Search - Mac Mcanally :: Down By The River

McAnally's Beautiful "River"

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 08/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: You First, If You Hang Around Enough, Until Then



Mac McAnally is anathema to all that's happening in Nashville today. For starters, this celebrated singer-songwriter isn't your twenty something gal smiting poster boy. Further, the songs on "Down By the River" are by no means sonic cousins to those cadaverous songs that graced country radio lately. Rather, McAnally is a ruminative poet of the highest order: he has a way of presenting piquant observations of life that strikes right at the heart. Where many of us falter to present into words the deepest longings of the human heart, McAnally has just the right vocabulary set to well-constructed melodic tunes. "Down By the River," his debut for Toby Keith's Show Dog Records comes right off the heels of McAnally's number 1 duet with Kenny Chesney "Down the Road." However, despite the hype of "Down the Road," this album's lead single "You First" has thus far escaped radio's attention. Despite radio's tepid response, this is a stellar album: it's the kind of disc so rich with meaning that you'll find yourself yearning to listen to it over and over again.



Musically, "Down By the River" defies genre classification. Like Guy Clark, Joe Ely and John Hiatt--McAnally belongs to a class of his own. Here he draws from all entire array of American roots music-- -country, folk, Cajun, ballads, and pop--in composing all these 11 tracks (8 of them are his solo compositions with others being co-writes with Jeff Hanna, Al Anderson and Lenny LeBlanc). Lead single "You First," a contemporary country ballad co-written with worship leader Lenny LeBlanc, strings together vignettes of sacrificial love in the protagonist's life that is movingly delivered through McAnally's smooth tenor. Another contender for country radio is the Jeff Hanna (of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame) co-write "If You Hang Around Long Enough," an infectious honky tonk number, finds McAnally philosophizing about life. While on the album opener "Blame It on New Orleans," McAnally`s leisure walk stroll across Bourdon Street is spiced with some Cajun-sounding horn section and syncopated drums.



Never bound by musical boundaries, "On Account of You" finds McAnally in Gospel territory made even more sacred sounding with its churchy piano. "(Nothing Like) On a Sunny Day," lives up to its title with its luminous Caribbean beat and its sprightly whistling. "Bound to Get Down," on the other hand, is a sharply written ersatz blues number with a lowdown and boogie beat. Avid fans who have treasured some of McAnally's heart tugging compositions such as Sawyer Browns' "After All These Years" and Alabama's "Old Flame," would be utterly satisfied with the album's closer "Until Then." A smothering inspirational ballad, "Until Then" is a warm and sensitive encouragement to the down trodden to embrace life that ought to be our constant daily reminder.



Whether or not "Down By the River" becomes a commercial success is a moot point. This is a stellar record with 11 superb tracks: each one of them bears their own individualistic imprint. Never for one moment does McAnally force any of his paeans into a moulded template. Rather, they each take their own form making each one of these numbers shine in their most beautiful arrays.

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MAC MCANALLY ROCKS!

Jerel W. Jackson | 08/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I HAD KNOWN OF MAC MCANALLY BECAUSE OF HIS ASSOCIATION WITH JIMMY BUFFETT AS BOTH A MEMBER OF THE CORAL REEFERS, AS A RECORD PRODUCER, AND AS A SONGWRITER BUT I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT A GREAT SINGER HE IS!

HIS NEW CD IS QUITE A TREAT. THERE IS SOMETHING ON IT FOR PRACTICALLY EVERY MUSICAL TASTE - COUNTRY, DIXIELAND, TEXAS SWING, BLUES AS WELL AS SONGS THAT DON'T FIT NEATLY INTO ANY PARTICULAR CATAGORY.

I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SEEING MAC IN CONCERT A WEEK AFTER THE CD WAS RELEASED AND HE PUT ON A FANTASTIC SHOW. HE HAS BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITE SINGERS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HIS NEXT RELEASE,"

ANOTHER MASTERPIECE FROM MAC

Nancy M. Graham | Birmingham, AL. | 12/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just when I think Mac McAnally can't do better than what he's already done, he does; and indeed he as done it with his new CD, Down by the River. While Mac and his fans consider his work mainly country, I think his style is really hard to "pin down". When I'm talking to my friends about Mac, I always say that he does a little bit of everything. The new CD has a little bit of everything on it.



First of all, the greatest song in the world is on this CD, You First. In You First, Mac sings about friendships and growing up while honoring our military. The last verse of the song goes, "Now I'm standing over you, all the years that we've been through..." This gives me chills because it's almost identical to what my Dad's best friend said when he was standing over my Dad. Again, I think this is the greatest song ever.



Blame it on New Orleans was written about a great city, that, while it's had trials and tribulations over the last few years, has come back to be the great place it was before Katrina. Anyone that loves New Orleans will smile when they listen to this jazzy upbeat song.



The song, Big Disappointment speaks volumes about our lives today. As a baby boomer and member of the first pampered generation, it was all about me. I wanted things; and when I got them, it wasn't really that big of a deal and I was never satisfied. Only when you realize that it's not always about you, can you find satisfaction and happiness.



I could probably write a paragraph about every song on the CD, but I won't. While I like all of the songs on this CD (I like anything Mac does, "can't you tell"?), On Account of You and Sunny Day are my next favorites behind You First, Blame it on New Orleans, and Big Disappointment.



I can absolutely recommend the purchase of this CD. Also, if you've never seen Mac in concert, try to. It will be the best $25 or so dollars that you will ever spend.

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