Delbert McClinton: Acquired Taste
First off, if your mama names you Delbert, you are almost fated to be a country blues singer. And so it was with Mr. McClinton, who has been putting out albums since 1972. Like fellow 68-year-olds Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Neil Diamond, Mr. McClinton has surfaced in the new millennium with renewed relevance. He may not be the top-selling sexagenarian or the most famous of his cohort, but McClinton showcases his energy and good humor on Acquired Taste. In fact, the faster the song on this album, the better. On the whole, Acquired Taste was quite a pleasant surprise.
Rating: * * * *
Brad Paisley: American Saturday Night
Brad Paisley tries to capture a slice of life—fishing trips, marriage proposals, swimming in the creek. He tells stories, which taken separately sound trite, each offering a heavy-handed moral. Combined though, he manages to capture a simple, rosy picture of middle America—the one where hard-working folks struggle to get by and all the while find happiness in the little things. The music is unabashedly country, never straying from the genre’s bedrock of ten-gallon-hat instrumentation. Often the songs seem done to death (“No” is a less poetic version of Garth Brooks’ “Unanswered Prayers”), but as an album, it’s tolerable.
Rating: * * *
Levon Helm: Electric Dirt
Levon Helm was the grizzled country-boy drummer for The Band. He has since emerged from Robbie Robertson’s shadow and earned a traditional folk Grammy for 2007’s Dirt Farmer. Electric Dirt is not too far removed from what I’d expect to hear in the hills and hollers of the Appalachians or Ozarks. When Mr. Helm sings, “Tennessee, Tennessee / There ain’t no place I’d rather be,” it seems about right. And so goes the album: back-woods crooning potentially from a ratty couch on a porch, hillbilly blues minus the jug band, and the sweet strains of poverty in a straw hat.
Rating: * * *
Deer Tick: Born on Flag Day
Country and grunge come together, and not necessarily beautifully. Deer Tick’s John McCauley has the voice of a buzz saw, which would be better if it were buried under the instruments. As things stand, it sticks out, distracting listeners from hearing some well-written songs. In fact, some of the folk-style arrangements could be improved with more aggressive playing to match Mr. McCauley’s voice. For that matter, some of the country-style arrangements would improve in a folk form. In any case, Deer Tick is worth listening to and is a good jumping off point for rock fans who generally eschew country.
Rating: * * * *
Sugarland: Love on the Inside
This was a big hit, from what I gather. People love their Sugarland. And what’s not to love? A few honky-tonk cowgirls pitching bouncy tunes. It’s fun, lively country music with surprisingly broad appeal. They sold somewhere around 7 billion copies of this thing. That’s more than enough for every man, woman, and child on planet Earth. So we’re all listening to Sugarland together, and we’re all a little happier. As I understand it, their follow-up live album also hit Billboard at #1. That’s Sugarland fever! What is the CDC doing about this? Nothing. It’s not even on their radar.
Rating: * * * *
Tish Hinojosa: Our Little Planet
Our Little Planet is an unexceptional collection of country songs with a thin acoustic band backing Tish Hinojosa. Ms. Hinojosa, for a country singer, has no country in her. She has no twang, no Nashville, and no yodel. Maybe a little bluegrass hiccup, but that’s it. Her straightforward vocals make the album tolerable to folks who traditionally don’t care for country. The highlights come when Ms. Hinojosa honors her Mexican heritage, flashing south-of-the-border flair and style and wielding Spanish lyrics. She writes nice songs, though I can’t help but think they would be more at home as bluesy folk tunes.
Rating: * * *
Todd Snider: The Excitement Plan
Todd Snider’s The Excitement Plan is a set of 12 barren country blues songs. The instrumentation is minimal and his voice is way up front in the mix. While the singing’s not good enough to take center stage, the lyrics are worth understanding (despite the ain’ts and double negatives). Mr. Snider tells interesting stories (or at least tells them in interesting ways), conveying a pleasantly folksy and homespun air. Here and there the acoustic guitar disappears in favor of a harmonica or piano. Mr. Snider would likely sound the same in your living room as he does on this record.
Rating: * * * *
