The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile tries and only moderately succeeds in its goal of understanding what makes one of country music’s most successful and heavily gossiped about stars tick. At the height of her fame in the 1970s and 80s, Tucker’s star power was unrivalled, as was her hell raising reputation. Alternately seen by the uninformed as either a recluse or a crazy person in recent times, Tucker hadn’t recorded an album since 2002, and only cautiously stepped back into the limelight with the help of fellow country superstar (and Tucker super-fan) Brandi Carlile. While fans will undoubtedly be excited for any sort of glimpse into the closely guarded Tucker’s inner life, those expectations should be tempered, since there’s not much new to be said about that lengthy in-between era in her career.
For a film that should ostensibly be about Tucker and her road back from self-imposed obscurity after having a rocket strapped to her back in the early 70s, there’s still not much in the film that hasn’t already been documented. The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile is a documentary that’s light on the overall context and heavy on the comeback. On an initial glance, the title might seem like a curious flex on the part of Carlile, but since Tucker remains very tight lipped about her own nature and past (including her much hemmed and hawed over relationship with Glen Campbell, a man twenty years her senior), it’s up to Brandi to shepherd most of the weight here.
Directed by frequent Carlile collaborator Kathlyn Horan, The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile predominantly revolves around the artists’ collaboration on the 2019 While I’m Livin’ album. Carlile and record producer Shooter Jennings want Tucker’s first project in nearly two decades to become a crossover success in the same way that Johnny Cash’s late career work with Rick Rubin led to The Man in Black’s career renaissance. During the relaxed, fly-on-the-wall looks into the recording process, it becomes apparent that Carlile’s input is indispensable, with the younger singer-songwriter gently coaxing and encouraging Tucker every step of the way. As the film goes on, it’s clear that none of this would be happening with anyone other that Carlile working so tirelessly to make it happen. Carlile’s vision and ambition arguably threatens to outshine the main subject of Horan’s documentary.
The recording goes rather swimmingly, but once it comes time for Tucker to start making public appearances and performing in front of crowds again, that’s when the tension starts to arise. Tucker still has a great voice – albeit one with a few extra miles on it – but her reticence to put herself out there to be examined under a microscope again is understandable. The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile does offer some dramatic moments – particularly a section where everyone begins to wonder if Tucker will show up to a huge arena show in honour of Loretta Lynn’s birthday – but mostly everything is handled with gentility, patience, and understanding. It’s a nice approach that no one freaks out and gets excessively angered, but it also makes the viewer wonder if they’re getting the entire picture, especially when Tucker still isn’t allowing the filmmaker full access to her life, offering even more gaps in a story already full of them.
While Tucker does offer up some commentary about her life in both new interviews and archival materials, The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile goes so hard on the collaborative process and achieving the goal of bringing the music to a new generation of ears that it forgets a lot of context along the way. A bedrock of information about Tucker would be a very helpful prerequisite before heading into this, as the film takes too long to say very little outside the obvious. It’s one for the fans, which makes sense since Carlile idolizes Tucker with almost god-like reverence, but it’s not achieving the goal of letting the uninitiated in with open arms.
The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile takes a fascinating career that was purposefully paused for many years and makes it feel mundane to anyone not already in the know. Despite Tucker’s vulnerability when it comes to hitting the road again and the stakes involved in Carlile’s heavy emotional and financial investment in the new album, there’s not a lot for a casual observer of either artist to grab onto. I’m positive fans of either singer-songwriter will be more than grateful to go on this journey with them, and maybe that’s all that really matters.
The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile opens in Toronto (at Scotiabank Theatre) and Vancouver (International Village) on Friday, November 4, 2022. The film will expand to additional Canadian cities throughout the fall and winter.
