Ronnie Milsap - Back to the Grindstone
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Artist: Ronnie MilsapEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1991-03-12
Music Label: RCA
Free Music Notes for Back to the Grindstone
Free Music Review: Ronnie Milsap's most Adventurous and Daring Album!
Hit: 5 Stars
By the time the 1990's rolled around, Ronnie Milsap had already recorded a series of impressive 80's albums that pushed beyond the boundaries of pure country music with tracks that ranged from pop, R&B, rock, and 1950's doo wop. After proving he could sing pure country as well as ever with the successful 1989 effort "Stranger things have happened", Ronnie kicked off the 90's with the most adventurous album of his career, Back to the Grindstone.
Any music fan who thinks Ronnie Milsap is limited to only country songs needs to be enlightened with a copy of this CD! This has to be among the most daring albums ever recorded by a country artist as there is hardly a trace of real country music to be found here at all!! You get the feeling that Milsap is really making a statement with this album by proving he can deliver gritty soul music {or literally any style of music} just as convincingly as he can country. Ronnie's potent skills as an R&B vocalist are fully displayed on this amazing CD, and his powerful singing is top-notch throughout this set of songs!
"Spare the Rod {Love the Child}" is an R&B tune performed with the Boys Choir of Harlem that could've fit easily on Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation album! This is clearly a song that no other country artist but Ronnie Milsap could pull off, or would even dare attempt! "Love Certified" is a tour de force duet with R&B singer Patti Labelle that proves Milsap is truly an R&B vocalist of the highest calibre! Ronnie remarkably belts this song out with as much power and soul as Labelle does, and the two of them simply sing their butts off in this powerhouse performance. Again, this is another song that simply defies what a country singer should be able to do.
"Since I don't have you" is a superb return to the 1950's doo-wop sound that Ronnie first explored on "Lost in the 50's tonight". Milsap is one of those great singers who can take a famous song and actually improve upon the original version. This song is a perfect example. Ronnie sings his heart out over a vibrant musical arrangement of this pop classic. "Are you lovin' me like I'm lovin you" was a more modern sounding top five hit that was one of Ronnie's best singles of the period, but the weakest track here is the top ten hit "Turn that radio on". This is the kind of lightweight, radio-friendly single that often kept Ronnie on the charts, but failed to display the powerhouse vocal talent that is evident on the other tracks of this CD. "When the hurt comes down" is a nice country ballad that would've been a better choice as a single, but it was never released.
"Old Habits are Hard to Break" is a gutsy John Hiatt song that is a powerful fusion of rock and blues that Ronnie tackles with a truly commanding vocal performance! His mighty voice roars with grit and soul, and it is clearly one of the most dynamic songs he has ever attempted. The title track, "Back to the Grindstone", is another dynamic rocker that Ronnie also belts out with his powerful set of pipes...indeed one of the most powerful and underappreciated set of pipes in all of American music.
With the country-rocker "All is fair in love and war" that features rock guitarist Mark Knopfler, Ronnie earned his final hit single in 1992 before being kicked off country radio the very next year. Although this album spawned four top ten hits, Back to the Grindstone had the misfortune of being released just as Nashville's new young stars were taking over the country music scene, and it would be Milsap's last hit album before fading from popularity in the mid-90's.
It is interesting to think how far this album could've gone if promoted to rock or R&B radio when it came out in 1991. Perhaps Ronnie's career would have taken a positive change of direction into the pop/R&B market. Instead, Ronnie would release another excellent and diverse album titled "True Believer" that would sadly fail to make an impact on the charts.
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