CD Reviews- Bryan White- Dustbowl Dreams

The Background:
Best known for a battery of soft country-pop and ballad hits in the late 1990’s, Bryan White’s brand new album, Dustbowl Dreams, comes exactly ten years after his previous solo release. White has charted seventeen singles on the Billboard country charts, of which four reached Number One: "Someone Else's Star" in 1995; "Rebecca Lynn" and "So Much for Pretending," both in 1996; and "Sittin' on Go" in 1997. He was also a duet partner on the album version of Shania Twain's 1998 single "From This Moment On", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The new album is infused with stories about real life, coupled with pocket-grooves, rootsy acoustic parts and soaring pop-country melodies. But the underlying theme is never forgetting your roots; which, for White, is his Oklahoma pride. “The song 'Dustbowl Dreams' was inspired by my pride as an Oklahoman, my fascination with my lineage and history, and identifying with the grit, soul, and spirit of Oklahomans, especially during the Great American Dustbowl. I love to think of myself as a product of their perseverance. Dustbowl Dreams is, in essence, the American dream.”

The Review:
With ten years passing since a last album, you would wonder what might happen to an artist’s style and sound during that window of time. For Bryan White, he has stayed to his strengths on Dustbowl Dreams and not gone away from the country music that made him a success the first go-around. In a genre that is stereotyped by rough and tumble cowboys, White has been the poster boy for pretty pop-tinged ballads and tender lyrics. Even today, he’s as far from the Jamey Johnson outlaw movement as one could be. The album opens up on a very strong note. The title track, “Dustbowl Dreams” could be the most eloquent autobiographical song of 2009. As the “son of a son of an auctioneer,” White talks about things like pressing on and perseverance, losing his way, being bruised and cut and carrying on the dustbowl dreams of his family. In three minutes, White has beautifully told his ten year story. It’s truly a treasure of a song. The song even ends on a personal note- an old clip of his grandfather being introduced as an auctioneer and then auctioning off some piece of farm life. “The Little Things” is the first song being released to radio. It reminds of “Rebecca Lynn”- a beautiful ballad a dedication to his wife with thanks for all the blessings in his life from post-it notes left from his wife to little babies. “When You Come Around” is another piano/acoustic guitar ballad with beautiful instrumentalization, this one more melancholy song about a son’s plea for his father to leave the bottle behind in favor of his family. “Erika’s Song,” named for his actress wife, is an orchestrated song with lots of strings and has just the right amount of syrup and sappiness without gushing too sweetly. The result is a beautiful gift of love in a song. Where the album slips a bit is in the up-tempos like “Say When” and “Get It Together.” That is, all the up-tempos with one big outstanding exception- “Hands of Time.” It is a FANTASTIC duet with his mentor, Steve Wariner, about getting slapped around by the hands of time. With call-outs to car pool moms, traffic jam victims, cell phone talking drivers and girls putting on make-up in the car, it’s a fun raucous good time with outstanding guitar work by Wariner and White. Overall, it’s a terrific return to form by an artist we now know why we missed.

Sounds Like:
Steve Wariner & Chuck Wicks

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Dustbowl Dreams
The Little Things
When You Come Around
Hands Of Time
Erika’s Song

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five