“Living and Living Well”
George Strait
Written by Tony Martin, Mark Nesler, and Tom Shapiro
Radio & Records
#1 (3 weeks)
June 14 – June 28, 2002
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
June 22 – June 29, 2002
This is as well produced a nineties country hit as one could hope for by 2002.
It wouldn’t have mattered what Strait was singing over this backing track. The fiddle and steel are in perfect harmony, and this was going to sound great on the radio no matter what.
But once you start listening closely, it falls short of the Strait standard. The melody is weak and the lyric relies on overly familiar imagery about the beauty of nature and the need for companionship.
“Living and Living Well” continues the trend that started in the mid-nineties, where Strait’s strongest singles usually fell short of the top while his more conventional ones parked there for weeks.
Check out “Don’t Make Me Come Over There and Love You” and “Run” to hear how Strait was still pushing the envelope artistically. But no need to turn this one off early. It still sounds great.
“Living and Living Well” gets a B-.
Every No. 1 Single of the 2000s
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Just boring. “C” at best. Typical of the majority of his songs. Decent and safe. It will always amaze me that he has the most #1 songs and was crowned “King George”.