Doin' Somethin' Right

by

Billy Currington

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If you only know Billy Currington from "Party For Two," his hit duet with Shania Twain, you need to expand your horizons and check out his 2003 self-titled debut and this latest gem, which reveal what Currington is really capable of vocally and stylistically.

DOIN' SOMETHIN' RIGHT opens and closes with foot stompers ("I Wanna Be A Hillbilly," "She Knows What To Do With A Saturday Night") which will have you dancing in the streets (or at least at your local honkytonk). It between, we get a somewhat gentler Billy, with the title track/lead off single providing a relaxed yet heartfelt delivery, and a lusty "Little Bit Lonely" plus "Here I Am" showcasing incredible charisma.

"Good Directions" is the type of down home, good ol' boy number that Kenny Chesney succeeds with (again and again and again). Billy's remake of "Lucille" is a nice update, hitting a little harder than Kenny Rogers' original, while a collaboration with Michael McDonald on "She's Got A Way With Me" offers a power ballad change of pace.

Hopefully, this diverse collection will elevate Billy to the next level on the country music food chain. It's a fine effort that clearly avoids the sophomore jinx.

This album is puzzling. The beginning's good as hell -"I Wanna Be a Hillbilly", "Good Directions" and "Must Be Doing Something Right", very rock, are simply excellent. What's different with Billy is the way he changes his voice according to the intensity of the songs. For instance on "Doing Something Right" his voice is crystal clear while on "Why, Why, Why" his voice is deeper, more nasal, with the famous Texan twang. Likewise with "That Changes Everything". A bit like Josh Turner but with not as deep a voice. And then "Little Bit Lonely" comes up. A bad and sad Reggae. Willie Nelson's bad influence (see his Country Man album)?. And after that, from one ballad to another, more or less interesting. In any case, a total loss of energy at the end of the album except for "Whole Lot More" that wakes us up at last. The last one "She Knows to Do With a Saturday Night" very much influenced by the wonderful "Living All Night" by Patty Loveless, but unfortunately not as good. As for the musicians, we notice the presence of Eddie Bayers on drums, Stuart Duncan, Paul Franklin, Brent Mason or Glenn Worf. A little disappointing and lacking in personality.

FACM ( French Association of Country Music - http://facm.free.fr)