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Unchained Melody/The Early Years is an irony-free collection of songs, most of which were recorded when LeAnn was 11, in her pre-Blue studio sessions (hopefully, a sequel called Unchained Melody II/The Teething Years isn't in the offing). Despite her age, the raw talent and gleaming promise on this album are apparent. Her take on the country standard Blue Moon of Kentucky comes across as fresh and bracing as cold well water, and her version of I Will Always Love You is equally crisp and bright. On every track, Rimes' voice resonates with a mellow center, vibrant edges and a steady glow of pure innocence.
"Her voice changes about every six months," says Wilbur. "By the time you finish one album, she's different again. Now the maturity is coming into it. Where she used to be this kid who could sing real high, now she can cover from the bottom to the top."
One wonders what that journey to maturity will cost. Rimes says she has no friends her age (she doesn't attend school and has a private tutor) and concedes that "it's hard for me to go out places without having people ask for an autograph." At the same time, some of her repertoire seems a bit mature for an adolescent who has yet to have her first date. On the semi-risque song My Baby, she sings, "My baby is a full-time lover ... My baby is a full-grown man." In the video for Blue, she peers out over thick-rimmed sunglasses, an image that evokes Stanley Kubrick's controversial film Lolita. LeAnn says that while she hasn't experienced some of the emotions in her songs, she is capable of conveying them--"like an actor or an actress is an interpreter of a script." Wilbur admits there is a possible downside to his daughter's precociousness: "She's in a grownup world, and she's really advanced for her age. So maybe in that aspect she's grown up a little too quick, but I don't know if that's good or bad. We'll see."
In the meantime, LeAnn says she is taking increasing control of her career to ensure its survival beyond her wunderkind years. She has already written three songs for her next album, which will also probably include covers of standards by Cline and Hank Williams. "I want to build my own life," she says, "not have someone do it for me." Now that Rimes has a hold on stardom, she's not about to let it out of her grasp.