Back in familiar territory, subtly scoffing at modern country cliches
Alan Jackson
“Good Time” (Arista Nashville)
*** 1/2
Don’t be misled by the title of the country veteran’s 13th studio album. Although it is considerably lighter than his moody and reflective 2006 collaboration with Alison Krauss, “Like Red on a Rose,” it’s anything but a one-note party record.
In fact, it’s an unusually rich, solidly traditional country record with 17 songs, all written by Jackson, a first in his 18-year recording career. It certainly figures to give the lanky Georgian’s longtime fans comfort after his stylistic detours for the “Rose” album and its predecessor, the country gospel collection “Precious Memories.”
What makes it especially rewarding is the deceptively casual way that Jackson thumbs his nose at the cliches that hamper so much of today’s commercial country music.
The country waltz “When the Love Factor’s High” is an ode to what happens when the flame of love gets cranked up, yet in the midst of all this warmth, Jackson keeps reality in the mix: “Sometimes it flies/Sometimes it fails/Sometimes your back ends up against the wall.”
Says Jackson: “It’s one of my favorites on the album and my wife, Denise, really likes it too. . . . Keith [Stegall, the album’s producer] and I wanted to do the kind of record we’ve always done, and this is like one of those songs I grew up loving by Merle Haggard or George Jones.”
This album’s version of “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” is “Laid Back ‘n Low Key (Cay),” a simple Buffett-esque salute to kicking back on a beach. And there’s his disconcertingly humorous take on long-term relationships in “Nothing Left to Do,” in which Jackson unflinchingly recounts the familiarity of everything at a certain stage in life, culminating in the chorus’ punch line: “There ain’t nothin’ left to do/Now that we’ve done it.”
“Denise isn’t real fond of that one,” Jackson, 49, says with a laugh about his wife of 28 years. “I don’t know why. I thought it was fun.”
Those lighthearted moments are countered with the gravity of “Sissy’s Song,” a heart-melting tribute to one who died young, skillfully navigating the storm of emotions such loss inevitably unleashes:
Loved ones she left behind just trying to survive
And understand the why, the feeling so lost inside
Anger shot straight at God then asking for his love
“That was about a young woman who worked for us at the house, and was there with us every day. She died last summer [2007] in a motorcycle accident, and everyone was having a real hard time with it. We’ve all lost parents, and it’s different when somebody has lived their life and it’s their time. . . . This song just came to me one day. I sang it at the funeral and her family said it really helped. Keith liked it and the label liked it, so we put it on the album.”
His singing throughout is characteristically effortless, marked by the almost conversational but deft phrasing that’s gives his songs a lived-in veracity. All of which adds up to what is indeed a pretty good time.
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On the Record is an occasional feature combining critical assessment of noteworthy new recordings with input from the artist.
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