Post by StevePulaski on Apr 23, 2015 18:20:38 GMT -5
Waitin' on Sundown (1994)
By: Brooks & Dunn
By: Brooks & Dunn
Rating: ★★½
After their damn-near exceptional debut album Brand New Man and their thoroughly acceptable sophomore effort Hard Workin' Man, Brooks & Dunn deliver Waitin' on Sundown, an album that finds itself, once more, a slight step down from its predecessor. While Hard Workin' Man proved that familiarity could still breed charm, Waitin' on Sundown proves the same path could also breed slight contempt. The album finds resonance with a couple of songs in its ten tracks that barely serve a half hour's time, but the songs often surrounding the silver linings feel like filler that only finds any kind of impact on a surface level and nothing more.
The album's two biggest singles, the rollicking "Little Miss Honky Tonk" and the more sentimental "She's Not the Cheating Kind," find only momentary resonance, as they're more light heartened than their titles, at least the latter's, suggest. Dunn takes more of a backseat to Brooks on this album than any of his previous efforts, again proving that whomever grabs the mic in this duo will, in turn, set a totally different mood for the song. Brooks' voice is decidedly pitched to compliment ballads or crooning songs, whereas Dunn's raspier, southern drawl finds its strength during rowdier anthems or tunes that bear a self-reflective edge (his vocals on "I'll Never Forgive My Heart" function so nicely that they frighteningly echo someone like Hank Williams).
One noteworthy track of Waitin' on Sundown is "Whiskey Under the Bridge," which could function as the concluding piece of a trilogy of Brooks and Dunn songs about heartbreak and recovering from heartache. The first part of the trilogy comes from "Heartbroke Out of My Mind" from the duo's sophomore album, accentuating downtrodden feelings in a way that isn't sulky nor sorrowful. The second part could come in the form of "My Next Broken Heart" from the duo's debut album, which found ways to be quietly impacting as Dunn sung about how he could foresee his next heartbreak while observing women at the bar. Finally, "Whiskey Under the Bridge" could serve as the concluding piece of the trilogy, where Dunn finally gets in the frame of mind (possibly with the help of a few drinks) that heartache is a waste of time and that it's better to just cut ones losses and move on.
The final leg of the album finds more strength than the opening, with songs like "If That's the Way You Want It," about a man who loves a woman so much he's willing to allow her not to be claimed by him and operate independently, for that's the way she'd prefer it and "A Few Good Rides Away," which has Brooks singing about the emotions a waitress makes him feel. Waitin' on Sundown is almost too reflective of its era, early 1990's country, which was sweet, good-natured, provoked some emotions on occasion, but could also be a tad forgettable.
Recommended tracks (in order): "Whiskey Under the Bridge," "I'll Never Forgive My Heart," and "If That's the Way You Want It."