Search - Clint Black :: Drinkin Songs & Other Logic

Black's Irresistable "Logic"

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 10/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: A Big One, Back Home in Heaven, Rainbow in the Rain



Clint Black has return to his mother milk of what nurtured him into fame way back in the early 90s: swinging Texas honky tonk stompers interjected with those traditional sensitive tear-jerking ballads. Gone are those delusory attempts to cross over to the pop market (a la the extremely misfired "Money or Love" and the shoddily pablum "Easy for you to Say"). As the title suggests, Black has decided to tip his Stetson to the venerable tradition of country drinkin' numbers. This does not mean that this CD is entirely an inebriant to the sonically dipsomania. Rather, only 4 of these tracks (the title cut, "A Big One," "Thinkin' of You" and "Longnecks and Rednecks") contain explicitly alcohol-related themes, with the rest dealing with thoughtful ruminations of love lost, missed opportunities, cherished friendships and a couple even dealing with death. Thanks to Black and his longtime band mate Hayden Nicholas who co-penned most of these 12 cuts, these songs reverberate back to Black's "Killing Times" days where the music is unadulterated country nuanced with a roiling mix of honesty, urgency and credibility.



A listen to the scintillating lead single "Rainbow in the Rain" is enough to convince that one is listening to greatness. Giving the well-worn theme of despair in the throes of a breakup a makeover, Black dives into the emotional depths to create one of his most compelling uptempos in his vast catalogue. Co-written by Nicholas at the time of his mother's death, the spiritually searching "Back Home in Heaven" is given a cherubic boast with the angelic backings of label mate Little Big Town. The sparse acoustic sounding ballad "Go It Alone" offers a sobering look at death again as two friends had to part at the last phase of life. But not everything here is morbid, drawing on the traditions of Faron Young and Ray Price, the swing shuffle "I Don't Wanna Tell You" turns heartache into a delightful Texas dance hall gem. With regards to the drinkin' songs, "A Big One" is a honky tonk barroom crowd pleaser complete with a sing-a-long chorus. Old pal Steve Wariner joins Black and Nicholas in penning the title track, a great upbeat number bolstered by some tasty sounding guitars from Wariner himself.



Despite being a fetching album, there are a few weaker moments: the sleazy "Undercover Cowboy," a tale about a Casanova having his ways with the ladies, hits an all time low. With a melody reminiscent of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' "Undercover," this track is very much on the obligatory side. Scheduled as the sophomore single "Code of West" is a feeble attempt in creating one of those John Wayne cowboy movies. With a wordy plot and trying to draw too many fortuitous connections to the war, lyrically this track is messy at best.



For fans who wonder where the Clint Black of earlier hits such as "A Better Man," "The Hard Way," "When My Ship Comes In" has gone, "Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic" is proof that this CMA Award winner is back. And he's back in fine form. Drinking deep into the recesses of the honky tonks, the smell of whiskey has never been more pungent and the consanguinity of the bar stool crowd has never been warmer; thus, putting asunder any logic to stay away.

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Best from Clint in a long while

Paul W. Dennis | Winter Springs, FL USA | 05/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best album from Clint Black in a quite a while, although it is not up to the standard of his first albums. It does represent a return to the traditional country music that first brought him into prominance, although there are traces of the Adult Contemporary focus of recent years.



The album opens with the title track, an uptempo song that pays homage to country's past. "Heartaches," the second track, is a nice honky tonk song. After that comes "Code of the West", a rather cliche-ridden number that fails to interest.



These first three songs set the pattern for the CD, two pretty good songs for every one mediocre or indifferent song. I'm not sure which is my favorite track, perhaps the very western swing influenced "I Don't Want To Tell You" with it's great fiddle backing, but clearly "Undercover Cowboy" is the biggest stinker of the set - a song about a cowboy Don Juan whose sole mission is to get "under the covers" with "undercover" cowgirls. Perhaps I am being generous giving this four stars, but the best tracks are very good indeed and the worst tracks (except "Undercover Cowboy") are at least listenable

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CLASSIC CLINT BLACK FOR CLASSIC COUNTRY FANS

D. McAllister | Somewhere in the Field | 02/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Interesting, the shifts taking place in Country Music these days. You have the newcomers who are, in many cases, doing their damnedest to shift the genre away from real Country music toward a sort of weird, hybrid animal that pulls a lot of new listeners into the pseudo-Country herd.



And as the music shifts, many expect the mainstays of the genre, the Straits, Chesneys, Jacksons and, in keeping with this review, the Clint Blacks, to follow suit. They complain that Black's newest offering, DRINKIN' SONGS & OTHER LOGIC, is the "same old Black" and seem to want him to take on the perverse sounds of the Country-nouveau in order to please them. I thought it was the other way around. I thought fans like me followed artists like Clint Black because his music struck a chord. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for artists who keep changing their sound in order to meet the demands of an audience.



Let's make this simple. If you don't want classic Country Western music, as only Clint Black can deliver it and, mind you, has delivered it over his entire stellar career, then jump on the bandwagon of any of the new monstrosities currently commanding Country Music acts and stages all over creation. But, if you want to hear Country sung as it should be, this terrific album, as well as any other of Black's previous releases, should do the trick. It's every bit as fresh, every bit as musically excellent, every bit as Country as when Black stepped on stage for the first time.



THE HORSEMAN

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