Customer Reviews

This World We Live in

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4 star:		(3)
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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.)

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]

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.

I could repeat those glowing words of other revues for this disc and be safe, but that wouldn't reflect how this artist has effected my admiration and respect for him, how he strings words together that can bring smiles and then turn around and rip your heart out, I have cried and laughed with him, he is one of the very few that can do that for me. His mastery of rhyme keeps me breathless,they speak of life, his voice, pleasant, clear, very clear, the totality of the song, instruments, words and singing are always complete, I have all his discs that are available, I love then all!, how many artist can we all claim to do that. keep recording Radney.

Never Gonna Fly is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Half of My Mistakes and Prove Me Right are also very good. I think you are a wonderful talent Radney. Please keep making music. Thanks for making life better with your songs.

This album is great from start to finish, shows his true diversity

Radney Foster grows on me every time he puts something new out, and this newest effort is phenomenal. It is the ONLY thing that has been on the CD player or the MP3 for weeks (making the spouse just a little more than crazy). I wish he could get the air time he deserves on mainstream radio. While he receives accolades as a writer, for whatever reason he just isn't getting onto the radio - perhaps because he has chosen to follow his roots and not go Hollywood, or perhaps because Foster appears to be the quintessential family man and just doesn't do many live shows.

"Fools That Dream" - what a haunting message and melody with Kim Richey lending a beautiful harmony. Interestingly, I wasn't as taken with of "Half of My Mistakes", which the editorial review brands and instant classic and which I understand is actually being played over the radio, although I do identify with the lyrics. "Drunk on Love" is just fun! Loud, crashing, good ole Texas music. "New Zip Code" - well, we've all been there, or at least had the feeling that we wanted to pack our life up and move it on down the road.

I, too, would have liked more fiddle, but the overall effort here is spectacular. I'll be interested to hear what his acoustic only CD sounds like that is only available on his website at this time...but I've never met a Radney Foster melody I didn't like, so I'm sure it will be as superb as this CD.

Try it. It took me about three times of listening to it for it to finally hit me that this is probably RF's finest moment. Just great listening all the way around.

This is a wonderful testement to an oftunknown singer/song writer who has a style that is reflective of the Texas swing/country/everything else that he and a select handful of others (Bruce Robison, Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, etc..) that sounds effortless, relaxing, and just nice to listen to....If you like any of the artist that I have named here, then you owe it to yourself to pick up this great cd too.