| CD REVIEW (This review has also been published at www.701.com) |
| ALRIGHT GUY - GARY ALLAN |
| Most of the tracks on this CD are 'alright!' fare for C&W music fans, but there is also a beautiful number by Roger Brown and Luke Reed, i.e. 'Adobe Walls', with more than a tinge of the doo-wop blues. After repeated listens to try and remember where the melody was taking me back to, I realized it was 'Suitcase Blues', by hard-rock band Triumph (formerly led by now solo performing guitarist Rik Emmett). It is a personal favourite of mine from many years ago. 'Adobe Walls' also sounds similar to Crystal Gayle's 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue'. The title track, written by Todd Snider, ought to appeal to anyone who liked Charlie Daniels' 'Long Haired Country Boy', as it deals with the subject of being harshly judged for minor indiscretions ("Well, I know I get wild and I know I get drunk/It's not like I got a bunch of bodies in my trunk"). Although this performer, like many others in the tight-knit Nashville music clan, employs the talents of other songwriters for musical inspiration, the one track Gary has any songwriting credit for on this CD is 'I Don't Look Back', a rockin', rollickin' collaboration with Odie Blackmon and Jake Kelly, who plays guitar (along with Brent Rowan, Joe Manuel and John Willis) on the CD. Speaking of other players, Michael Rhodes (also on Chely's new CD, Never Love You Enough, as well as Reba McEntire's I'm a Survivor) keeps a subtly effective groove on bass, and John Wesley Ryles (also on George Jones' new CD, The Rock) performs background vocals along with Harry Stinson of Dead Reckoning Records. The enchanting mandolin and violin (fiddle) was provided by Hank Singer, keyboards by Steve Nathan, steel guitar by Robby Turner, and Chad Cromwell keeping everything in synch on drums. 'What Would Willie Say', a tribute to Willie Nelson (by Bruce Robison), sounds like a prototypical Blue Rodeo song, which sandwiches a spoken-word narration that brought Matt Minglewood's version of the Marshall Tucker Band's 'Can't You See' to mind. My second-favourite track (after 'Adobe Walls') was 'The One' - you've got to hear it to appreciate it - words just don't do it justice. |
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