Requested by reader Keith Means.
Veteran artists who have fallen out of favor at radio often kowtow to the current trends in an attempt to regain acceptance.
There’s certainly none of that going on here.
“If You Don’t Want Me To” sounds so much like vintage Milsap that it’s hardly a surprise that this was recorded in 1980. A strange choice for inclusion on a new studio album that focuses on traditional country, and an even stranger choice for a single, as it is nothing like the rest of the set.
“If You Don’t Want Me To” could easily have been a #1 single while Milsap was at his peak, though it would’ve been sheer career momentum that got it there. The song isn’t anything special, though the rest of that new album, Country Again, proves how good he still sounds today. Give him a better song, and he could challenge Kenny Rogers for the title of oldest country star to hit #1.
Written by Robert White Johnson and Jimmie Lee Sloas
Grade: B-
Listen: If You Don’t Want Me To
