(MCA) The year was 1971 when Loretta Lynn released the album which was titled after her self-penned autobiographical song, "Coal Miner's Daughter." That song became so huge, it not only defined Loretta Lynn and became her signature song, it also spawned a movie of her life titled "Coal Miner's Daughter," which starred Sissy Spacek as Loretta, and later became the title of her written autobiography.

Although the song "Coal Miner's Daughter" has gone on to become a timeless country classic, the rest of this album of covers and self penned songs contains some hidden gems that were eclipsed by the long shadow the title song cast. Loretta delivers plenty of her trademark spunk and sass. Never being the shrinking violet, the feisty Loretta doesn't back away from 'controversial' or 'taboo' subject matter.

She delivers several renditions of songs that have since gone on to become very well known, and some now classics, at a time when they were new. She gives a fine take on Glen Campbell's upbeat pledge to be a better person, "Less Of Me," and a truly lovely version of "Snowbird," which became a big hit for Anne Murray. Loretta does a terrific cover of Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Time," which Ray Price took to the top of the charts. Her version's a more stripped down effort, and she gives an almost torchy feel to it. She turns the gender tables and offers up an achingly outstanding take, minus Conway Twitty, on his "Hello Darlin'."

The album's strongest cuts are those that Loretta either wrote or co-wrote. In addition to the title cut, she co-wrote the song "Any One, Any Worse, Any Where," in which she's 'the other woman' confronting a wife who no longer loves her husband, yet won't let him go. Loretta's wit and humor come shining through on the honky tonker, "What Makes Me Tick," that finds her questioning her sanity as to why she keeps putting up with a man who treats her badly.

She delivers her trademark feistiness on the honky tonkers "The Man Of The House," about a woman who's had more than enough of her husband's philandering and "It'll Be Open Season On You," where she goes after, with both barrels, another woman who's trying to take her man. Cheatin' is an equal opportunity situation, and Loretta tackles that one with the barroom shuffle, "Another Man Loved Me Last Night," where while she's feeling pangs of guilt, she also realizes she'd found something that was missing from her life. She takes on the socially 'taboo' with a hauntingly mournful rendition of Marty Robbins' "Too Far," which finds a woman racked with regret, who let her heart rule her head, is now pregnant, and the man she loved and gave herself to, gone.

"Coal Miner's Daughter" insured Loretta Lynn's place as a legend in country music history, no small feat considering there are relatively few women who have achieved that status in country music. The rest of the album further shows all the reasons that got her there, her amazing voice, her gutsy fearlessness in addressing issues that, at one point or another, were deemed socially controversial, her versatility in moving from songs of soul baring vulnerability to honky tonkin' stand-up-and-fight attitude, her ability to break your heart one minute and have you laughing out loud at her sly wit and humor the next. Coal Miner's Daughter stands as one of Loretta Lynn's best overall recordings, a legacy befitting a truly one of a kind legend.