Unchained Melody: The Early Years or simply The Early Years[1][2] is the major label reissue of All That (1994) by American country singer LeAnn Rimes. The album was released in the United States on February 11, 1997 by Curb Records. The album contains seven tracks from All That alongside three new tracks. All That was originally released independently, and Unchained Melody: The Early Years was issued due to the sales success of her debut major label album, Blue (1996). "Unchained Melody" (originally by The Righteous Brothers) was released as the sole single from the album.
Unchained Melody: The Early Years contains several cover versions alongside original material. The album was certified 2× Platinum for shipments of two million copies in the United States. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making her the fourth solo artist under the age of 18 to achieve this feat.[3]
Background
All That was originally released independently on July 22, 1994 on the Nor Va Jak label.[4] Its reissue under Curb Records was quickly conceived following the surprise success of the single "Unchained Melody", which was released as the sole single from the album on December 17, 1996.[5][6][7] "Unchained Melody" was first included as the b-side to the single "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" and on the promotional single "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart".[8] The song was not originally intended to be a single, but unsolicited airplay of the song led to Curb officially releasing it to radio; Curb then began promoting it as a single from Unchained Melody: The Early Years.[7][9] Hoping to capitalize on the release of the single and the sales performance of her debut major label album, Blue (1996), Curb announced the release of Unchained Melody: The Early Years on December 28, 1996.[2][10] The album was released on February 11, 1997.[11]
Following the release of the album, "Unchained Melody" peaked at number three on the Country Songs chart in March 1997.[12] Other tracks new to the release were Rimes's cover of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and the song "River of Love". All of the songs first included on All That were recorded when Rimes was eleven years old between April and June 1994, while the three new tracks were recorded when she was twelve.[4][13] "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart" was initially reported to be included on the album, but did not make the final track listing.[2] Cover songs on the album include "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" by Patsy Montana, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" by Bill Monroe, "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton, and "Yesterday" by The Beatles.
The album received generally negative reviews from music critics. Jose F. Promis of AllMusic gave the album two and a half out of five stars stating that it's "a tad bizarre" due to the album consisting of recordings released prior to Blue, that were recorded when Rimes was eleven years old, as a follow-up to her debut album.[11] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly felt that the album was premature and that the material with emotional "grown-up lyrics" was inappropriate for Rimes.[15]The Rolling Stone Album Guide criticized the album and Wilbur Rimes's production skills, describing it as a cash-grab.[14]
Commercial performance
Unchained Melody: The Early Years debuted at number 1 on Billboard 200 with 166,000 copies sold in the week ending of March 1, 1997.[16] It dropped to number 2 its second week with 133,500 copies sold.[17]
Credits for Unchained Melody: The Early Years were adapted from liner notes of All That.[18] Additional credits adapted from liner notes of the album.[1]
