There's a perverse sort of fascination watching an artist who received substantial early plaudits piddle away his critical goodwill with a series of puzzling follow-up releases. Even looking at from the perspective of a fan, it's hard to know what was thinking with some of the heavy-handed production choices, though. Right off the bat, -- by any other measure a classic song -- is polished to a glassy sheen more reminiscent of than , a situation that's also true with the first single That's not to say that either of them are particularly bad songs, but there's something oddly generic about them, which is why this is such a frustrating release: has already proven that he's capable of releasing unique material, both lyrically and musically, while still having appeal, and the glossy 80s-style production seems misplaced both in terms of necessity -- it's most certainly not necessary -- but also in terms of style -- why pick a sound this dated? It's also worth noting that lyrically there's a certain repetitiveness here; name-checks whiskey on three separate songs (four if you count the hidden bonus tracks) and talks about being drunk on three others (though thankfully not on the two songs about automobiles). Scattered throughout the album are the more subdued and thoughtful numbers you expect on a release: and the official album-closer which, despite the horn and string section, still seems more restrained than the big ol' numbers. The enhanced portion of the CD features a video on the making of the album, which gives a much more natural view of the person, rather than playing up the star. It's a much more appealing persona and it's too bad there wasn't more of that side of in the music. ~ Sean Carruthers