Search - Buddy Jewell :: Times Like These

Jewell's Arresting "Times"

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 12/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: Addicted to the Rain, Any Other Woman, Times Like These



While many lesser talents have opted for the route of mere hucksterism where snarling guitars and thundering percussions provide the cover up, Jewell has traveled down the tired and true road of well crafted songs performed with earnestness and verve. Inoculated against the current trend in country music to rave up the rugged and rockier side of the genre, Jewell and producer Garth Fundis (who has had produced albums by Sugarland, Keith Whitley, Don Williams and Trisha Yearwood) has kept the backings on the rustic side with plenty of fiddles, steel guitars and honky tonk piano. Such simplicity is the soul of wit as the spotlight is deftly on Jewell's sturdy yet warm baritone. On this sophomore effort, Jewell is vocally more in command: not only does he sing well, but he is vocally able to nuance the emotional depths of the lyrics to an even greater degree.



Also, another step of vast improvement is the honing of Jewell's songwriting ability. On "Times Like These," Jewell showcases 4 of his compositions and they are all spot on. With an uncanny ability to be able to take the rhetoric of the struggles and foibles of life and transform them into music, Jewell's compositions are indeed this album's cynosure. Mixing just the right dosage of heart and poetry, "Addicted to the Rain," a Jewell co-write with Larry Clark, goes beyond the nondescript ordinary song of heartbreak to disclose the gelidity of a love gone wrong. Top marks also goes to the sensitive title track which articulates the fears and joys of fatherhood performed with such sincerity that it is bound to be a future Father's Day classic. Small town values, a perennial theme in country music, does surfaces in the penetrating moving ballad "Dyes, Arkansas."



Among those not penned by Jewell, lead single "Any Other Woman" is indeed this album's gem. Boasting some dexterous piano licks, "Any Other Woman," written by Brett Beavers, Connie Harrington and Brett Beavers, tells of the glorious power of how love can change the priorities of a man. With Jewell's sensitive rendition, this power ballad is sure bet to make Jewell's legions of female fans swoon. A little more desultory is the Rick Bowles and Josh Leo midtempo "Me Loving You." Though melodious and tailored made for radio, it's a little on the contrived and obligatory side. Craig Wiseman and Tony Lane's "You Ain't Doin' It Right" is a tad better and it's one of the few more welcomed uptempo moments.



However, not everything works here. "So Gone," for instance, is a throwaway 70s pop fluff that is just plain bromidic. Further, though Jewell excels in the ballads department, the uptempo section is not on par. Other than "You Ain't Doin' It Right" and "So Gone" most of the album is in the mid and slower pace. It would have been even better if one or two more well chosen peppier numbers were included. Nevertheless, this is a good country CD with top tiered songs and affectionately sung by Jewell who seems to have live with these songs giving them an inherent credibility. In short, this is country music that matters."