Daryle Singletary - "All Because of You"

[StevePulaski]

All Because of You (1996)
By: Daryle Singletary

Rating: ★★★½

Just a year after churning out the winning surprise that was his eponymous debut album, traditionalist honky-tonker Daryle Singletary returns with his sophomore effort All Because of You, enthusiastically living up to the standards set forth by his previous album. His follow-up album keeps the quality standard set forth by its predecessor, and features a strong number of glacially-paced ballads that further capitalize on Singletary's harmonious vocals and his overall talent as a performer.

Singletary kicks off All Because of You with "The Used to Be's," a truly original tune about the mental progression of a man following a relationship's end. Singletary sings lines that will breed empathy for some, like, "I'll come down with the I don't cares bout closin' time, and the I wish she was deads won't be far behind. But I'll wake up tomorrow with the oh what did I do's, and come back to my senses with the I love you's" in a manner that makes for a song that is heartbreakingly familiar in just the right way. Following that are songs like "Amen Kind of Love," which seems to declare Singletary's lovelife a wash in just the opening two tracks, detailing a love so spiritually and romantically sound that the only fitting word for it seems to be "amen," "Hurts Don't It," concerning the narrator calming his ex-girlfriend down after the guy she loved didn't love her back, with him, while digesting and recognizing her emotions, just repeating the titular question, "Liar Liar My Heart's On Fire," about that moment when the chips are down and you don't think you'll ever find the right woman until the one walks into your life almost instantaneously, and "That's What I Get for Thinkin'," about a man's relationship backfiring due to his forward-thinking actions.

All Because of You's singular misstep is "Redneckin'," a song hopelessly pandering to the rowdy redneck demographic and one that finds itself spliced in between two very low-key, somber tracks, corrupting the consistent mood Singletary has so far worked to conclude both his albums with. To be fair, the song has no business on the album, as it's a noisy disruption wherever it's placed, and along with not being the kind of song Singletary performs, feels nothing more than an obligation for Singletary by higher ups who feared that the album might bring about too many tears if listened to in one play.

Despite a perplexing addition, Singletary's back-to-back lean releases, kicking off his music career, are some of the finest country music of his respective era, recognizing the styles and the pioneers of the period and complimenting both by delivering some rewarding songs in the process.

Recommended tracks: "Amen Kind of Love," "The Used to Be's," "Liar Liar My Heart's On Fire," and "That's What I Get for Thinkin'."