Search - Brooks & Dunn :: If You See Her

Yet another classic album

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 11/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the outstanding title track (a duet with Reba McEntire) and four other major country hits (How long gone, I can't get over you, South of Santa Fe and Husbands and wives), this was another huge success in the careers of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.



Most of the songs here are originals, though Husbands and wives (one of the hits) is a cover of a Roger Miller song from the sixties, which was covered by the Everly Brothers on one of their country albums, Pass the chicken and listen. I wouldn't have envisaged it as a Brooks and Dunn song, but their performance is superb and it deserved to be a hit all over again.



The album is wonderful mix of ballads and rocking country songs, with Ronnie singing lead on most songs. Kix sings lead on South of Santa Fe (one of the hits) and Way gone, both of which he co-wrote.



Brand new whiskey, one of the rocking songs, is my favorite among the tracks not released as singles, but Born and raised in black and white, Your love don't take a backseat to nothing. Way gone, When love dies and You're my angel are all great too.



All the hits can be found on their second volume of greatest hits so if you are only interested in hits, you may be content to buy that and ignore this - but if you want to go beyond the hits, this album is definitely wotrth listening to."

Pale Face of the Southwest Desert

Christopher | Wengen-en-esprit | 03/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The American Southwest. What kind of music would be conjured from this great desert, one with a history of country-shaping battles, landscape-scarring weather, and a desert pseudo-documented so blithely in Hollywood's earliest Westerns from the beginning of the 20th century? Why, country-shaped, landscape-scarred, and at times blithely played-guitar music, that's what!



If You See Her offers the listener a whole smorgasbord of emotions, ranging from the upbeat, albeit downtrodden, How Long Gone -- a fantastic way to begin an album -- to the forlorn, but possibly encouraging title track. These two songs are about the two-faces of relationships and convey it wonderfully.



So where does the desert come in? By far the best tracks here are the cryptic South of Santa Fe -- I imagine a ghost town that only a drifter would know of its whereabouts...and he runs into his past love, still alive -- and Born and Raised in Black and White -- about two brothers with different destinies. This song brings tears to my eyes sometimes.



The art direction here is very good, reminiscent of the old West. But what stands out in my eyes is Ron Modra's photography. The duo in black standing on the red rocks of canyonlands and rivers is fantastic. The photographer met Ronnie Dunn at a baseball game, leading to a short stint photographing other country singers.



While this album is well recorded and utilizes dozens of guitar textures, the selection of songs is only limited by the onslaught of the five somewhat depressing she-left-me tracks. With a run-time of only 40 minutes, I would've hoped for a few more old West anthems from these guys. Their future albums, while possessing songs more complex in composition, sort of drift from this "wild west" country style."

Ain't no counrty fan, BUT....

sally smith | Mustang Ranch, NV | 10/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brooks n Dunn is one exception to my not liking Country much.



this album was on the juke box, in CT, at the bar I bartended. I have many memories with these songs.



go to my old bar and punch in number 7111 and you will hear one of my all time favorite songs ever. "You're my Angel." I could get the whole crowd singing that along with B & D and me. many nights, someone would hand me a buck and say, "Sally, go play me 7111." and I would be happy to.



another favorite was # 7103 "South of Santa Fe." a great tune.

of course, I also like - if you see him, long gone, way gone, new whiskey, and so on.



the music, the words, the tunes, all good. Country lover or not - buy it.





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