Another Way To Go

Radney Foster

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dualtone Music Group
• ASIN: B00006AL1F
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,907 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ever since the late 1980s, when he was half of the Nashville duo Foster & Lloyd, Radney Foster has been a master at commingling rock and country influences in a manner sophisticated and timely, yet earthy and soulful. And he's done it once again on Another Way to Go. In fact, it's his most fully realized work since his fine 1992 solo debut, Del Rio, Texas, 1959, and perhaps his best ever. Foster, now 43 and a settled family man, hits some enticing grooves while serving up thick slices of everyday pathos and rock-solid life lessons on first-rate originals like "Everyday Angel," "Just Sit Still," "What Is It That You Do," and the spicy, bluesy "I Got What You Need." An added treat is a spirited duet with old friend Chely Wright on "Scary Old World," a song Foster wrote with late Nashville legend Harlan Howard shortly before Howard's death. --Bob Allen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why would anyone give this CD up??, September 26, 2002

By	A. S. Lawrence (MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this CD free when my University Radio Station was cleaning out their stacks... who would want to give this CD up?? I am not usually into "male country" or anything that could be classified as such, but Radney Foster has changed my mind! The catchy beat and mindblowing lyrics make you not just listen, but really think about what he is saying. "Everyday Angel," "Again," "Disappointing You" are some of my favorites, but the entire album is really good. If you've just started to like some country music but are scared of the "twang" thing, or you want some deepfelt lyrics to make you think, Radney Foster is perfect for you!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sophisticated country with soul and powerpop flavors, September 13, 2002

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Having split up as a duo, Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd produced solo albums that have slowly found their way back to the rock-oriented pop sounds that was the pair's stock-in-trade. Lloyd's solo releases, including 1999's "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" found him moving into full-fledged power-pop, while Foster's solo work initially leaned towards country and acoustic.

Foster's earliest solo albums, "Del Rio, Texas, 1959" and "Labor of Love," strived to differentiate his solo work from that of his previous partnership, but starting with 1999's "See What You Want to See," and continuing even more resolutely on this latest release, Foster once again merges his country twang with a more electric, adult-contemporary sound. The album's lead-off track, "Real Fine Place to Start," smoothly mixes a wall of electric and acoustic guitars with careening steel, mandolin, sharp-edged drum fills and chiming vocal harmonies. It's a brilliant combination of country twang and powerpop jangle.

The opening track's power is maintained without having to continually repeat the powerpop instrumentation. Rock gives way to soul, acoustic country, and nearly spoken passages that catch the listener's attention. Foster's lyrical canon, drained by divorce and a bitter custody battle, has refilled with personal songs of love, struggle and renewal. His co-write with Harlan Howard, "Scary Old World," co-sung with Chely Wright, and cut the day after Howard's passing, contrasts the uncertainty of today's chaotic world with the certainty and empowering nature of close relationships. The title track's message of personal freedom is a fitting closer for Foster's first studio effort on the indie Dualtone label.

The combination of musical and lyrical vision forms a sophisticated equation wrought by a maturing artist. Foster's songs still have hit single hooks, but his lyrics tell the sort of fully-formed stories often missing in the emotionally stunted world of commercial radio.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Great, June 1, 2005

By	Tony Prince (Louisville, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is really music for people who have lived and loved. This is not kids' stuff and therefore it's not on the radio. I listen to this endlessly in the car. There's only one song I skip - "Disappointing You," not because it's bad - no, far from it. It's just such a painful song that I just can't take it all the time. In a saner world, Radney Foster would be a huge star along the lines of Bruce Springsteen. Honestly. Pick this one up. It's one of those CDs that's better the 50th time you've heard it than it was the first. I'm sure folks like Tim McGrew and Keith Urban will pillage this CD like crazy for material.