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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With a little help from his friends, Keith makes his best album in a long time, November 2, 2008
Bobby Pinson is one of the most respected songwriters in Nashville, and deservedly so. Though he's known for crafting two of the most annoying songs of recent times (Sugarland's "All I Want to Do" and Keith's "She's a Hottie"), anyone who's listened to Pinson's own albums, or followed his songwriting career, knows that he is a masterful songwriter, full of nuance and a rugged grace. So it's telling, then, that Pinson co-wrote (with Keith) eight of the eleven songs here.
Not to say that Keith isn't a solid songwriter himself; of course he is. It's just that, lately, he's become too enamored with selling himself as a roughneck bad boy. Perhaps he is (there's too much arrogance in a lot of his stuff to be COMPLETELY fraudulent), but those of us who've followed his career miss the singer/songwriter of yore. It appears that it took another singer/songwriter (Pinson, filling in for Scotty Emerick, who is conspicuously absent here) to bring Keith back around.
His attitude is present here, most noticeably in "Time That It Would Take" and "You Already Love Me" (neither track a complete throwaway; the only cringe-inducing number here is "I Got It For You Girl," with "Cabo San Lucas" running a close second). But elsewhere, Keith is surprisingly tender and vulnerable--"Hurt a Lot Worse When You Go" is a stunner, and the first single, "She Never Cried in Front of Me," is a perfect example of Pinson's nuanced writing and Keith's subdued wit (often at his own expense). The title track is a good ol' number, reminiscent of "As Good As I Once Was." "God Love Her" is the story of a girl "baptized in dirty water," a little rocker that shows Keith in fine form. He shows impressive vocal restraint on the bluesy "Missing Me Some You," a song flawed only by its shallow hook (as a songwriter myself, I view the phrase "missing me some you"--especially as it is sung in this song--as a filler line, to be replaced later; apparently, Keith got lazy and decided to just go with it). "Lost You Anyway" is another powerful ballad, balanced out by "Creole Woman," another rockin' number kept afloat thanks to above-par writing and musicianship.
THAT DON'T MAKE ME A BAD GUY is definitely Keith's best overall album in a long time (since, say, HONKY TONK UNIVERSITY). He's grown as a producer, and has apparently learned to restrain the attitude somewhat (even to the extent of using it against himself, as he does on "She Never Cried in Front of Me"). While it's not a perfect record, it's proof--to those Keith fans who've appeared late in the game--that Toby Keith is a fine singer/songwriter, with a powerful voice that can convey an array of emotions (not just redneck pride). It certainly begs the question of where his next record will go: Is BAD GUY a bump in the road, or a promise of future craftsmanship? We can only hope for the latter.
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