"Getting the facts Strait on George"

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"Getting the facts Strait on George"; Houston Chronicle 8.7.09
Topic Started: Aug 8 2009, 10:05 PM (85 Views)
Whoa-mack	Aug 8 2009, 10:05 PM Post #1
Arizona Buckaroo Posts: 4,630 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 3, 2004	Getting the facts Strait on George By JOEY GUERRA Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle Aug. 7, 2009, 4:07PM There are certain things that George Strait — Texas son and Nashville royalty — is just not. The Poteet native is not a crossover superstar. Sure, his discs — including 1997's Carrying Your Love With Me and 2008's Troubadour — hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. But there have been no breakout singles on Top 40 radio. Duets with Nelly and Def Leppard, slick pop remixes and DJ beats just aren't part of his makeup. Strait is also not a wry, wisecracking heartthrob. For the most part, his tunes are simple, straightforward tales of love and loss. No wink-wink singles à la Brad Paisley (Celebrity, Ticks) with equally ironic videos. And no LOL Twitter moments. We'll leave that to Blake Shelton. Our Texas hero is also not, for the most part, a co-ed duet kind of guy. Strait has collaborated with Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson. But he has yet to go the George/Tammy route. Strait has teamed up a few times with fellow Texan Lee Ann Womack. Their pairings — Good News, Bad News and Everything but Quits — are gorgeous enough to warrant a full album. Despite his Lone Star pedigree and pride, Strait also is not, thank goodness, a good ol' boy. His music doesn't — like so much of today's country — pander to lowest common denominators or go for cheesy sentimentality. He's not squawking about blessing broken roads or sexy tractors or how tequila makes her clothes fall off. Of course, there are plenty of things that Strait is, too. Several of his best qualities are on display throughout Twang, his 26th studio album, online and in stores Tuesday. It's like a crash course in all things George. He is consistent: You don't buy a Strait album for variety, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Strait is probably the most reliable country singer currently working the charts. You can always depend on his discs for sturdy tunes about life lessons (Where Have I Been All My Life) and sweet lovemaking (I Gotta Get to You, Easy as You Go). He is still surprising: Despite so much familiarity, Strait still manages to surprise fans every now and then. He co-wrote three songs on Twang with son Bubba, including high-lonesome standout Out of Sight, Out of Mind and He's Got That Something Special, one of those cleverly worded breakup ditties. (“He's got that something special, but that something special used to be mine.”) He is a master interpreter: Listen to the way Strait handles Arkansas Dave, a thoughtful rumination on a Wild West outlaw. No one comes close to that kind of delivery. And try and keep your eyes dry during The Breath You Take. He is still able to tear up a tune: Strait rips through Twang's title track and the equally engaging Same Kind of Crazy like a champion two-stepper. But he truly revs up amid the rollicking pianos of Hot Grease and Zydeco — which has the Cajun swing you'd expect from that title. (“My baby's lovin'/It's deep-fried/Golden-brown legs and then long black hair.”) He is bilingual: You read that correctly. Strait closes his new disc with an appropriately majestic rendition of El Rey, a Mexican standard written by José Alfredo Jiménez. “When I heard it, I was like, ‘Whoa,' ” says Oscar de la Rosa, lead singer for iconic Tejano group La Mafia. El Rey has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including Vicente Fernández and Luis Miguel. “I really like that it has the country-mariachi flavor. And if you really listen, (he has) no accent. George Strait, when he does things, he does things right. The song fits him. He is el rey.”
	-CF http://www.icfmusic.wordpress.com/


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