Never The Twain Shall Meet
Shania Twain, country’s reigning bombshell, sure is hard to hold.
Just askBryan White, her duet partner on the top ten country radio
hit, “From ThisMoment On.” Twain and her label, who clearly have
their eyes on establishingmore of a mainstream pop following, are
ready to take the single to top 40radio later this month. But, like
a babe who dumps her date when she arrivesat a swinging party,
Twain is going top 40 alone.
How? Twain’s husband/producer Mutt Lange simply sat down with
the song, worked the knobs, came up with a new re-mix and, voila,
no more Bryan White.Suddenly, the duet had morphed into a Twain
solo suitable for the masses.
“None of us knew it was going to happen,” says Luke Lewis,
president ofTwain’s label, Mercury Nashville. “Mutt just came up
with this magicalversion.” That version features more of a flamenco
guitar flavor, a reflectionof the fact the song was at one time
considered for the soundtrack to TheMask of Zorro.
White himself seems nonplussed by the snub. “They’re releasing
this song as a pop record, and I’m not a pop artist, so my feelings
aren’t hurt,” he says.White’s spokesman at Asylum Records echoes
that sentiment, suggesting that thecountry singer’s fans are used
to more traditional fare any way: “We’vecertainly heard knocking on
our door about [“From This Moment On”] being toocontemporary for
Bryan’s sake. So it’s fine if they want to go to top 40without
him.”
Once a Nashville no-no, Twain has perfected the crossover move,
thanks in partto Lange. He was responsible for Def Leppard hits
back in the Eighties and hasframed Twain’s country beat with
irresistible pop sounds. Twain’s recentcountry hit, “You’re Still
the One,” peaked all the way at No. 2 on theBillboard Hot 100.
Lange even came up with a dance mix of that song, whichcharted on
R&B and dance radio stations. “A few people did say that went
overthe line,” Lewis concedes. “But the song worked.”
Whatever Mercury and Twain are doing, it’s working. Twain’s
Come OnOver has sold more copies this year (2.3 million
according to SoundScan)than recent releases by Pearl Jam, the
Smashing Pumpkins and Van Halen,combined.