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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
...and 1/2.... Plenty of spunk, wisdom, and sentiment , April 4, 2006
Playing Time - 40:29 -- Radney Foster's third album on the Dualtone label continues in the finest tradition of the Texas music mystique that incorporates elements of country, rock, R&B, and folk. A songwriting craftsman, Foster probably has a vision of touching both young and old audiences with his vigorous and eclectic music. He also seems to display a loose and laid-back manner with his contemplative Texas hill country music, as well as with his more raucous honky-tonkin'. I wonder if he's really as much of a free spirit as his lyrics seem to indicate. Produced by Darrell Brown and engineered by Niko Bolas, the recording sessions depended on the formidable assistance of friends Waddy Wachtel (electric guitar), Charley Drayton (drums), Rami Jaffe (Hammond organ, keys), and Bob Glaub (bass). Various guests add background vocals, as well as electric guitar, strings, and additional percussion.
Striving for a more "live, old-school feeling," the songs were arranged right in the Van Nuys studio, and the "rootsy" tracks were cut in two days. Simplicity with expert musicians is an ideal thing for music like this. Foster owes his own influences to a wide range of predecessors like Buck Owens to The Beatles, Burt Bacharach to Guy Clark. But, in finest Texas troubadour tradition, Foster has found a niche of his own that illustrates that a wise marriage of country music with other influences can result in a fashionable, trendy product without severely compromising a genre's origins or precedent.
With both memorable melodies and poignant messages, "The World We Live In" is a thrilling ride. Songs like "Drunk on Love," "Kindness of Strangers," "Never Gonna Fly," "Prove Me Right," "New Zip Code" and "Half of my Mistakes" are immediately appealing and all pack a punch. While I would've enjoyed hearing a little pedal steel and more fiddle in the mix, Radney Foster's songs still have plenty of spunk, wisdom, and sentiment to yield bountiful rewards. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
+1/2 -- Outstanding volume of Texas country, soul, rock & more, August 15, 2006
Foster has had several overlapping and parallel careers. He made his initial splash as a songwriter, providing material for Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Ricky Van Shelton, Tanya Tucker and others. This led to a partnership in the successful duo Foster & Lloyd and a trio of albums for RCA. When the pair split, Lloyd worked on a power-pop solo career, while Foster continued his songwriting and began hosting "Crossroads" on CMT. In addition to landing songs with Sara Evans ("A Real Fine Place to Start"), Collin Raye ("Anyone Else"), the Dixie Chicks ("Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" and "Never Say Die"), Foster began a solo career in 1992.
After three albums for RCA, Foster moved to Dualtone, where he's previously released one live and one studio album. This, his third, finds the singer-songwriter backed by a stellar pick-up band of carefully selected players, including guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist Bob Glaub, and drummer Charlie Drayton. This is not your typical studio crew, and the difference is startling; this is a lot rootsier production than 2002's "Another Way to Go." Wachtel's guitar is ever more expressive than the typical Nashville chart reader, and Glaub and Drayton form a rhythm section whose beat is as much expression as a meter of convenience.
Foster's latest batch of tunes includes the electric country-blues "Drunk on Love," the soulful love song "Sweet and Wild," the straight-up honky-tonk two-step of "Big Idea," and the punchy Texas country of "Prove Me Right." Kim Richey's backing vocal and Wachtel's guitar solo are perfect accompanists for the introspective coming-of-middle-age assessment and pragmatic acceptance of "Half of My Mistakes, and Foster's words are touching in the hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold vignette "The Kindness of Strangers."
Though he's a more electrifying performer than fellow Texas songsmith Bruce Robison, Foster's lack of recent commercial success suggests that many songs here are ripe for Nashville's picking. "I Won't Lie to You" could easily be served up by Tim & Faith, and the brokenhearted "New Zip Code" might launch a new radio star. What's particularly impressive about Foster's latest is that with no steel, only small amounts of fiddle, modern production, and several songs that could serve the mainstream, he still sounds more Texas than Nashville, and more country than crossover. Foster is that rare country artist who can sound contemporary and (dare to say it) commercial, without losing his music's soul. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow ! Song for song, my vote for album of the year., October 30, 2006
If you looked up 'Songsmith'in the dictionary, there is where you should find a picture of Radney Foster!
This is my absolute favorite CD puchase of the year, not 1 song that's less than great. I can't remember another CD i've purchased in a long, long time that, song for song, I've enjoyed this much.
Trust me, your ears are in for a treat.
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