Where I Am
Tammy Cochran's Where I Am is a country album that makes plain her state of mind at this leg of her life. She reviews her feelings about love, how she has gotten to this place in her existence and who participated in getting her there. At times, her voice resonates sorrow and other times jubilation and listeners are along for the ride every step of the way.
On "So Long," somber piano play starts off the song, which might make listeners surmise a downtrodden song will follow. Yet, the guitar and drum work that trail behind give a more forcible tone to the song. Cochran then begins to relive feelings of when her beloved left. How at first she felt as if her heart would break into a million tiny fragments, but then she pulled herself together and recognized that she had wasted too much time on him, with lines like, "When I opened my eyes this mornin' I couldn't wait to see the sun. Start a brand new day, with the a brand new slate. Feels like life has just begun, when I watched you leave last night, I thought I'd fall apart, but it's just water under the bridge/So long didn't hurt me. Never made me cry, didn't break my heart and I know why. I just kept holdin' on when I should have been long gone. My only regret is that I stayed so long." The spunk with which Cochran belts out the lyrics signals to listeners that her heart will recuperate in time.
"And More" has harder guitar work preceded by vigorous drumming. Cochran is telling listeners all she feels when she is with her man and even though the depth of sentiments frightens her at times, she wouldn't have it any other way, with lines such as, "I never get tired of hearin' your voice or watchin' you smile. The little way your eyes get a little lazy when I'm drivin' you wild. The warmth of your touch I've never needed someone so much. I don't know if it's love yet, but I'm willing to risk it cuz this feelin' that I'm feelin is like nothin' I've ever felt before. And it scares me to death, this poundin' in my chest and it's all I've been waitin' for and more." As she croons each verse, listeners can hear the euphoria in her voice, which might make listeners ache to experience just what Cochran is saying she has discovered.
On "Nobody's Home," Cochran is talking about notoriety and how it can't always bring you what you want most. The piano playing is back in an almost whimsical rhythm, along with patient guitar play. The song begins with Cochran talking about her grandiose abode and she doesn't have anyone to share it with, as she croons lines like, "I live in a big house, designer names with room to roam/But still I wish for something more. So many people in small houses, they've got 'em filled clear up to the rafters, with Big Wheels and Barbie dolls, Crayola pictures on the wall. I call out nobody's name at the end of a long day. Make dinner at five for one in the microwave. I wash the fork and throw the plate away/This beautiful house I own is nobody's home." The twinge in Cochran's voice could make some listeners feel sorry that such a prosperous and talented woman has no one to share her success with, and might make them want to just give her a big hug.
Tammy Cochran's Where I Am has some sorrowful tunes that exhibit that sometimes fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. Despite what the public thinks, it can be lonely, and certain tracks show that despondency can set in. Yet, on other tracks, Cochran is letting the masses know that even during hard times she is keeping her head up, and if they ever feel like giving up, not to let go of hope.