"True Lies" is a song written by Al Anderson,

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' country songs cha ...

and Sharon Rice, and recorded by Evans as her debut single. Released in 1997, "True Lies" became a minor hit on the '' Billboard'' country chart and was later included on Evans' debut studio album, '' Three Chords and the Truth''. The song received positive reviews from critics.

Background

"True Lies" was co-written by Sara Evans, along with songwriters Al Anderson and Sharon Rice. The song was recorded at Mad Dog Studios, which was located in Burbank, California. The session was produced by

Pete Anderson Pete Anderson is an American guitarist, music producer, arranger and songwriter. Anderson is most known for his guitar work with, and critically acclaimed production of, country music star Dwight Yoakam from 1984 through 2002, a partnership th ...

, who also produced Evans's first studio album. Evan's next two hits would also be produced by Anderson. The album's other songs were recorded during the same sessions, including its

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

and the single "Shame About That". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described "True Lies" as a ballad filled with "heartache" that has an "outlook for love isn't nearly so bleak".

Critical reception

"True Lies" received positive reviews from music writers and critics. Mike Joyce of ''The Washington Post'' found similarities between the track and older country ballads by

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

in his review of her 1997 studio album. "Evans opens the album by displaying her vocal resemblance to Cline on the ballad "True Lies." The similarity is striking, but what makes the song moving isn't the way Evans cannily evokes Cline's tone and phrasing," he wrote.

Release and chart performance

"True Lies" was released as Evans's debut single on April 7, 1997 via

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert * Niko Moon (RCA/River Ho ...

. It was issued as a 7" vinyl single and included "The Week the River Raged" as the B-side. The song spent six weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart and became a minor hit that year. It peaked at number 59 in the spring of 1997. "True Lies" was later issued on Evans' debut studio album entitled '' Three Chords and the Truth.'' The song was the album's opening track. "True Lies" would be one of three singles spawned from ''Three Chords and the Truth'' between 1997 and 1998. All three would only become minor country hits. Evans recalled the reasoning behind why "True Lies" may have reached a lower end of the ''Billboard'' country music chart: "There were a lot of things that played into it that were out of my control. Radio saw me as just a little bit too retro."

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "True Lies" – 2:34 * "The Week the River Raged" – 4:02

Charts

References

{{Sara Evans songs 1997 songs 1997 debut singles Sara Evans songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Pete Anderson Songs written by Al Anderson (NRBQ) Songs written by Sara Evans Songs written by Sharon Vaughn