Put Yourself in My Place (1991)

Pam Tillis, daughter of country great Mel, flirted with a number of musical styles — mostly blues, rock, and pop — before giving in to her honky-tonk heritage. The mystery is why she waited so long. Widely respected as a writer (her songs have been recorded by singers as diverse as Conway Twitty and Chaka Khan), on Put Yourself in My Place, Tillis shows how well she can craft smart and sassy country material — everything from bluegrass to Celtic to country-pop — and also sell it with a commanding, big-voiced presence. Her themes explore what she calls ''the weak and strong sides of love... the hurting and the hope,'' but eschew the usual ''victim'' songs for more thoughtful fare such as ''Melancholy Child,'' an autobiographical study of the outsider's woe. No matter how Tillis sees herself, however, she's got ''star'' written all over her.

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