2004’s most unlikely comeback album was the work of a country music immortal, assisted by a talented admirer. Forty-four years after her first hit, Loretta Lynn returned with the Grammy-winning Van Lear Rose, a darkly passionate reworking of her Coal Miner’s Daughter persona. With songs written by Lynn, this collection has both the raw emotion of a classic honky-tonk recording and the searing edge of a modern alt-country album. Among the album’s many highlights are the autobiographical title track, the drinking duet “Portland Oregon,” the harrowing “Women’s Prison,” and the rollicking revenge tune “Mrs. Leroy Brown.” Lynn sings with the poignancy that made her a star in the ’60s, spurred on by producer Jack White’s biting guitar lines. Van Lear Rose is at once trendsetting and timeless, returning Lynn to the pinnacle of American country music.