Retro Single Reviews – Page 12

Retro Single Review: Alan Jackson, “Dallas”

September 19, 2011 Sam Gazdziak 3

1991 | #1

No, this isn’t Alan Jackson covering The Flatlanders, although that would have been phenomenal. Rather, this is Jackson performing right in his sweet spot: a simple enough song, yet with some clever lyrics, a generous dose of pedal steel and Jackson’s typical smooth, agreeable vocals. “Dallas” may not be Jackson at his most experimental (see “I’ll Go On Loving You”) or mainstream (“Chattahoochee”), but it’s a pleasant little gem in a very rich catalog of music.

Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “All I Want is a Life”

September 17, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 1

1996 | Peak: #5

Tim goes gritty on the third single and namesake of his 1995 set All I Want.

He sings as forcefully as his young voice will let him, but the rough edges aren’t quite there, so he doesn’t quite pull it off.

Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, “Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)”

September 17, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 2

1970 | Peak: #3

This yodel-laden cover of an early country music standard gave Parton her highest charting single to date, with or without Porter.

Retro Single Review: Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, “Tomorrow is Forever”

September 5, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 7

1970 | Peak: #9

Another one of their matronly love songs.

“Tomorrow is Forever” has a few glorious moments in the chorus, where the melody swills like the best early Tammy Wynette records, but the rest of the record goes on forever.

Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Can’t Be Really Gone”

September 2, 2011 Leeann Ward 6

Despite the dated keys, light swells of synthesizers and layered background vocals, “Can’t Be Really Gone” manages to be McGraw’s most compelling single to that point in his career both in content and performance.

Retro Single Review: George Strait, “Right Or Wrong”

August 28, 2011 Ben Foster 1

1984 | Peak: #1

It started out as a foxtrot jazz ballad written in 1921. It become a Western Swing standard thanks to Bob Wills, and then in 1984 George Strait made it into a chart-topping country hit.

Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, “Daddy Come and Get Me”

August 27, 2011 Ben Foster 2

1970 | Peak: #40

It’s interesting to note the stark contrast between the uplifting “glass-half-full”-type songs Dolly often favors today with the much darker fare she often recorded in the sixties and seventies. “Daddy Come and Get Me” is one of Dolly’s most thematically-distinct story-songs, telling of a woman placed in a mental institution by her cheating husband.

Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, “You Win My Love”

August 21, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 5

1996 | Peak: #1

What can you say about a #1 country single with the word chassis in the bridge?

Retro Single Review: Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, “Just Someone I Used to Know”

August 21, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 6

1969 | Peak: #5

Originally a hit for George Jones as “A Girl I Used to Know”, their effective cover gave Porter & Dolly their second top five hit.

Retro Single Review: George Strait, “You Look So Good in Love”

August 19, 2011 Dan Milliken 7

1983 | Peak: #1

The 80’s keyboard is like a cheese grater grating extra cheese onto the pizza that is “You Look So Good in Love.” To the modern ear, it imbues the song with an unintentional levity even before George gets to his third-verse recitation. Throw in the über-earnest chorus – not to mention the video – and the thing becomes just about impossible to take seriously.