Music ReviewsPatrick Hunter
1 star - Sucks, save your money and buy a beer 
2 star - Borrow it from someone 
3 star - Wait for it go on sale 
4 star - Don't leave Wal*Mart without it 
5 star - Stop whatever the heck you're doing right now, and download this puppy 
Tim McGraw
That Don't Make Me A Bad Guy
Southern Voice
"A…Soulful Sound." That is the title of an article that I saw about a month and half back in a Washington Express review of Tim McGraw's latest CD. I didn't read the review because I did not want it to influence my own, but after hearing the album, I realize that the title of it is dead on. On Southern Voice the twang is toned down considerably and replaced with a sound that you may be more used to hearing on a Bruce Springsteen album (minus the hoarse vocals): heavy on the electric guitars with bass and drums thrown in. Those of you who remember McGraw's "Stars Go Blue" from a few years back will have a good idea of what's contained in this album.
For those of you who were taken in by the bounce and "pop" of the two singles "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You" and "Southern Voice", you going to be surprised by the rest of the album. It contains both self-reflections as well as third person reflections on subjects such as scorned lovers, absentee fathers, religion and reflections on the passage of time.
Out of these songs, the most beautiful and saddest song of the CD is "Mr. Whoever You Are." It's beautiful because of the melody - it will make a great waltz - which Tim's voice rides just as easily and rhythmically. It's sad because the song sings about a girl in one of those towns that you would see in Rosanne or Grace Under Fire where life is the factory job and pleasure is the bar. The worst part is the woman getting lost in sex, as the song states "Let's get the hell out of this bar, Mr. Whoever you are."
The song, to me, really brings across the futility that some people feel in that life; the desire that they have to lose themselves in something to make them feel better or forget. In the case of this song, it's sex.
The song also has no resolution to it. There is no prince charming who comes in and saves our gal from herself and, unlike so many Reba songs, there is no lesson to be learned from her actions. Like the waltz goes on with its six-step count, constantly repeating, you are left at the end of this song knowing that the scene played out in it will repeat as well.
On a little bit of the lighter side of reflection is "If I Died Today"; a song that contains interesting musings on our own passing; both the deep and the shallow:
If I died today/
Would my mama keep on prayin'?/
Would my buddies go out drinkin?/
Would my alarm clock keep on blinkin'?
If I died today/
Would I need to be ashamed?/
Would I be easy to forget?/
Could I live with my regrets?
I wonder who I'd see/
Cryin' standin' over me/
Who would just send their regards?/
Would anybody say "the world will never be the same?"/
And who would get this old guitar?
I like this song only for the fact that we have all mused about this subject. We wonder what happens to us not only on the "other side" but also what happens here. Will we be remembered or not? What kind of impact would we have had on the world, and would we be able to see that from wherever we go next? The added bonus to this song is the humor that it adds to the subject. As the song ends it asks, appropriately enough, "Who'd turn off my coffee pot?" leaving us knowing that there is a lot to do in our lives even after we are gone.
I could not let this review go by without addressing the song "I'm Only Jesus." I address it because I know there are folks out there who could take a very conservative and right-wing approach to the song, which talks about how our fate, in part, is up to us, no matter how much faith we have.
I sure wished you believed/
That everybody's free/
And I'll help you if you asked me too…
...but I can't decide the road you choose/
That's up to you/
I'm only Jesus
People may take this message to be 'if you don't believe, you just can't get right in life', but what I take from it is a pull yourself up message. We all have free will no matter how much faith we may have. We have the power to do right or improve on our own. Faith is something that helps us in keeping strength and perseverance, but it can't do it for us. We have to do for ourselves. This is something that I feel isn't specific just to the Christian/Catholic faith that is referenced in the song. This is something that we all have the power of no matter what we believe. We can improve ourselves and the world if we only take some initiative ourselves.
So, when you listen to this song, see what it means to you. Try not to get turned off reflexively because of the subject matter. Also, don't let anyone tell you what it means, even me. The great thing about music like this is that it can be interpreted by different people different ways.
For those of you who have wild or romantic Tim fantasies that you are hoping to supplement with photos from the CD booklet, you are going to be very disappointed. The photos contained in the 4 page booklet are more of a collage style. There are photos of Tim at a distance, out of focus, faded or underneath additional Photoshop layers that would obscure identification of the man if you weren't holding a CD that said "Tim McGraw." It's a shame, because I know that there are numerous people out there, myself included, who's hearts would have been revving, had there been clearer pictures of Tim on the motorcycle that you catch only glimpses of in this booklet. Luckily, what the CD lacks in the portraits department it makes up for in the music. But be forewarned fans of Tim's lighter fare, this CD is decidedly more mature than "It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You" would have you believe. Before you buy, give a listen to some samples to see if this is a McGraw CD that you feel is worth the space on your shelf or hard drive.
Bryan White
[three stars]
Dustbowl Dreams
For those of you who remember Bryan White from his hits "Someone Else's Star", "Rebecca Lynn" and "Sittin' on Go," he still has that high, hasn't-hit-puberty-yet voice that you recall. For those of you saying "Who the heck is Bryan White?", he is an artist who was very popular in flood of folks and acts that followed in the wake of Garth Brooks mega-success, but who had his own, distinct style. He was a much softer brand of country on his slow songs. On his peppier songs, he sounded similar to if a boy band member had gone country. He vanished a bit off the radar a while back (Wikipedia states that he wanted to take some time off after the rush of success that he first encountered) and now is back with Dustbowl Dreams.
Dreams finds that the time that White has taken off hasn't changed his music much. It's still has similar melodies, rhythms and arrangements as his previous songs. For those of you who are fans of White or who are people who don't like it when artists stretch and change, you'll be pleased with the album. For those of you who are more used to a contemporary country sound, you may find yourself disappointed.
The one song that I do want to highlight is "Hands of Time." This song is an ode to our running-behind culture that we seem to have lately sung by Bryan White and Steve Wariner. As the song states:
Everybody's running late like me/
the whole worlds running behind…
...getting slapped around by the hands of time
The image that the last line brought to mind struck me as comic. I picture someone's face getting whacked back and forth by hands as you sometimes see in cartoons or comic parodies. This is helped by the verve which that line is delivered by White and Wariner. I also like the talking at the end where in response to Bryan White asking the time Warner responds with "Eastern Standard Wariner Time." I know a lot of people who have their own or should have their own time zones--me being one of them.
The rest of the album is a good mix of slow, medium and upbeat tunes making Dreams a pleasant album for a good wind-down evening after work. For those who are true fans of White, you should find yourselves with another album to add to your collection. For those who tastes are more varied or less familiar with White, I would give a listen to Dreams and some of White's other work, before deciding if this is one CD to have on your shelf.
Toby Keith
[Four Stars]
American Ride
Toby Keith redeems himself a bit in my ears on his latest CD. After being a bit disappointed with the last offering he had with That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy, and much hemming and hawing over if should I gamble my money for potential disappointment again, I feel pleased that I actually bought this CD. It has a mix of the one thing that I always like about Toby Keith. His ability to go back-and-forth between fun-and sometimes in-your-face-music like "American Ride" to softer ballad-type fare like the current single "Crying for Me (Wayman's Song)" and do it well.
Building upon what I said about McGraw's "I'm Only Jesus" from the Southern Voice review, "Crying for Me (Wayman's Song)" is an example of how the listener can have his or her own interpretation of the music. In listening to this song, I had interpreted it to be a breakup song. It was only after I did some research to be sure that "Crying" was the latest single from the album that I discovered that the song is actually a tribute to basketball player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died earlier this year. I was stunned. I had totally missed the references to heaven and death in the song and only absorbed the lines about loss and its impact on you:
I'm gonna miss that smile/
I'm gonna miss you my friend/
Even though it hurts the way it ended up/
I'd do it all again…
...I'm not cryin' 'cause I feel so sorry for you/
I'm cryin' for me
This is a testament to the ability of Toby Keith to have a good range in his music choices. For those that only know Toby as his flag-waving, butt-kicking, big-doggin' self, this is the other side of Toby Keith. The side that fans of his have known for years and understand that this is what makes him a great artist. Not the popularity of some of his more political tunes. It is worth noting that Toby Keith actually wrote "Crying"; showing the depth of the man and his music.
For those of you who are Toby fans, you are really going to like this CD. It is very well balanced between rocking songs like "Loaded", "Gypsy Driftin'" and the single "American Ride" and slower melodies like "Are You Feeling Me" and "Tender as I Wanna Be" and some of the fun songs like "You Can't Read My Mind", a great two-stepable song that gives a nod to all those dirty thoughts that run through your mind when you are with someone that you are really hot for.
Every time we dance we're getting closer/
And I'd like to say a thing or two about it/
But trust me, you don't wanna get me talking/
I'm better off just dancing all around it
'Cause baby I can't tell you what I'm thinking…
...Whoa, this is where I usually say something out of line/
Just be glad that right now you can't read my mind
For those of you who are not Toby fans or who are turned off by his politically-charged messages that sometimes come across in the songs that are played on the radio airwaves, do yourself a favor; listen to this CD. It is a great example of what the general public is missing from the persona of Toby Keith. It gives you a better and more complete idea of the man and his music.
For those of you who are fans of the man, you will be pleased by the CD booklet. It is neat with a just-present-enough biker theme that is clean enough so as not to compete with your ability to read the lyrics, or obscure the photos of the Big Dog himself. There are six, six real good pictures of Toby in this booklet, including the final one with the track listing on the back. That one shows Toby Keith in what we were missing from McGraw's Southern Voice CD booklet, a photo of Toby saddled up on his flag themed motorbike. Hellooooooo, Big Dog. This adds an additional level of pleasantry to a CD that is well worth your purchase.
Patrick Hunter
Trail Ride Coordinator
Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)
|
