the fourth highest score ever and the second-highest for a female to date. Blender magazine called the album "Some of the most gripping singing you're going to hear all year .... A brave, unrepeatable record that speaks to her whole life." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "The brilliance of Van Lear Rose is not just how the two approaches complement each other, but how the record captures the essence of Loretta Lynn's music even as it has flourishes that are distinctly Jack." Rhapsody ranked the album No. 16 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 2 on the US BillboardTop Country Albums chart, and No. 24 on the US Billboard 200, selling 37,000 in its first week, the best sales week for Lynn in the Nielsen Soundscan era. It has sold over 233,000 copies in United States as of September 2004.
The album's first single, "Miss Being Mrs.", was released in April 2004 and did not chart. Its music video premiered on May 23. The second single, "Portland Oregon", was released in May and did not chart. Two music videos were shot for the single, the first one was filmed on May 18 and was not released. The second version premiered the week of October 25.
