George Strait
The Road Less Traveled
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For country fans, a new George Strait album is about the surest bet there is. There's no experimentation, no attempt at pop crossover, no overwrought vocalizing --- just good, solid country songs, occasionally elevated to greatness by Strait's inimitable laid-back delivery and crack studio band. The Road Less Traveled, his twenty-eighth album, sticks to that formula, but adds a few twists that make it superior to his last few releases. The romantic numbers Strait is famous for are well-represented, of course ("Run," "Don't Tell Me You're Not In Love"), but the title track, with its haunting melody and thoughtful lyrics about destiny, is one of the best things he's done in years. His revival
Read More of the obscure Seventies song, "The Real Thing," is a revelation, marrying a driving, hard-country arrangement with lyrics that now read as a scathing indictment of what passes for country music. And for this most low-key of superstars, Strait's decision to end the CD with a song called "My Life's Been Grand" isn't a boast -- just a humble acknowledgement of the good luck that's allowed him to walk that infrequently traveled road to legend status. ANDREA DRESDALE
(NOvember 5, 2001)
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