Toby Keith is the second country star in as many weeks to release his 14th album (Kenny Chesney released his album “Hemingway’s Whiskey” last week). Which figurehead’s new record is best? Chesney stuck firmly to his kick-back-and-relax persona with so-so results. Based on the title of Keith’s album, “Bullets in The Gun,” he is also sticking to his guns.
Country music is a genre that has done well for itself by sticking to stereotypes. Keith, perhaps more than any other country artist, fully embraces the expected norms.
It’s evident in the first single off of the new album, “Trailerhood,” that the trend will continue. The song revolves around every stereotype associated with life within a trailer park: inflatable pools, tornadoes and many, many references to beer. If the song was meant by Keith to be a tribute to blue-collar America, it doesn’t work. The song comes across as a mockumentary on the subject, especially while watching overweight typecasts of trailer residents waddle around the music video.
Keith isn’t always disappointing when he plays off the traditional country themes. Tracks like “As Good as I Once Was” and “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue” might rub the listener the wrong way, but at least Keith is following his gut. Tracks like “Trailerhood” and “Ain’t Breakin’ Nothin'” don’t sound genuine. They sound contrived.
“Somewhere Else” follows the same style as “As Good As I Once Was,” but it doesn’t match up as an enjoyable listen. The title track is a cowboy fantasy, but not an engaging one.
Chesney might not have broken any new ground on his most new album but Keith simply stagnates. One would think that he would be able to summon up some Republican anthems to counter President Barack Obama’s influence. Whatever the inspiration, anything with feeling would help this album out.
