Babies and band practice? Has one of the most influential guitarists ever grown soft? Say it ain’t so. Instead it’s an uplifting melody to accompany a parent’s lament on the daily grind of raising children. To make that point, the album’s opening track “So Tired” doesn’t chronicle the bone-deep fatigue a seemingly endless string of show nights would bring.
So it is for the 60-year-old British bluesman’s aptly titled “Back Home,” which brings into sharp focus the reflections of a music man of four decades who has grown to value home and family above all else in the twilight of his years.
If you’re Eric Clapton, though, you simply return home. GriffithĮric Clapton, “Back Home”Sure legends die and stars inevitably begin to fade. Why suffer through that when there’s real honky-tonkers out there (singers Robbie Fulks and Dallas Wayne, for example) who remain true to the roadhouse tradition and perform well-crafted songs that don’t merely pander to the lowest common denominator? -Paul V. Its not that every country album should swing (Faith Hill’s latest, “Fireflies,” doesn’t, and its a fine record), but you’d better count off a shuffle every now and then if you’re going to call yourself a honky tonker or a “hillbilly.” “Hillbilly Deluxe,” on the other hand, delivers nothing but trite ballads (“I May Never Get Over You”) and wannabe Southern rock (“Whiskey Do My Talking”). Then there’s the fact that “Hillbilly Deluxe” contains not a single shuffle or waltz, two song forms that, from Bob Will’s “San Antonio Rose” to George Strait’s “You Look So Good in Love,” virtually define “honky tonk.” For starters, there’s nary a honky tonk on Brooks & Dunn’s tour schedule- denizens of arenas and amphitheaters is more like it. There is no YouTube video for this yet, but you can access it on Apple Music or Spotify.It’s hard to argue with the first half of that statement (there’s no accounting for taste), but the second half is asking for a fight. Not an awesome song, but definitely not bad. It feels relatable to today’s radio listeners without compromising the lyrics, and without entirely compromising the sound. It’s a decent song with some substantial lyrics that actually get people thinking beyond some night in a field or club. Overall, this is better than most of Ronnie Dunn’s previous solo stuff. A comparison to “Oceanfront Property” is not necessarily a bad thing while “Oceanfront Property” was better, the majority of today’s radio audience will not know that song, and so “Ain’t no Trucks in Texas” will make that kind of impact. (My personal favorite is “they don’t get high in Colorado.”) Having said that, the list of stuff is pretty relatable and does paint some pretty nice pictures. Not missing this girl is like not having football in the South, the blues in Memphis, etc. The song itself is a heartbreak song which reminds me of the 2015 version of George Strait’s “Oceanfront Property.” Basically, the premise can be summed up in this line: “There ain’t no trucks in Texas, and I ain’t missin’ you.” Ronnie Dunn lists off a lot of impossible things throughout the song.
There is an electronic beat, but the instrumentation is definitely better than most of the crap on the radio being passed off as country. “Ain’t No Trucks in Texas” is the first we’ve heard from him since he signed with Nash Icon. This is a cause he has spoken often about, even releasing his last album independently after becoming disenchanted with Nashville politics. He recently signed with Nash Icon, a venture between Big Machine and Cumulus Media seeking to further the careers of older artists who are being left behind by mainstream country radio.
Although I loved and still love Brooks & Dunn, I have been less than impressed with Ronnie Dunn’s solo career up to this point.
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