Daryle Singletary - "Daryle Singletary"

[StevePulaski]

Daryle Singletary (1995)
By: Daryle Singletary

Rating: ★★★½

Next to the unmatched er of country music from the 1930's to the mid-1950's, which remains the strongest, most impressive era for the genre, has to be the nineties country music, when stars like Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Hank Williams III, and other singers were kicking their careers into high gear. Some of the finest music of the era, however, came from low-key musicians, who mustered up a handful of solid romps before fading into marginal or complete obscurity at the turn of the century. Such artists were Aaron Tippin, Rhett Akins, and finally, Daryle Singletary, who was taken under the wing of Randy Travis after a solicited demo to Travis by Singletary showed massive potential for the, at the time, twenty-four-year-old singer.

Following a handful of successful singles was the release of Singletary's eponymous debut album, which proves to be one of the slickest pieces of neo-honky-tonk I have yet to hear, especially for the 1990's, when the movement of neotraditionalism within the country genre hadn't taken effect. Singletary churns out eleven tracks on Daryle Singletary, not one of them fumbling or mistaking their worth for anything other than true country fun and heartbreak.

Singletary kicks things off with "Too Much Fun," immediately the winner of the album, a definitive romp questioning the validity of the idea of having too much fun. Addicting guitar chords and vocal fluctuations make Singletary a recognizable talent right off the bat, and the song certainly compliments any guys night out. Following the track are songs like "I'm Living Up to Her Low Expectations," a humorously self-deprecating ditty about Singletary affirming his girlfriend's rock-bottom view of him and his achievements in life, "Ordinary Heroes," which unconventionally praises the common man and questions why we don't read headlines about a single mother finding a job in a true humanist light, and "I Let Her Lie," a deeply heartbreaking tune about a man's acceptance of his wife's persistent infidelity due to his low self-worth (sort of the more melancholic "I'm Living Up to Her Low Expectations").

In just thirty-five minutes, Singletary accomplishes more than what some artists try to build in an hour-long album, starting quick and only letting up on his pace to allow for a ballad to be heard. On the slower songs, Singletary adopts the role of a crooner, with his velvety vocals and baritone voice cutting deep into one's soul and mind, allowing you to feel the emotions ring true. Singletary delivers arguably one of the most impressive country debuts I have yet to hear, and to think his presence in the genre today is a mere whimper (and this album, despite four successful singles, meriting rather mediocre numbers) is a devastating fact.

Recommended tracks (in order): "Too Much Fun," "I'm Living Up to Her Low Expectations," "I Let Her Lie," "Ordinary Heroes," and "My Heart's Too Broke (To Pay Attention)."