In the world of country music, only a few names are as common as
\nmajor rock stars’. One of them is Brooks & Dunn, whose recent
\nhit “My Maria” catapaulted them into superstardom. A song which
\nsuccessfully bridged the gap between rock and country their cover
\nof this song had people who normally hate country music doing
\ndouble-takes.<\/p>\n
Their most recent album
\nBorderline<\/i> is a fine example of nouveau country, but it also
\nshows the natural limitations of the music.<\/p>\n
If you pick up this album expecting all songs to sound like “My
\nMaria,” you will be sadly disappointed with the remaining ten
\ntracks. However, try to keep an open mind, and you will be in for
\nan enjoyable experience. Cuts like “A Man This Lonely” and “I Am
\nThat Man” show why Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are at the top of
\ntheir game. The songwriting is excellent, as is the musicianship.
\nThe album’s closer, “White Line Cassanova,” is a freight train
\nchuggin’ at you full blast, and when it hits, it feels great.<\/p>\n
What makes this group stand out for me are the sparing use of
\ntwo traditional country “items”. First, the vocal hiccup that so
\nmany artists feel obliged to use – I happen to hate ir, and was
\nrelieved that Brooks & Dunn don’t use it often. Second, pedal
\nsteel guitars. Sure, they’re here, but they seem to often take a
\nbackseat to the singing and other instruments. The pedal steel can
\nbe a pretty guitar if not used in excess – and I have not heard
\nmany pedal steel players who can claim to use moderation.<\/p>\n
But while
\nBorderline<\/i> shows how country music has matured into the
\npopular music form it is today, it slao shows one problem that has
\nbeen at the heart of country music since the beginnings: reliance
\non cheatin’ songs and stereotypes. Songs like “Mama Don’t Get
\nDressed Up For Nothing” do put a fresher twist on things, but
\nothers like “More Than A Margarita” fall back into the broken heart
\ndrowned by booze ‘n’ blooze tracks. As for the stereotypes – if I
\nwere to claim that country music was redneck music (which I’m not –
\nso don’t send threatening e-mails), I’d be at the top of the list
\nfor a public lynching. But Brooks & Dunn can write a song
\ncalled “Redneck Rhythm & Blues” and it’s cool. Guys, got some
\nnews for you – it’s not just Southerners who listen to country
\nthese days.<\/p>\n
\nBorderline<\/i> also may not appeal to people who long for the
\nold days of country music – e.g., Hank Williams, Willie Nelson,
\nMerle Haggard, Patsy Cline… you get the drift. I guess if I were
\nheavy into country, I could understand people’s opposition to the
\nmusic’s evolution. But as music exists, music evolves, and I think
\nthe music’s progress has led it to increased popularity – which
\nisn’t a bad thing.<\/p>\n
Brooks & Dunn can glorify in the fact they have crafted a
\nfine album here, but I would challenge them to try to break some of
\nthe stereotypes that country music has. If they can do this, than
\nthe success of
\nBorderline<\/i> can only be seen as a beginning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5779],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-35668","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-brooks-dunn","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35668"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35668"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}