CD Reviews: "Like Red on a Rose," "Face The Promise"
Alan Jackson, Like Red on a Rose: I've been a fan of Alan Jackson for a long time; one of the first songs I can remember listening to (that wasn't sung by a Disney character) is "Chattahoochie." My mom would turn up the car radio when it came on; I'd be singing in the passenger seat, and my baby brother would be dancing in his car seat.
Jackson has always turned out strong country music; he found success without picking up too much of the pop trappings that crept into New Country. I'm not too much of a country snob and will gladly listen to pop-country acts like Rascal Flatts, but my heart belongs to steel guitars, fiddles, banjos and mandolins. I love that "cry" that the best country singers have; the type that rips my heart out on sad songs.
Jackson's new CD is one of the best in his career. Alison Krauss played producer, and her hand shows in the final product; but it isn't overbearing. There are no fast honky-tonk songs on this album; it's instead a collection of instrospective, romantic numbers. It's not Alison singing, but you hear echos of her sweet clean style in the instrumentation. The heart and soul and emotional depth of Jackson's voice is brought to its height on this disk, playing perfectly over the softer melodies.
The tracks to pay special attention to include the title song (and lead single), where the line "I love you like all little children love pennies" stops you with the slowly dawning depth of that declaration, "The Firefly's Song," where Jackson reflects on aging, and "Good Imitation of the Blues," a country-blues weeper. really, though, the album works so well as a cohesive whole that it's worth it to purchase the whole thing and not just download single tracks.
Jackson has always turned out strong country music; he found success without picking up too much of the pop trappings that crept into New Country. I'm not too much of a country snob and will gladly listen to pop-country acts like Rascal Flatts, but my heart belongs to steel guitars, fiddles, banjos and mandolins. I love that "cry" that the best country singers have; the type that rips my heart out on sad songs.
Jackson's new CD is one of the best in his career. Alison Krauss played producer, and her hand shows in the final product; but it isn't overbearing. There are no fast honky-tonk songs on this album; it's instead a collection of instrospective, romantic numbers. It's not Alison singing, but you hear echos of her sweet clean style in the instrumentation. The heart and soul and emotional depth of Jackson's voice is brought to its height on this disk, playing perfectly over the softer melodies.
The tracks to pay special attention to include the title song (and lead single), where the line "I love you like all little children love pennies" stops you with the slowly dawning depth of that declaration, "The Firefly's Song," where Jackson reflects on aging, and "Good Imitation of the Blues," a country-blues weeper. really, though, the album works so well as a cohesive whole that it's worth it to purchase the whole thing and not just download single tracks.
Bob Seger, Face the Promise: As my appreciation of Alan Jackson comes from my mother, my appreciation for Bob Seger comes from my dad. I have to confess, though, that Bob Seger is a fairly "recent" discovery of mine. Growing up, Bob Seger was one thing and one thing only to me: "Old Time Rock and Roll." Ah, man. I danced to that with my dad at every family wedding.
It took a few listens to a greatest hits collection before how awesome Seger is really sunk in for me. I had to get over the cheese of "Old Time Rock and Roll," which is a good song, don't get me wrong, but lyrically just pales compared to songs like "Night Moves," my favorite Seger song. I think I just needed to be a little older and have some work experience and knowledge of the world in order to appreciate Seger. There's a fair amount of pride in the fact that Seger's a fellow Michigander mixed in there too.
"Face the Promise" is Seger's first album in eleven years. From the first few seconds of the first song, it's recognizably Seger, despite being recorded in Nashville. Seger hasn't "gone country," to quote the other guy in this article; but country and Seger's brand of heartland/working class rock have a lot of common themes. So there's nothing jarring about Seger dueting with Patty Loveless on "The Answer's in the Question," or with fellow Detroiter Kid Rock on the Vince Gill penned 'Real Mean Bottle."
Of the working class rock singers, Seger's voice has always been the best and most distinctive (Springsteen, as much as I like him, as a very limited voice, and Mellencamp's is only slightly better). He sounds as good here as he ever has. The best songs to check out are the aforementioned "Real Mean Bottle," the title track, the lead single "Wait for Me," and "Wreck this Heart," which is the type of song that begs to be turned up and sung along to as you drive down the highway.
It took a few listens to a greatest hits collection before how awesome Seger is really sunk in for me. I had to get over the cheese of "Old Time Rock and Roll," which is a good song, don't get me wrong, but lyrically just pales compared to songs like "Night Moves," my favorite Seger song. I think I just needed to be a little older and have some work experience and knowledge of the world in order to appreciate Seger. There's a fair amount of pride in the fact that Seger's a fellow Michigander mixed in there too.
"Face the Promise" is Seger's first album in eleven years. From the first few seconds of the first song, it's recognizably Seger, despite being recorded in Nashville. Seger hasn't "gone country," to quote the other guy in this article; but country and Seger's brand of heartland/working class rock have a lot of common themes. So there's nothing jarring about Seger dueting with Patty Loveless on "The Answer's in the Question," or with fellow Detroiter Kid Rock on the Vince Gill penned 'Real Mean Bottle."
Of the working class rock singers, Seger's voice has always been the best and most distinctive (Springsteen, as much as I like him, as a very limited voice, and Mellencamp's is only slightly better). He sounds as good here as he ever has. The best songs to check out are the aforementioned "Real Mean Bottle," the title track, the lead single "Wait for Me," and "Wreck this Heart," which is the type of song that begs to be turned up and sung along to as you drive down the highway.
