Rhinestoned says it all. No other word, real or invented for the occasion, sums up as well where Pam Tillis stands now.
She is, after all, a superstar as well as a survivor. A child of Music City royalty and a former rebel, she was determined to find her own way as a singer and songwriter — and she succeeded. A CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, she has written songs for some of the top singers in and beyond Nashville, including more than a few of her own hits.
She knows what it's like to break the platinum barrier, to top the singles charts time and again, to bask in an ovation at her induction as a member of the Opry or play in the intimate hush of the Bluebird Café. She has bathed in the lights of Broadway, posed for glamour magazine spreads, sung ballads in Bay Area bistros, batted wicked one-liners back to Tom Bergeron on Hollywood Squares, even made cameos in movies.
But no matter where she wandered, Pam Tillis never lost her connection to country music — even when country began to lose touch with itself. Trends came and went, and though she rolled easily with the tides and drew something from every new twist, she was aware that changes come with a cost, even as the business side of country flourished.
Her response was to insist on writing and cutting songs that spoke from the soul, rather than the boardrooms and focus groups of the country music industry. The results have been records that emanate an almost painful beauty, as did her 2002 release, the critically acclaimed It's All Relative (a tribute to her father, the great Mel Tillis).
"What I'm doing is country — but not necessarily the kind that you hear on the airwaves these days," Tillis explains, one drizzly afternoon over coffee, not far from Music Row. "Now, I admire a lot of this music; after all, I've sung rock, pop, R&B, and jazz, so I'm hardly a purist. But what I'm hearing now sounds often more like pop than country to me. And I just seriously felt called by that old different drummer to something a little bit more like the country I remember from my formative years, the country music of my youth." It's also something Tillis' fans and friends clamor for as she encounters them out on the road.
With It's All Relative, which she affectionately calls "the Dad album," Tillis produced one of the most memorable discs to have come out of Nashville in years, largely because of her refusal to conform to expectations. Combing through her father's catalog, she chose songs that had an especially timeless quality, with built-in resistance to the whims of the market. It was a bold statement; more than that, it set the stage for the even more assertive statement that Rhinestoned would make.
"Pam had reached a point where doing a record every year or two wasn't as important as taking the time to make something that had more meaning," says Matt Spicher, who co-produced Rhinestoned with Tillis and Gary Nicholson. "So she decided to embrace the momentum she had established with the Dad record."
"That was the first record I ever made where I wasn't concerned about having to come up with three singles," Pam points out.
"The labels understood that from the beginning," Matt says.
"They said they did," she clarifies.
And that's one reason why Rhinestoned marks the first album to be released on Stellar Cat, Pam's own imprint. With total creative control, she let her heart lead the way toward material that she could perform honestly and emotionally. "This is an A&R-free zone," she says, smiling. "But it is, first of all, real country. It's a bookend to the Dad album, except it has all new songs. It's like a bridge between the present and the past."
How past is this particular past? "If you look at my record collection circa 1974," Pam answers, "you'd see Emmylou, Gram Parsons, Waylon Jennings, Don Williams, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young. Flying Burrito Brothers — hippie country I call it — that was some of the best music that ever came out of this town. Maybe it wasn't happening on country radio at the time but it sold record and built careers. It was the vibrant scene on the fringes of country, which was very cool — just as it is today."
The Rhinestoned sessions started in 2004. Pam and Matt whittled 20 songs down to ten, which they cut and set aside, like bottles of wine allowed to mature. A few months later they repeated the process. And then, after reflecting for a while on what she had accomplished, Pam decided something wasn't right. She talked about it with her trusted friend and writing partner Gary Nicholson and reached a critical decision.
"It needed to be more country " she sums up. "I played what we had for Gary, brought him into the picture, and suddenly it felt like we weren't wandering in the woods anymore. Then when I found the song "Band in the Window," suddenly I could see and hear the whole project in my mind right down to the t-shirts, Tillis laughs.
With that, the final round of recording began. All of it, aside from backing vocals, was cut the old-fashioned way: live, just the way those bands still play in the windows along Lower Broadway. Many of Pam's performances were actually guide vocals, laid down in real time with the instrumental tracks but too strong in the end to throw away. Overdubs and fixes were kept to a bare minimum.
The rollicking reverence she brings to "Band in the Window," the affection that radiates between her and John Anderson on "Life Sure Has Changed Us Around," the goofball humor of "Crazy By Myself," the insight of her recitation on "Bettin' Money on Love": All of the up-tempo moments on Rhinestoned emit a sense of freedom that's impossible for Pam to suppress or for any listener to miss.
Even the ballads and deeper performances — the languorous sway of "Something Burning Out," the wounded wisdom of "Train Without a Whistle," the almost whispered yearning of "Someone Somewhere Tonight," and the recklessness of "Down by the Water" — carry a quality that's become sadly unfamiliar in much of today's music.
It's that feeling of delight that comes from singing exactly what you were meant to sing at that moment. It's almost like a kind of ecstasy, which goes a long way when delivered by the incomparable Pam Tillis, without compromise or apology.
You might call it joy, but there's a better word than that for this state of creative exhilaration.
We'd call it Rhinestoned.
Spilled Perfume
Pam Tillis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can read you like a book
Girl if I ever saw one that's an
"I can't believe I did that" look
You look like something that the cat drug in
So I won't kick you while you're down
Let me tell you friend to friend
'Bout a block I've been around
Did you really think last night would last forever
Did you really think that guy hung the moon
Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better
But there's no use crying over spilled perfume
Did you really think last night would last forever
Did you really think that guy hung the moon
Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better
But there's no use crying over spilled perfume
There's a big difference between lonely
And lonely for way too long
And I knew when he made his move
You weren't feeling all that strong
So I bit my tongue 'cause I saw it coming
And you danced so close to him
It's two steps forward and three steps back
When a heart is on the mend
Did you really think last night would last forever
Did you really think that guy hung the moon
Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better
But there's no use crying over spilled perfume
You fell in a moment of weakness
Well you just got to pull yourself back up
Dry your morning-after tears
'Cause what's done is done
Did you really think last night would last forever
Did you really think that guy hung the moon
Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better
But there's no use crying over spilled perfume
No use crying over, no use crying over
No use crying over, spilled perfume
The lyrics of Pam Tillis's song "Spilled Perfume" are about a woman who regrets sleeping with a man who she knew was not worth it. The singer, addressing the woman, says that she doesn't have to ask what happened because she can read the situation on her face. The woman looks like she knows it was a mistake to sleep with the man, but instead of condemning her, the singer sympathizes with her. She tells her that she has been around and knows that feelings can be overwhelming, but they don't last forever.
The verse "Did you really think last night would last forever? Did you really think that guy hung the moon?" highlights the fact that she was caught up in the moment of what she thought was intense love, but in reality, it was a one-night stand. She now despises herself because she knows better than to fall for such flimsy promises of love. The last verse encourages the woman to pick herself up, make amends, and move forward with her life rather than weeping over something she can't change.
Overall, the song is a cautionary tale to women about picking the right man and not falling for cheap promises of love. Sometimes we all make mistakes, but it's important to learn from them and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I ain't even going to ask you
I don't need to ask you what happened, I already know
I can read you like a book
Your body language and expression give it all away
Girl if I ever saw one that's an 'I can't believe I did that' look
You regret what happened and feel embarrassed about it
You look like something that the cat drug in
You look like you had a rough night and didn't sleep well
So I won't kick you while you're down
I won't make things worse by criticizing you
Let me tell you friend to friend 'bout a block I've been around
I have experience and can offer advice as your friend
There's a big difference between lonely and lonely for way too long
Feeling lonely sometimes is normal, but being lonely for a long time is not
And I knew when he made his move, you weren't feeling all that strong
You were vulnerable and he took advantage of that
So I bit my tongue 'cause I saw it coming
I didn't say anything because I knew what was about to happen
It's two steps forward and three steps back when a heart is on the mend
You were making progress, but this setback has made it harder to heal
You fell in a moment of weakness
You made a mistake because you were in a vulnerable state
Well you just got to pull yourself back up
You need to recover from this and move on
Dry your morning-after tears, 'cause what's done is done
Don't dwell on it, it's over and you can't change what happened
No use crying over, no use crying over, no use crying over, spilled perfume
There's no point in being upset about something that can't be undone
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DEAN DILLON, PAM TILLIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dmurphyi28
One of they best country songs ever recorded
@jenniferl.hyde-estes5508
Definitely agree 150%
@algatte2441
Agree
@elsiemcmillan6578
I agree.
@ka-barsmom1456
Most women will never admit what a ‘direct hit’ this song is. But that’s ok…they survived and hopefully, went on to have a wonderful life. 💪💪💪❤️❤️❤️
@amandalidey329
It's definitely my favorite song Pam ever released. For sure. ✨️✨️✨️💘💘💘
@jamesklapetzky8633
We really need to bring back music like this. Such GREAT & AMAZING Music along with the Artists/ Groups.
@tomburgess9632
I have such a hard time understanding why so few people realize and appreciate the amazing unique voice of Pam Tillis, along with Patty Loveless, and Allison Krause
@brandip6789
Absolutely! Unfortunately a lot of people go by looks :(
@extremeocd1184
She's an amazing singer!!! She has a "can't miss that voice" sound......you hear a song.....you know it's her. Such a great attribute, such a great talent!! As far as looks, I think she's gorgeously unique! Her mother looked just like her when she was younger. Pams a dead ringer of Doris. I love the song that her and Mel sang together.....live, on stage. I don't know if they ever recorded it? I may have just not known but they sure should have!!! "Waiting on The Wind" If you're not heard it, look it up here on YouTube.