What I Do

by

Alan Jackson

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Alan Jackson's new cd is called "What I Do" After listening to it I think a better title would be "What I Do Best" because what you have on these 12 tracks is Alan singing about heartbreak, a honky tonk a car that is need of repair. and true love, and that is what he does best. The songs are delivered in pure country arrangements without the overproduction that has plagued country music so much. There are no screaming loud guitars or pounding drums. Just the sweet sounds of the weeping and dancing fiddles. Which are complimented by the crying steel.

Alan's vocals are delivered with raw emotion. One of the cd's most powerful song has to be "Monday Morning Church" a song about a man who has lost his love and is trying to cope with what he loved being put in the ground. You can feel his pain when he sings about her things she left behind. The backup vocal's of Patty Loveless only add to the overall effect. The cd is worth the price for this cut.

The whole cd isn't about heartbreak. A few of the others are about not letting love slip by with "If Love Was A River" Another tune that should really smoke in a live setting with Alan's top notch band "The Stray horns"

has to be "Burning The Honky Tonks down" about a man's wife tired of sitting home and goes after the Honky Tonks and torches them. Fans of the Oak Ridge Boys should instantly recognize the bass voice of Richard Strenban providing backup.

One to that's sure to make you smile is "If French Fries Were Fat Free" If his wife still loved him, came back home and fries were fat free his life would be perfect. Then there is the Takin song repair blues about a mechanic who is a songwriter and pitches a song while working on his car. Only to find out his song isn't that good, but Alan can fix it for him in exchange for working on his car plus 100 bucks. After listening to this cd it should prove to the listener that Alan is the king of traditional country music. So hail to the king.

There are few artists in country music today that I love and hold in high regard. Alan Jackson has always been number one to me. I am a huge fan and believe the man can do no wrong. I still believe that. After these last few years, Alan has only gotten bigger and better. The breezy, wonderful delight of the "When Somebody Loves You" CD, as well as one of his top best "Drive", and the incredible success of "Greatest Hits Vol. 2", with it's great 2 new songs. So, it is coming off these last few CD's that makes this one somewhat disappointing. Not that it's bad. Far from it. It's just not very distinctive. The sound and talent is pure Alan, and he still has one the best country voices and sounds in the biz. But there is no "Drive", "It's Five 'O' Clock Somewhere", "Where I Come From", "Work In Progress", "That'd Be Alright" here. Alan has always been low key, and that has been one of the greatest things about him, but he is too low key here. The first single, "Too Much Of A Good Thing", and first track, is a light and sweet little song, but it sounds more like a second or third single than the lead off one. "USA Today" is a marginal toe tapper with fun lyrics, and should gain some airplay. The only real up-tempo songs here is "Burnin' The Honky Tonks Down". It's a fun little song, but something Alan and others have done over and over. Many songs here feel and sound the same way. There is no real distinction or great catch to many of them. Ones with titles you would think would be the catchy, fun type of Alan song, aren't. "There Ya Go" sounds like it would be like "There Goes" or "That'd Be Alright", but it's pretty mellow. Same with "If French Fries Were Fat Free". Not there aren't highlights. There are some gems here. "You Don't Have To Paint Me A Picture" is the "sad, cry in your beer" song that Alan does, and it's one of his best. "Strong Enough" is a sweet song with a fun lyrical flow, and should be on the radio. There is also the sweet and lovely "Monday Morning Church", which is elegantly written. These songs would be more stand-outs if they weren't on a CD already filled with them. There are no real big stand out hits here, or many songs that are that memorable, like most of his albums. The musical side is still polished and tight, and the writing is still top quality country. Alan has always pretty much been consistent in tone and writing, but this time out he seems to take that consistency and put it on auto pilot and turn out a CD that will probably get the least amount of spins. It's still a well made CD that is still better, and more country, than most other things out there(hence the three stars), but this is the first time I have given an Alan Jackson CD less than 5 stars. Maybe we won't have to wait so long for the next CD, and hopefully Alan can kick it up a notch.