Alan Jackson - What I Do
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Alan JacksonEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2004-09-07
Music Label: Arista
Soundtracks:
- Too Much of a Good Thing
- Rainy Day in June
- USA Today
- If Love Was a River
- If French Fries Were Fat Free
- You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture
- There Ya Go
- The Talkin' Song Repair Blues
- Strong Enough
- Monday Morning Church
- Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down
- To Do What I Do [Live]
Free Music Notes for What I Do
Free Music Review: Jackson Still Does Country Music Well
Hit: 5 Stars
Prime Cuts: USA Today, Rainy in June, Monday Morning Church
The linchpin to any artist's longevity in the music business boils down to the quality of songs. Gimmicks such as multi-million dollar videos, image makeovers, novelty production styles and other trinkets may buffer temporal interest, but at the end of the day, it's still the songs that count. This explains why Jackson remains at the top of the game. Even without a career defining single such as "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" to usher in this album, "What I Do" still managed to outsell all other releases debuting at the prestigious no.1 slot on both the pop and country charts. This is because, as with Jackson's other releases, the songs here are memorable, full of clever word plays and acerbic in its observations about life and love. Production wise, Jackson's longtime right hand man Keith Stegall has again been able to marry tradition country with contemporary sensibilities.
"What I Do" kicks off with three of Jackson's compositions beginning with the lead single "Too Much of a Good Thing," Stamped with "hit" written all over, "Too Much of a Good Thing" is vivacious and ebullient with Jackson convincingly persuading us that we cannot overdose on love. Optimistic as it may be, however, such sanguinity is transient. Heartaches do get a substantial hearing here as songs dealing with the plangent side of love abound. This is evidenced by Jackson's heart wrenching ballad "Rainy Day in June." Awash with some wailing steel guitars and lonely sounding dobro, "Rainy Day in June" has Jackson struggling to be hopeful despite the misery of life. "USA Today," showcases Jackson's mettle as a lyricist-a self immolation take on loneliness with a confounded Jackson wishing he would be "on the cover of the USA Today... a picture of the loneliest man they claim in the USA today."
More lighthearted and witty, though still treading in the mire of loneliness is "If French Fries Were Fat Free." Here Jackson puts into song what all of us fantasize but dare not admit, "If French fries were fat free and you still loved me, what a wonderful world it would be." Penned by Brent Baxter and Erin Enderlin, "Monday Morning Church" tells the tragic tale of a man losing his faith in the wake of a personal tragedy. Adding her mountain rich lonesome harmony, country music's chanteuse Patty Loveless further accentuates the sentiments of the song. In fact, Jackson and Loveless blend so well together, somehow they should have made it a duet. Keith Stegall and Dan Hill's "There Ya Go" finds a philosophical Jackson sitting comfortably in Dear Abby's chair dispelling his antidote for despair: "There ya go, you're doing fine; take each day like a step, one at a time."
Hit writer, Dennis Linde, who has been known for his quirky songwriting style, bares his indelible imprint on "The Talking Repair Song Blues." As the title suggests, "The Talking Repair Song Blues" is an Aesop fable like song narrating a conversation between a struggling songwriter and a mechanic trying to help (and outwit) each other. On the other extreme is Billy Burnette/Shawn Camp's "Burning the Honky Tonks Down," not a bad barn burner, but a tad too ordinary and mundane relative to Jackson's own lofty compositions.
"What I Do" is a sturdy and winsome effort; as Jackson confesses, "well, there's so much joy this music can bring, so I count my blessings before I step up to sing." And such a joy does shine right through in his choice of songs and the way he nuances them.
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