It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Alan Jackson on a country record, after detours in both Gospel and Bluegrass, with his last country album being 2012’s Thirty Miles West, and it’d be a gross understatement to say he’s been missed. Few artists are as consistently excellent as Jackson, nor as vocally gifted, making his presence an undoubtedly welcome one. With his latest studio album, which hit #1 on the Country Albums Chart this past week, he continues to prove why few in the genre do it better than he does.
The album kicks off with the gorgeous “You Can Always Come Home”, a motivational song told through the eyes of (presumably) a father telling his child to go chase their dreams, while also letting them know that if things don’t go as planned, they can always return back home. Following that up is the uptempo “You Never Know” which, despite being among the album’s lower moments, is unquestionably country and still a relatively solid tune. In fact, the albums four weakest tracks are also the four with the most tempo, those being the aforementioned “You Never Know”, the radio single “Jim and Jack and Hank”, “Flaws”, and “Mexico, Tequila and Me”. Each one of these records, despite being among the lower ranked on the album, still has high points, such as the instrumentation in “Jim” or the message in “Flaws”, but have some issues that hold them back ever so slightly from the rest of the pack.
Thankfully, the rest of the album is excellent, and holds up well against the best of the Alan Jackson discography. “Angels and Alcohol” is a classic country tune that reflects the struggles of a man trying to blend alcohol and spirituality using well executed metaphors to convey the storyline, in a similar fashion to that of Tim McGraw’s top-five hit “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools”. “I Leave a Light On” is another standout, with a killer hook of “I leave a light on for your memory”.
However, the best song on the album, the masterpiece that stands above all else, is “When God Paints”, an absolutely gorgeous track that recalls Jackson’s Gospel background to craft a truly outstanding country song that ranks among the best of Alan’s discography, and the best of country music over the past handful of years.
Modern day up-and-comers should use Alan Jackson as their role model for their artistic direction. Well sung, well written, COUNTRY music. It’s a simple formula, and Jackson’s been kicking everyone’s ass using it for years. Radio may be done with him, but I sure as hell am not. It’s good to have you back AJ. It’s been too long.
Top Tracks: “Angels and Alcohol”, “I Leave a Light On”, “When God Paints”
Rating: 4.5/5
Take a listen on iTunes, or stream below.