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George Strait's greatest attribute is his consistency. It's not just how he rarely delivers a bad album but how his music remains rooted in pure Texas honky tonk, a fact that makes his reliably excellent music all the more remarkable. Sometimes Strait steps beyond reliable and delivers something close to transcendent, and 2006's nothing-but-the-basics It Just Comes Natural was one of those times. Playing exclusively to his strengths, the album was lean and strong, yet another hit under his belt, and more than earning its honors as the CMA's Album of the Year. It would be tempting for most artists to turn out another album just like the last but Strait isn't like most artists, as his 2008 follow-up, Troubadour, gracefully illustrates. Troubadour finds Strait turning introspective, getting softer and mellower, perhaps even slightly melancholy, yet it's a comforting melancholy, as the album never wallows in sadness -- there are plenty of Texas 2-steps, breezy mid-tempo tunes, and love songs to temper the blue moments here. Nevertheless, Strait is the troubadour of the title, a musician who bears the scars of the road and is a richer singer for it. This is especially evident on Troubadour, as it has a warm, burnished sound suited for his gently weathered voice, and its 12 songs are by and large exceptionally crafted and deceptively simple; they're songs that benefit greatly from Strait's casual virtuosity. As always, he has his pick of the best songsmiths -- Dean Dillon, Robert Earl Keen, Al Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Monty Holmes, and Scotty Emerick are among the writers bearing credits here -- and he has an unerring ability to pick songs that suit his strengths and weave together to form a cohesive whole (the only minor misstep being a too-anthemic tribute to Johnny Cash, "House of Cash"). Here, the mood is subdued, with even the lighter numbers not quite breaking a sweat, but that's the charm of Troubadour: in its relaxed, intimate way it recalls Merle Haggard's quieter, story-heavy albums of the early '70s, only with Strait's signature, unhurried attitude, a trait that only grows more attractive over the years.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Leslie Satcher, ComposerLyricist - Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Wes Hightower, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Vince Gill, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Monty Holmes, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BUDDY CANNON, ComposerLyricist - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Randy Hardison, ComposerLyricist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Kim Williams, ComposerLyricist - Stuart Duncan, Mandolin, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Doug Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Nicole Witt, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dennis Morgan, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Stuart Duncan, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Shawn Camp, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Dennis W. Morgan, ComposerLyricist - Billy Burnette, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, MainArtist
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Leslie Satcher, ComposerLyricist - Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Patty Loveless, MainArtist - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Monty Holmes, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Rodney Clawson, ComposerLyricist - Wade Kirby, ComposerLyricist - Monty Criswell, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, MainArtist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Al Anderson, ComposerLyricist - Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Scotty Emerick, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Synthesizer Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DEAN DILLON, ComposerLyricist - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DEAN DILLON, ComposerLyricist - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Kerry Phillips, ComposerLyricist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Al Anderson, ComposerLyricist - Leslie Satcher, ComposerLyricist - Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DEAN DILLON, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Robert Earl Keen, ComposerLyricist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Hammond B3, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jamey Johnson, ComposerLyricist - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Kacey Coppola, ComposerLyricist - Kate Coppola, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Will Nance, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - MATT ROLLINGS, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brent Mason, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Nathan, Synthesizer Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Brown, Producer, Executive Producer - Glenn Worf, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bayers, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - CHUCK AINLAY, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE GIBSON, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - MAC MCANALLY, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Cooley, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Strait, Producer, Executive Producer, MainArtist - Marty Slayton, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flora, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
George Strait's greatest attribute is his consistency. It's not just how he rarely delivers a bad album but how his music remains rooted in pure Texas honky tonk, a fact that makes his reliably excellent music all the more remarkable. Sometimes Strait steps beyond reliable and delivers something close to transcendent, and 2006's nothing-but-the-basics It Just Comes Natural was one of those times. Playing exclusively to his strengths, the album was lean and strong, yet another hit under his belt, and more than earning its honors as the CMA's Album of the Year. It would be tempting for most artists to turn out another album just like the last but Strait isn't like most artists, as his 2008 follow-up, Troubadour, gracefully illustrates. Troubadour finds Strait turning introspective, getting softer and mellower, perhaps even slightly melancholy, yet it's a comforting melancholy, as the album never wallows in sadness -- there are plenty of Texas 2-steps, breezy mid-tempo tunes, and love songs to temper the blue moments here. Nevertheless, Strait is the troubadour of the title, a musician who bears the scars of the road and is a richer singer for it. This is especially evident on Troubadour, as it has a warm, burnished sound suited for his gently weathered voice, and its 12 songs are by and large exceptionally crafted and deceptively simple; they're songs that benefit greatly from Strait's casual virtuosity. As always, he has his pick of the best songsmiths -- Dean Dillon, Robert Earl Keen, Al Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Monty Holmes, and Scotty Emerick are among the writers bearing credits here -- and he has an unerring ability to pick songs that suit his strengths and weave together to form a cohesive whole (the only minor misstep being a too-anthemic tribute to Johnny Cash, "House of Cash"). Here, the mood is subdued, with even the lighter numbers not quite breaking a sweat, but that's the charm of Troubadour: in its relaxed, intimate way it recalls Merle Haggard's quieter, story-heavy albums of the early '70s, only with Strait's signature, unhurried attitude, a trait that only grows more attractive over the years.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:36:00
- Main artists: George Strait
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: MCA Nashville
- Genre: Country
© 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2008 MCA Nashville, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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