Sara Evans' 5th album gets family in the act

She co-wrote six of the tracks on 'Real Fine Place.'
By RONNA RUBIN
GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY
"This new album is so country," multiplatinum country star Sara Evans said about her fifth album, "Real Fine Place." "But that's the way I grew up singing, so I was just going into this new album thinking, 'You know, I want to do more of that.'"
Born the third of seven children, Evans grew up in a Missouri farming community where she was singing in a family band by the age of 5. So it's no surprise the making of "Real Fine Place" became a family affair: brother Matt assisted in the production while sisters Lesley and Ashley and parents Jack and Patricia all contributed background vocals.
"It'll be something that we as a family can hold on to forever," the 34-year-old said of the effort.
Evans spent seven months making her fifth album and co-wrote six of the tracks. "I felt like I wrote better this time," she said. "I was pregnant again when I was writing this record, and my personality really changes when I'm pregnant. I'm more gutsy."
The title track already is a No. 1 country hit and a chart-topping music video on Great American Country's "Top 20 Countdown." "The first single is really, really important because that's going to determine whether folks are interested enough to go buy the album," said Evans.
XSara Evans will perform at Wolstein Center in Cleveland tonight with Sugarland and headliner Brad Paisley.