I Hope You Dance

1	The Healing Kind 3:02
2	I Hope You Dance 4:54
3	After I Fall 3:03
4	Stronger Than I Am 3:37
5	I Know Why the River Runs 4:57
6	Why They Call It Falling 3:35
7	Ashes by Now 4:11
8	Thinkin' with My Heart Again 2:53
9	I Feel Like I'm Forgetting Something 3:30
10	Lonely Too 9:53
11	Does My Ring Burn Your Finger 6:25
12	Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good 2:56

Barnes & Noble

I Hope You Dance abundantly illustrates why other country artists speak about Lee Ann Womack in hushed tones. Assaying lyrical, eloquent tales of the heart by top-notch writers, Womack puts on a display of vocalizing so sensitive and nuanced that its dimensions can be grasped only through repeated listening. Ronnie Bowman's dobro-drenched tale of unending heartbreak, "The Healing Kind," sets the stage for this momentous journey, then Womack immediately raises the ante with the title track, a heartfelt advisory to embrace the poetry in life. With a basic band, a discreet string section, and Womack's awe-inspiring voice, "I Hope You Dance" has the feel of a classic. But that's only the beginning. Womack outdoes herself on almost every track. Check out the barely contained devastation she summons on Bobbie Cryner's deliberate tale of a divorced mom in "Stronger than I Am" and her scorched-earth take on Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now." Throw in a little Appalachian soul courtesy of the ubiquitous Julie and Buddy Miller's thundering denouncement of a duplicitous lover in "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger," and you'll be wondering if there's any type of song this artist cannot make her own. Lee Ann Womack is as fine an interpretive singer as country has to offer, and her story's only beginning. David McGee

All Music Guide

After a platinum-selling self-titled debut and a gold follow-up with Some Things I Know, Lee Ann Womack just keeps getting better. Billboard calls it "a career record." I Hope You Dance is one of the finest albums to hit country music post Shania Twain. Womack possesses such a sweet, melodious voice and its distinctiveness graces every one of the 12 tracks like they were chosen just for her vocals. But it's the album's title track, a dedication to Womack's daughters (and featuring the Sons of the Desert) that will leave you feeling swept away. (Her daughters, Aubrie and Anna Lise, who were ages 9 and 1 [respectively] at the time, appear in the video with her.) "Don't let some hardened heart leave you bitter/When you come close to selling out, reconsider/Give the heavens above more than a passing glance/And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance." Listeners will undoubtedly dance to I Hope You Dance. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide