|
|
 - Oh Pah-Leeze Reviewer !!!You THINK that maybe George Strait MIGHT SOMEDAY be in the same catagory with Jones, Nelson and Haggard ???? Ha!!! I don't see that THEY had/have over 50 number ONE hits and is second only to ELVIS !!! Get real.....George is the KING of COUNTRY...Second only to the KING of Rock and Roll. This new album is GREAT!!! Talk about getting better with age. He's getting that smooth lower range that comes with maturity. Just listen to "High Tone Woman". As far as George being "less" than Lee Ann on that duet, "Good News, Bad News"...she should take some lessons from George....he didn't have to scream his words to get the emotion across. When will these divas learn that we can HEAR them already. We want to hear the words the songwriter gave them , without piercing our eardrums. Some of you can waste your time on the "flavor" of the month. People who really LISTEN to the music, words and VOICE, will always keep George high on his/her list. Keep singing George, we're listening...and congratulations on yet another #1 CD !!! Rating:  - Could be a bit more upbeat, but George has put out another great record Two years after releasing Honkytonkville, his last album of original songs, George Strait has come out with another great record in Somewhere Down In Texas. This album isn't as upbeat as its predecessor, but it still is a solid record. This record's title track, "Somewhere Down In Texas", could be George's reflection on his almost a quarter century as a country hit maker: "I've been on the road now dang near all my life/I love to sing a song." Even after 51 chart-topping hits and numerous gold and platinum records, George still looks forward to returning to Texas when he's not recording or doing live shows: "I'll be somewhere down in Texas if you're lookin' for me." The self-explanatory "Texas" is another tribute to George's home state: "There wouldn't be no Alamo/No Cowboys in the Super Bowl/No Lonesome Dove, no Yellow Rose/If it wasn't for Texas." George recorded Merle Haggard's "My Life's Been Grand" for his The Road Less Traveled album, and on this record, he sings another solid composition by Merle, the romantic ballad "The Seashores Of Old Mexico". On "If The Whole World Was A Honky Tonk", George reflects on how much better life would be if we could just go to the bar and settle our differences: "We'd tell our troubles to the bar/Over cryin' steel guitars/And then they'd all be gone." The uplifting ballad "You'll Be There", George's current hit, has some of the best lyrics I've heard from George: "We'll climb up on the mountain, y'all, we'll let our voices ring/And those who've never tried it, they'll be the first to sing." I'd have to go back to "Run", George's #1 hit from 2001, to find a song that's as strong lyrically as this one. In "She Let Herself Go", the man is surprised that his ex-lover is pretty happy since he left her: "She let herself go/On a singles cruise/To Vegas once/Then to Honolulu." In "Ready For The End Of The World", the guy is steeling himself for his lover's inevitable departure: "I bought a case of Jack, a box set of Merle/I'm getting ready/Ready for the end of the world." In "Oh, What A Perfect Day", everything in the speaker's life is going wrong all at once, but he doesn't care because he gets to spend time with the one he loves. "Good News, Bad News", George's duet with his MCA label mate Lee Ann Womack, has the man meeting up with his old flame after a long absence, only to find that they're not able to get back together because she's already found someone else. George still hasn't written a song for one of his records, but he still picks out great tunes, as you'll see when you listen to this album. Despite being another great George Strait record, Somewhere Down In Texas has one problem: it lacks really upbeat songs. To George's credit, this record's uptempo songs are very enjoyable. "High Tone Woman", about a guy's infatuation with the well-dressed, flirtatious woman he sees at the bar, is classic George Strait honky-tonk swing. "By The Light Of A Burning Bridge", the closing song, is a joyful ode to budding romance: "It's amazing what a man can see by the light of a burning bridge." These two songs are well-done; however, there isn't anything else uptempo about Somewhere Down In Texas. To be sure, George has tapped his "real" country roots and come out with some great music. However, this record could have used a few more songs like the two I just mentioned. This album is very good, but it drags in places. Still, on Somewhere Down In Texas, I think George has once again done himself proud. He put together a solid collection of songs, and he'll surely add to his unstoppable string of hits. Rating: - You have to have this album in your George collection!Track 4- "You'll be there" is worth buying the album for. However, there are some other songs on here that make the album appeal to everyone. There is a great duet on this album with Leann Womack as well. The songs on this CD are accompanied by great music. There are songs like track 1- Honeytonk.....that appeal to those who like faster down home Strait-tunes! You gotta have it! Rating: - Leaves the pretenders in the dust. Again.Once again, George Strait leaves his so-called contemporaries in the dust. He effortlessly makes albums that runs rings around his lame rivals like Chesney, McGraw, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and the like. They are all just Strait-wannabes. On this cd, Strait turns sentimental on several songs like "You'll Be There", "Somewhere Down In Texas" and the seemingly autobiographical "Texas". I say seemingly because he did not write the song. I've said many times that you can't go wrong with a George Strait cd, and this one is no different. That's not to say that it's his best album. Of his 33 studio albums thus far, I would say there are at least five or six I like better than this one. However, when you compare it to what else is coming out of Nashville these days, it's more than deserving of five stars. Rating: - One of the greatsI was excited when i heard George Strait was going to put out another cd and i immeditaly got the cd when it came out. I love how he had references to his old songs such as "Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind" in "Texas". I did think "Good news Bad news" was sad but it still was another great hit. "Oh, What a Perfect day", "Somewhere down in Texas", "You'll be there",and "She let herself go" are some of my new favorite George Strait songs. This one, as well as alot of the songs on this cd, is destiend to be another #1 for George. I highly recomend this cd.
|
