Family

Personnel: LeAnn Rimes (vocals, background vocals); Dann Huff (guitar, acoustic guitar); Stuart Mathis (guitar, electric guitar); Kenny Greenberg (guitar); Michael Thompson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Paul Franklin, Jay Dee Maness (steel guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (banjo, mandola, fiddle); Pam Sixfin, Carl Gorodetzky (violin); Kris Wilkinson (viola); Carole Rabinowtiz, John Catchings (cello); Tim Lauer (strings, accordion, piano, organ, Farfisa, Mellotron, keyboard, keyboards, synthesizer); Mark Douthit (saxophone); Doug Moffet (baritone saxophone); Mike Haynes (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Tim Akers (piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); Matt Rollings, Steve Nathan (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Rami Jaffee (Hammond b-3 organ); Charlie Judge (keyboard, keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Jimmie Lee Sloas, Leland Sklar (bass guitar); Chris McHugh, Russ Kunkel (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Joanna Janet (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Mare Broussard, Reba McEntire, Bon Jovi.

There are few career paths more difficult to navigate one's way out of than child star. Just like their more publicized counterparts in the acting field, singers who make their first major splash before reaching adulthood have a high probability of either becoming a punch line or, perhaps even worse, a non-entity by the time they're old enough to drink. Country star LeAnn Rimes has successfully reinvented herself at the age of 25 with FAMILY, the culmination of her attempt to refashion herself away from the image of the 13-year-old cowgirl who first hit the pop charts in the mid-1990s.

For the first time, Rimes wrote or co-wrote all 12 songs on FAMILY (some limited editions add two bonus tracks including a remix of "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore," Rimes' duet on Bon Jovi's LOST HIGHWAY album), and she reveals herself to be a smart, canny songwriter with a knack for plain-spoken, clear-eyed lyrics about relationships and family. A mainstream country album with few of the pop-crossover nods of Rimes' more recent work, FAMILY is consistently strong, featuring some of her most appealing songs.