An anniversary is a time for reflection, a milestone that warrants a look back appraising what has been accomplished and contemplating one's inspirations and fortunes before continuing ahead.

When the anniversary is as momentous as the 20th year of a career as celebrated and as important as Reba McEntire's, these axioms are especially true. To mark the occasion, Reba has chosen to re-examine her roots by rediscovering many of the songs that most inspired her. In some instances, they are memorable songs from her youth. [n other cases, they are songs from various points in her adult life that reminded her of the excellence she has continually tried to measure her own work against.

On Starting Ouer, her 16th album for MCA, a woman who has always challenged herself to push toward the future turns to her past. The results not only underline how contemporary and progressive Reba is, they also prove that she continues to create work that is timeless in its emotional power and artistic elegance.

"I wanted to do songs that have influenced me, going all the way back to before I signed my first record contract back in 1975," Reba says. "I wanted to honor those people who have influenced me. I wanted this album, in a way, to say thanks to those artists for having such an influence on my music, and thanks for choosing these great songs. These are the songs that gave me goals to reach for. These are the songs I use as a test against all others."

However, these aren't simply paint-by-numbers remakes. Working with longtime co-producer Tony Brown and for the first time with famed producer-arranger Michael Omartian, Reba takes even the most famous of songs and instills in them a distinctive resonance completely her own. She displays just how well she's absorbed the strengths of her influences and merged them into a personal style rich in emotional complexity, subtlety and power.

In other words, Starting Ouer is a bold endeavor for a superstar who has often forged new territory. "I've never done an album like this before because I always wanted to make my own classics," Reba says. "Because of the anniversary, though, I thought if I ever did this, this would be the time. It turned out to be a blast."

She draws songs from three different decades and at least as many musical styles. Her sweep extends from country legends Ray Price and Bobby Bare to pop icons Linda Ronstadt and The Supremes, while touching on highwater works by such renowned songwriters as Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Dave Loggins, Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy and Holland-Dozier-Ho11and. By incorporating such a wide swath of styles and voices, she reveals the connection between all great artists -- that is, the ability to find the heart of a great song and to convey its powers with personal authority.

"When you start looking at the hits of the past, you find some are real corny and some are real ahead of their time," she says. "Some will be as real and as up to-date in 100 years as they are now, and others are dated the minute they're written. With the songs we were doing, after a while I started noticing a pattern. All of them, for one reason or another, were very progressive songs for their time."

Her choices are delightfully surprising and eclectic--- She takes world renown standards like "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Please Come To Boston" and "Five Hundred Miles Away From Home" and, by translating them through a woman's perspective, gives them a new meaning for modern times. Meanwhile, on songs like "On My Own," "Starting Over Again" and "Talking In Your Sleep," Reba exposes, with characteristic sensitivity, how relationships sometimes rupture with painful consequences and how those who are hurt find the resolve to confront difficult situations and the strength to continue on. "ln anything I do," Reba says, "I look for something that will touch the heart. I want songs that will touch people's lives and make a difference in some way. These songs are like that."

They also typify the kind of song that has elevated Reba to the top-rung of American artists and made her the best-selling female country singer of all-time. Reba has sold more than 30 million albums, with an unprecedented five albums reaching the triple platinum mark: Read Mg Mind, It's Your Call, For Mg Broken Heart, Greatest.F/its and, at quadruple platinum, Greatest Hits II.

Making her achievements even more remarkable is her longevity. No other country music artist who started in the 197Os currently maintains consistent multi-platinum sales album after album after album. In a field of high-flying newcomers, McEntire reveals that artistic consistency and strength can be maintained and improved upon long into a extraordinary career. She is truly an uncommon artist.

Her other accomplishments underscore her multi-dimensional talents. Her theatrical, high-tech stage show proved to be the top-grossing country concert tour of 1994, and placed her in the Top 10 of all genres. Her NBC-TV Thanksgiving special, Reba and Friends, was the top-rated program in its time slot. Her appearances in the Emmy-nominated Buffalo Girls and the acclaimed CBS film is Is There Life Out There?, in which she played the lead role in a screenplay based on her hit song and video, add depth to an acting career that already included notable roles in North, The Little Rascals, The Man From Left, Field, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw and Tremors.

All of this comes on top of her other accomplishments, which include winning two Grammy Awards, an unprecedented four CMA Female Vocalist of the Year honors, and the CMA's prestigious Entertainer of the Year award. Her bestselling autobiography, Reba: My Story, continues to sell well more than a year after its publication.

Moreover, Reba's rise to fame is an inspiring story about a woman who bucked tradition in a male-dominated industry. She didn't begin to win awards or sell large numbers of albums until she boldly demanded to have more control over her musical direction after moving to MCA Records in 1984. Then, in 1988, she also assumed control over her own career management as well, starting Starstruck Entertainment in 1988. Since then, Starstruck has grown into the biggest star-owned entertainment conglomerate operating out of Nashville. The company includes divisions encompassing concert booking, artist management, publicity, song publishing, ground transportation and an air charter service. Starstruck also includes a construction company -- one current project includes building a 25,000-square-foot office building in the heart of Nashville's Music Row -- and a 30-headstrong horse farm.

"In this business, the sky is the Iimit," Reba says. Obviously, she's a woman who wants to reach as high as she possibly can.

“Talking In Your Sleep”

“I've always loved Crystal Gayle's ‘Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,’ but when I listen to her old songs, this is the one that has always pushed my trigger I could just imagine how hard it would be to be in bed with your spouse, and they're talking in their sleep and mentioning someone else's name. What a horrible thing to have happen. The song has always been a favorite of mine, just like all of these songs.”

“Please Come To Boston”

“I first loved this song when I was in high school, or maybe it was junior high (laughs). Back then, I was a big fan, and still am, of bands like Chicago and Three Dog Night. Dave Loggins came out of that era. At first, I wasn't sure it would work for a woman. But I put the tape on one day, and it's such a good song, I thought I should at least try it. We changed the tense on it, and it worked. Whenever I tell people this song is on the album, their hand goes to their heart. Everyone loves it.”

“On My Own”

“That's the most recent song on the album. I have been doing it on stage with three of my background singers, and noticed how much audiences loved it. So I called up Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood and my old buddy Linda Davis and got them to come in and sing it with me. It's a very powerful song, and they all sound so great on it.”

“I Won’t Mention It Again”

“Ray Price has always been a favorite of my entire family. He's one of the greatest singers of all time, and I've been singing his songs all of my life. ‘Invitation To The Blues’ was on my first album, and I've recorded a couple of others over the years. I wanted to do one on this album, and it was hard to narrow it down from all of his great hits. I wanted to do something that touched me deeply, and this song just rips my heart right out. It's exactly the kind of song I want to sing.”

“You’re No Good”

“My Aunt Jenny had kids older than me and my brother and my sisters. On Saturday we'd go over to visit, and at noon, they'd always have American Bandstand on. The people from that era blend in with the people from the Grand Ole Opry for me -- Ray Price, The Supremes, Dusty Springfield, Linda Ronstadt. To me, they all seemed to have a lot in common, and looking back on it, I can see that it was good songs. They all sang really good songs that came from their hearts. They were songs that don't really age. Those songs are still so good. I chose this one after Leland Sklar, a bassist I've worked with on a lot of my albums, brought it in. I'd asked him if he could think of any really good up tempo songs. He'd worked with Linda Ronstadt for years, so he brought me in her greatest hits CD. ‘You're No Good’ really jumped out at me. We had a blast redoing it.”

“Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands”

“Lee Greenwood won the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1984, the same year I first won the Female Vocalist award, and I opened a lot of concerts for him that year. When I watched his show, of all of his songs, this one was always my favorite. When you put it from the female perspective, it really puts a new twist on it.”

“Five Hundred Miles Away From Home”

“There's only one thing worse than being carsick, and that's being homesick. When I was traveling with the rodeo, I can remember calling home and hearing how everybody was having a great time. I would get so horribly homesick. I still get homesick for my Mama and Daddy. That's what this song is about. If there is a person who can't relate to this song, I'd be surprised. You miss familiarity, and you miss the people you love. I mean, I can't go too long without getting a sister fix.”

“Starting Over Again”

Everybody knows I'm a huge fan of Dolly's, and she did such a good job with this song. I think I did it because of my husband, Narvel. That's always been one of our favorite songs. We both got divorced at the same time. It was harder for him because there were three children involved. I know of people who talk about their parents starting over at the age of 50, and I just can't imagine how difficult that must be. It's mindboggling. Anyway, that's what this song is about, finding the strength to start over.”

"You Keep Me Hangin’ On"

“I wanted to do something a little different, a little fun. And I have always been a big fan of The Supremes. Because so many of the songs I chose were so heavy, I figured singing something like ‘Set me free, why don't you, babe?’ would be a good release. It's a very important part of the album because of that. It was so much fun to do, and I hope that comes across.”

"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"

“When we looked at who had done this song before -- Glen Campbell, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Goldsboro -- it was all men. I don't think a woman has ever done it. And when I heard Eddy Arnold's version, it was so contemporary I couldn't believe it. It was the 1960s, and it sounds so modern. He was before his time. He took country to a new place and a new leveI. I had already been a big fan of the song when Glen Campbell had such a big hit with it.”