CD Reviews- George Strait- TWANG

The Background:
With a career spanning more than 25 years, nearly 70 million albums sold and 57 #1 singles to his credit (which is the record for more Number One hits than any artist in history including Elvis), George Strait has redefined popular music. His 33 different platinum or multi-platinum albums have earned him the most RIAA platinum certifications in country music and third in all genres behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. The King of Country returns with TWANG, the follow-up to his #1, platinum-certified Troubadour, which was named “Best Country Album” at the 2009 Grammy Awards. George has sold over 67 million albums throughout his record-breaking career and currently sits in third place on the all-time platinum/multi-platinum album certification list, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. TWANG, George's 38th album, features the hit single "Living For The Night" (co-written by George, his son Bubba and Dean Dillon). “Living For The Night” marks the first time George has penned a song since “I Can’t See Texas From Here” from his 1982 debut – Strait Country. Strait co-wrote two additional songs on TWANG - “He's Got That Something Special” and “Out Of Sight Out Of Mind.”

The Review:
Known as the King of Country for almost as long as he has been on the charts, he has always been the King of Consistency. Each album that he has released has been neither unique to itself or much different from any other album. A “concept album” would be as foreign to a Strait fan as would him breaking out in a rap up on stage. TWANG keeps with the model set forth by all previous Strait albums with one glaring exception. The stand-out track on the album is one written by Strait by his son, “Arkansas Dave.” A strong western theme about a lawman son who takes down his outlaw father, it’s an example of great country storytelling with a great lyrical twist at the end. The first single to radio, “Living For The Night,” is a touching story of loss made all the more powerful by the knowledge of the loss of Strait’s own daughter, Jennifer, back when she was only 13. “Twang” is an upbeat piano-backed honky-tonk foot-stomper filled with steel guitar and plenty of fiddles. It’s the perfect album-opener, albeit a bit ironic since Strait’s Texas accent has very little twang in it. A song like “I Gotta Get To You” is fairly forgettable and “Easy As You Go” lost me with the umpteenth anecdote. That particular song is colloquialism overload. The craziest song of the bunch, and one that is almost as unusual as that rap music career I referred to earlier, is Strait breaking out “El Rey.” Strait summons his inner-gringo on the album’s end-song sung entirely in a foreign tongue. There’s been much debate within country music circles on the merits of this last song. And while it may be an artistic reach, I just simply longed for another English radio winner. The rest of the album is good, just not nearly as deep or strong as his previous album Troubadour.

Sounds Like:
His previous 30+ albums

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Twang
Arkansas Dave
Living For The Night
The Breath You Take

The Verdict:
Three Stars Out Of Five