Post by StevePulaski on Dec 12, 2014 22:40:24 GMT -5
Now and Again (2000)
By: Daryle Singletary
By: Daryle Singletary
Rating: ★★★
It's reasonable to assume that Daryle Singletary being dropped from Giant Records (after being signed by Randy Travis with presumably medium expectations) triggered some sour feelings for the neotraditionalist honky-tonker, who may have been feeling a little wayward and directionless after failing to drum up respectable sales under an already bankable label. What unfolded with Singletary's departure from Giant Records was a restless fit of label-hopping, trying to find a home for Singletary's traditional blend of country music with unadulterated feelings, and the kickoff for this tumultuous chapter is Now and Again, part greatest hits compilation, part new material.
While the quality of the music in Now and Again is uniformly strong, featuring six of Singletary's singles from his three previous albums and four new tracks, the release is nonetheless questionable. This album is his debut release off of Koch Records would be an album mostly comprised of old tunes, giving the impression that listeners needed to be reacquainted with his music due to the label change. With only five years in the professional music business under his belt, a greatest hits release is a bit questionable, as most of Singletary's later hits were blips on the Billboard 100.
However, that doesn't mean they have diminished in quality; old favorites like "Too Much Fun," "Amen Kind of Love," and "I Let Her Lie" all turn up on the album, providing for an experience akin to a drive down a road you haven't taken in years. The new material is also very rewarding, with "I Thought of Everything" being a delicate bland of the emotional and the uptempo, "Dumaflanche" existing as one of the kind of ditties that Singletary was born to play, enthusiastically upbeat and hilariously written, "I Knew I Loved You" being romantic and soulful, thanks to Singletary's breezy delivery, and "Now and Again" serving as the careful bow to tie everything together in a fitting manner.
Thanks to a few new tunes intermixed with the presence of old favorites, Now and Again doesn't entirely feel like congratulatory patchwork from Singletary nor does it feel like a rushed hodgepodge of newly-recorded hits. Like Singletary does with many of his songs, he eases into a new setting and a new chapter in his career, providing for an effective transition for not only himself but his fans.
Recommended tracks (in order): "Too Much Fun," "Amen Kind of Love," "Dumaflanche," and "I Knew I Loved You."