“Austin”
Blake Shelton
Written by David Kent and Kristi Manna
Radio & Records
#1 (5 weeks)
August 3 – August 31, 2001
Billboard
#1 (5 weeks)
August 11 – September 8, 2001
When “Austin” released, it sounded as dated on the radio as the lyric’s technology sounds now.
Back in the days of answering machines, this was the way to have a breakthrough country hit: a heartfelt story song based around a recurring lyric that the storyline can refer back to. This one is fairly high concept, with a woman returning after a long absence to find her ex is still sending her messages through his answering machine greeting.
It wasn’t plausible then, nor was it even the most interesting chorus involving an answering machine (see Tanya Tucker, “Soon.”) But Shelton sings it beautifully and he illustrates early on that he’ll find great success by keeping his sound a little bit behind the trends of the day, which is a neat trick because it makes his records sound comforting and familiar, even when brand new.
“Austin” gets a B+.
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…technically it may not be flawless, but still one of the greatest country songs of this century in my book delivered just perfectly. the guy in the song is the epitome of a bro, yet a charming one. makes you wonder for a moment where it all turned wrong and what caused it.
I’ve always wondered how much inspiration this song borrowed from “Is That A Tear?”. That’s probably the second most popular country hit about an answering machine
To this day, this remains my favorite Blake Shelton song. I would call this an “A”. At the time I was somewhat pleasantly surprised that this made it to #1
It’s still my favorite too. I can see the comparison to “Soon”, which is my second favorite Tanya tucker song, but I don’t think it’s derivative.
A good song. For me I would agree with the “B+”.
I remember liking his debut album but now it’s just ok outside of the singles “Austin” and “Ol Red” the only other song I liked was “Problems at Home”.
Good song.
I remembered seeing the title of this song on a list of radio new singles before I actually heard it. Neither the song title nor the artist’s name left me with the first impression of a Hall of Fame career about to be launched, but a week or so later when I actually heard “Austin” for the first time, I stood up and took notice. I was dazzled by how smooth and captivating it sounded, and how well the singer was selling the goofy song premise. Corny as it was, by the time Shelton got to that closing message from “Austin” on his answering machine, I was having the emotional response that everybody else was having to “I’m Already There”!
“Austin” was zooming up the charts that summer, and for good reason. It was clear this new artist from Oklahoma was gonna have a monster hit. You make a fantastic observation of Shelton staying a little bit behind the times with his song selection and general sound, giving listeners a sense of comfort and familiarity, and he launched at just the right moment in time to capitalize on most country listeners’ preference for comfort and familiarity. Something about this song in particular really feels like a fleeting flashpoint of pre-9/11 innocence. It’s why it held up as a radio favorite for the rest of the 2000s and, regardless of most people’s garbled memory of the timeline, might help explain its continued resonance and considerable recurrent airplay today, a generation removed from the relevance of answering machines.
I loved this song and still do. It was an oddball, as was the case with quite a few of Shelton’s early offerings, but the strangeness of the story is what made the song so endearing. He took some risks in those first three albums, some that worked and some that failed badly. I always believed that if he’d released “Ol’ Red” as the follow-up to “Austin”, he’d have been able to maintain his momentum better. As proud as he was of writing with Earl Thomas Conley, “All Over Me” just wasn’t destined to be a radio hit in 2001 and was a bad choice for a follow-up single for a new artist. Releasing “All Over Me” before “Ol’ Red” may have kept both songs from going top-10. Unfortunately, Shelton would only find his sea legs when he started playing it safe, as his music got a lot less interesting as the decade went on. “Austin” and “Ol’ Red” continue to stand out as career highlights for me, but there are still hits ahead from him in this feature destined to get good reviews from me.
Grade: A
Yet another song I was “just ok” on when it was new on the radio, but have grown to love and appreciate more and more as time has gone by. When I first heard Blake’s name and the song title as a first time contender on the Smackdown Rodeo on WMZQ one weeknight, of course I was wondering if he was in any way related to Ricky Van Shelton (a name I had not heard in a while by then). And then when I heard the song itself, I remember mostly liking the song during the first half, which kind of reminded me of a mid 90s style country ballad. But then came the final chorus, which I thought at the time he over sung, and similar to Richie McDonald at the time, I thought his performance on that part bordered on being overly dramatic. Obviously, I was in the minority, though, since “Austin” won the round by a landslide, which was very impressive for a brand new artist. I remember listening to the Smackdown Rodeo the following night as Blake faced another challenger with the DJ recapping the other night: “Blake Shelton came in like a storm last night!” As I began hearing it on the radio more often throughout 2001, I started liking it more, but it never quite rose to “Love it” status for me yet. But this is one I’ll now gladly say I was wrong about.
Now I understand and appreciate that Blake’s emotional performance on that final chorus was essential for selling the fact that Austin had regretted leaving him and was now wanting to finally come back to him after all this time. I especially like the lines: “If you’re calling about my heart, it’s still yours. I should’ve listened to it a little more.” I also love the climactic way he sings the line “This is no machine you’re talking to!” Actually, I love how emotionally invested he is in the entire song and storyline, even if it may not all be 100% believable. I also like how each chorus is different, resembling answering machine messages, with the guy being busy doing different things each time she calls (I remember the “Tuesday night I’m bowling” line getting my attention back then since I also loved to bowl). I can hear the similarities to Tanya Tucker’s “Soon,” another favorite of mine which has similarly structured choruses, though I think both songs are different enough from each other stand on their own. Also love the shout out to Tracy Lawrence’s “Is That A Tear” in another comment, which is also one of my favorites. However, “Austin” actually kind of reminds me of an updated early 2000s version of another “answering machine” song, which is John Schneider’s 80s hit, “At The Sound Of The Tone.” Except, “Austin” obviously has a much happier ending.
Despite “Austin” sort of being a throwback to 80s and 90s country in terms of lyrical theme and melody, I love that it also features that big, atmospheric production that I’ve come to love about a lot of late 90s/early 2000s country ballads. I like how the song sounds bigger as it progresses, especially with the string section coming in nicely during the second verse and appearing again in a big way during the final chorus. Even the reverb on the acoustic guitar parts throughout really adds to it. Just the sound of the acoustic guitar riffs at the beginning and end of the song alone take me back to the Summer of 2001.
If there was one thing about Blake Shelton at the time that charmingly reminded me of older times in country music even more that his songs, it was his image. When seeing what he looked like for the first few times, I remember being pleasantly surprised that he resembled what some of my favorite country artists looked like in the early to mid 90s with his long curly mullet, large cowboy hat, and nice fancy western coats over Wrangler jeans. He especially reminded me of what guys like Tracy Lawrence, Neal McCoy, John Anderson, Wade Hayes, etc. looked like back in the day. I believe Alan Jackson was about the only other one by then who still sported the hat and mullet look, while most all the other previously long haired men in 90s country had chopped off their long locks and traded their traditional western wear for sleeker, more modern looking outfits. Even the music video for “Austin” was sort of a throwback to early-mid 90s country videos with Blake driving and standing by a cool vintage car.
Speaking of the “Austin” video, it was included on one of the mini country music video compilation DVDs that my step dad bought at Wal-Mart about a couple years later. He mainly bought them because one of the DVD’s included the video for John Michael Montgomery’s “Sold,” which he always loved. We both sat down and watched both of the compilations that night, and when it got to the “Austin” video, that’s when I found out for the first time that he actually liked that song, as well. I always thought it was neat and special whenever I’d find out that he liked a more recent song, especially since he was growing more dissatisfied with newer mainstream country by the early 2000s and generally preferred classic country.
I also really love the follow up single he released, “All Over Me,” and I remember liking that one even more the first few times I heard it. I’ve always loved the melody and his vocals on that one, along with the double meaning of the saying “all over me.” At the time I didn’t know he was such a huge fan of Earl Thomas Conley, and it was pretty neat eventually learning that he co-wrote it with his 80s country hero. Before learning that ETC and Blake wrote it together, I remember when getting Paul Brandt’s debut album, Calm Before The Storm, for Christmas in 2001, I was wondering if the song on there also titled “All Over Me,” was the same song. I got my answer when I listened to the tiny preview clips on a CD selling website and found out that Brandt’s “All Over Me” was a uptempo Western Swing number instead (which I also love). Anyway, back to Blake’s “All Over Me,” as much as I love the song, like MarkMinnesota said, I can probably see why it wasn’t quite as successful as “Austin,” since releasing two ballads back to back was likely not the best idea for a new artist, especially.
There’s an old interview of young Blake from very early into his career on YouTube in which he talks about getting to meet ETC and having the honor to write with him, and he also told the interviewer that Conley gave him some advice on being successful in the country music business. When the interviewer asked what that was, Blake said something like “Well I can’t tell you exactly what Earl said, since I think this might be a family show.” LOL!
It also still blows my mind that future Toby Keith hit, “I Wanna Talk About Me,” was originally slated to be Blake’s debut single before the label decided that was too risky for a debut single for a new artist and they went back to the drawing board and found “Austin” the last minute when his album had already been completed. It’s also not too surprising though, considering the Bobby Braddock connection.
While I wouldn’t be enjoying Blake’s output as much after his post The Voice success in the 2010s, I pretty much like the majority of his 2000s music. I especially think the Pure BS and Startin’ Fires albums are full of great hidden gems.
I do love Austin, and I enjoy a lot of Blake Shelton’s earlier works. I think what separates him from his contemporaries is the clear 80s country influence rather than 90s country. He championed Earl Thomas Conley as his hero and wrote a song with him. He will cover Conway Twitty’s Goodbye Time (quite well, I must add). Even a lot of his late aughts, early 2010s output that I don’t like as much shows the 80s influences. Once I realized this, I appreciated Blake Shelton as an artist more, because it reveals an identity that sets him apart.
I also like his cover of “Georgia in A Jug.”
That’s a good point. He’s one of the only singers to come of age in the new millennium clearly more influenced by the country music of the 80s than the 90s.
I stopped liking Shelton as much after he stopped using Bobby Braddock as his producer, though there have been songs here and there that I’ve liked since then. I liked this song at the time. I still like it, even if it has less emotional weight to it, now that I’m used to the ending.
I love all the connections made between this song Tanya Tucker, Tracy Lawrence and John Schneider. Those are the ties that bind all these eras together.
I have always thought Shelton is an outrageously powerful vocalist and that opinion took root with this performance. This song has passion and personality.
I have been a fan of Shelton’s work throughout his career. I think his public persona and image follows a trajectory similar to Toby Keith’s in that both artists were unfairly pigeonholed.
This hit is one of the more memorable debut singles from the decade.