Personnel: Tanya Tucker (vocals); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Jerry Swallow (electric guitar, dobro); John Hobbs (piano); Lonnie Jordan (organ); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); Curt Becher, Joe Chemay, La Costa, Jerry Goldstein, Michael McGinnis, Brent Nelson, Joey Paige, Venetta Fields, Julia Tillman, Lorna Willard, Jim Seals, Dash Crofts, Luther Waters, Oren Waters, Jody Payne, John Prine, Phil Everly (background vocals).
Recorded at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California.
Given its uncharacteristically sexy cover, a rarity in country music at the time, TNT shocked many Tanya Tucker fans upon its release in 1978. The album not only looked notably different from the young Texas-born singer's previous releases, it sounded different, too, with slick of-the-moment, rock/disco-tinged production replacing Tucker's more straightforward country approach. While the opening "Lover Goodbye" (penned, oddly enough, by Phil Everly) is an upbeat club-ready number, the next track, the passionate "I'm the Singer, You're the Song," relies heavily on a string-laden backdrop and Tucker's yearning vocals. Though some tunes make concessions to the performer's honky-tonk side, most notably a soulful cover of John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" and a lively version of Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," other songs such as "If You Feel It" aim for an accessible rock-influenced sound. Tucker would eventually return to a rootsier aesthetic, but this fascinating, if somewhat uneven, record made a significant mark on both her career and the face of country music, presaging by decades the crossover appeal of Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and their peers.
