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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hayes' best since his first, October 4, 2000
With his fourth album, Wade Hayes puts forth a solid and addictive collection of country tunes. There's nothing particularly new or different about "Highways and Heartaches," but that's part of the album's simple beauty. Hayes is about as country as they come, and while his previous album, "When the Wrong One Loves You Right" had its hits, it also had its problems - namely too much percussion overshadowing some great guitar work. It's telling that the two hits off that album - "How Do You Sleep at Night?" and "The Day That She Left Tulsa" - were slower ballads. The faster stuff sounded like the producers trying to push Hayes toward Garth Brooks' cross-over audience. With "Highways and Heartaches" - which counts Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn as one of its producers - Hayes returns to his earlier pure country sound. Dunn and fellow producers Terry McBride, Don Cook and Hayes' songwriting partner Chick Rains apparently realize that Hayes' isn't about pushing the musical envelope. Hayes is better off going the route of George Strait, who can change without seeming to change, trying new things while keeping the surface sound a steady classic country. With this in mind, Hayes' new album subtly shows a wider range of vocal emotion and musical style than his previous work. At the same time, with his authoritative baritone and accomplished guitar skills deeply entrenched in country roots, Hayes mirrors Strait's reliability. Hayes said in an interview this summer that he doesn't disparage against other types of music, it's just that he'd feel ridiculous trying to play anything else. Simply put, "Highways and Heartaches" represents an artist fully aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, and thus it's Hayes' best album since his first. But say, wasn't there another country album with the same title back in the early '80s...? Yes indeed - Hayes' fellow traditionalist Ricky Skaggs, 1982. But this title choice only goes to further prove how devoted Hayes is to his musical roots. Never mind that the title phrase appears in a song on Hayes' new album. The title, reportedly suggested to Hayes by a fan, most likely doubles as an homage to Skaggs - legend has it Hayes left Oklahoma for Nashville with only $450 in his pocket after seeing Skaggs on an awards show, urging young musicians to follow their dreams. As for the individual songs on "Highways," they play like a country music primer. The songs don't appear in the following order, but programmed this way on your CD player, you could have fun turning "Highways and Heartaches" into the closest thing country music might ever see to a concept album. Here's the "Highways and Heartaches" storyline as I see it: 1. Established love sung slow - "You Were, You Are, You'll Always Be." 2. A breaking heart sung even slower - "Goodbye Is the Wrong Way to Go." 3. A now-broken heart sung with a swing - "She Used to Say That to Me." 4. Recently lost love done pure country - "Life After Loving You." 5. Long lost love done countryfied rock n' roll - "Up North (Down South, Back East, Out West)." 6. Lonely folks meeting with a rockin' country yodel - "I'm Lonesome Too." 7. Potential new love rocking even more - "What's It Gonna Take?" 8. New love settling in and slowing it down - "You Just Keep On." 9. Found love heading for the line-dance - "Up and Down." 10. And finally, as if there's any question where all this losin', lookin' and longin' for lovin' takes place, there's a honky tonk tune called - what else? - "That's What Honky Tonks Are For."
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by Wade Hayes 
