Man Like Me

Bobby Pinson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0009A40CK
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,755 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I'm Fine Either Way

2. Nothin' Happens In This Town

3. One More Believer

4. Don't Ask Me How I Know

5. Man Like Me

6. Started A Band

7. Ford Fairlane

8. Shadows Of The Heartland

9. Way Down

10. I Thought That's Who I Was

11. Time Well Spent

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Threading his way through 11 tunes penned with collaborators, Texas native Pinson's gravelly, twangy voice sets him apart, as do his slice-of-life vignettes evocative of John Mellencamp. Celebrating a tiny hamlet's vagaries in "Nothin' Happens in This Town" and an ancient car in "Ford Fairlane," Pinson stands apart by celebrating responsibility and common sense as opposed to the usual honky-tonk hellraising. While "Don't Ask Me How I Know" strings together clichéd homilies, its simple, clever structure renders it surprisingly effective. The same applies to "Man Like Me," a tune lauding adult behavior, and to the haunting teen tragedy ballad "I Thought That's Who I Was." Pinson, however, is anything but a pious stuffed shirt. While "Shadows of the Heartland" is way too cut and dried, in the unconventional gospel tune "One More Believer" he sings of a convert who remains as sardonic as he is honest. "Time Well Spent" unabashedly celebrates youthful partying. By refusing to parrot radio-friendly formulas, Pinson's blend of grit and simplicity result in a remarkable first effort. --Rich Kienzle

Product Description

"A John Deere tractor with an airplane engine" best describes Bobby’s explosive mixture of country roots, rock ‘n’ roll energy and down-to-earth lyrics that springs from his heart. His debut album on RCA Nashville features 11 songs penned by Bobby including his first hit "Don't Ask Me How I Know".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very impressive debut CD, June 1, 2005

By 

cdub53 (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man Like Me (Audio CD)

I bought this CD after hearing and loving "Don't Ask Me How I Know." This is a very strong debut CD by an artist who is a breath of fresh air in today's country music. Every song on here is a winner, no fillers or "Stinkers" on this CD. Mr. Pinson reminds me a lot of a talented artist from Texas-Charlie Robison. Buy this CD with confidence, and here's hoping Bobby Pinson will have much success-I definitely want to hear more from him in the future!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wanted: Gutsy and Talented Men Like Pinson, June 16, 2005

By 

Timothy Yap "thy4568" (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man Like Me (Audio CD)

Prime Cuts: One More Believer, Men Like Me, Don't Ask Me How I Know

In a genre where many country male artists have been emasculated to singing mawkish sentimentality with an artificial sap, the advent of Bobby Pinson's "Men Like Me" is redemptive. Records like these show that there's still hope for country artists - especially the men-- to still sing about issues that matter to them. Songs that express the rugged side of life and love with a masculine punch and a diary-like frankness. Though this may be this panhandle Texan's debut, Pinson is by no means a fresh face. With his compositions being cut by artists as diverse as Van Zant to LeAnn Rimes to Tracy Lawrence, Pinson is perhaps Nashville's best kept secret until now. Needless to say, save for the hidden track "Jesus Loves Me," Pinson has had a hand in co-penning all 12 tracks. And this Texan is a story-songwriter of the tallest order: Pinson has an uncanny ability to mould his characters with such a veracious ethos that limned the listener vigilantly to the storyline. Further, his gravel voice, which sounds like a hillbilly Bryan Adams with a tingle of Steve Earle's ruggedness, gives these songs an inherent well-worn believability,

Charging out of the gates is the fist pumping testosterone-driven "I'm Fine Either Way." Though its jaunty guitars and its pounding percussion may cause country purists to perspire with unease, "I'm Fine Either Way" has a confessional quality that makes this ode to life worth listening. "One More Believer" is this album's apogee: a spiritual love song that has the protagonist enveloped in ardent gratitude to God for blessing him with a perfect girl despite his censurable lifestyle. Pinson has never sounded more heartfelt on this winsome ballad. Pinson's spiritual persona surfaces again in the unlisted track "Jesus Loves Me." The strumming of the acoustic guitar, the chorus of children murmuring along the fade out and Pinson's understated scabrous delivery shimmers with an awe-imbued emotion on this traditional gospel number.

Pinson's approbation for things that are spiritual also translates into the home. With a commitment to strong paternal upbringing, the title track is a careful exposition of fatherhood over a melody that is equally indispensably beautiful. Lest one thinks Pinson has gone all maudlin, the carefully observed "Ford Fairlane," with its dashing guitars and rocking beat is definitely sugar free. Lyrically, vanguard single "Don't Ask Me How I Know" is the most interesting piece. Narrated from Pinson's canon of knowledge, "Don't Ask Me How I Know" has this singer-songwriter proffering his wisdom though his pearl-string of pithy sayings such as "Sell your truck while it's still running/Save the Jesus off the dash/Say a prayer when you feel like cussing/.../Forget your pride, buy the roses/If you're sorry, tell her so/Don't drink the water in Mexico." On the cursory level, "Don't Ask Me How I Know" may sound cliché and bigoted, but its driving melody and Pinson's animated delivery somehow makes this track quite stunning. Apparently country radio thinks so too as it's escalating up the upper echelon of the charts.

However, the album is somehow eclipsed, albeit in a minor way, by a couple of average numbers. The restless rockish "Nothing Happens in This Town" and the stab at the Nashville establishment "Started a Band" yo-yos on the mediocre. Nevertheless, Pinson's punctilious scribal skills of painting his songs with words and his leathery experienced-hewed vocals ought to set him apart from today's silver tongued bromidic country. Moreover, with his strong moral and spiritual stance coupled by his ability to brawn within the confines of rockish country, this is indeed a gutsy record. This is a CD that is muscled with masculinity, yet ductile enough to encompass both genders.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could be what country radio needs..., May 30, 2005

By 

DanD - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Man Like Me (Audio CD)

This is an album for the common man. Pinson spends most of these twelve songs (there's an unlisted, acoustic spiritual at the end, just Pinson and his guitar) on back-country roads, with a girl and a bottle of wine; at funerals, mourning the loss of a childhood friend; playing out the lives of small town inhabitants, holding nothing back; teaching how to stand up for yourself, no matter what ("Stand tall on your knees/That's how you make a man like me"); and finding faith in a faithless situation. He does it all with a voice that is rugged, whiskey-ladden, and undeniably moving.

MAN LIKE ME is an album that will strike to the heart of country music fans everywhere. This is the type of music you expect to hear blaring from the radios of pick-up trucks speeding down gravel roads. Bobby Pinson is a formidable new artist; he cowrote every song on here, showing immense talent that few new artists have. Pinson's gonna be around for a while. He may not become a superstar, but as he sings in the opening track, it's fine with him either way.