Brooks & Dunn - "Hillbilly Deluxe"

[StevePulaski]

Hillbilly Deluxe (2005)
By: Brooks & Dunn

Rating: ★★★

The one thing about Brooks & Dunn as a duo and musicians is that they are consistent with their output and the quality of their output. They may take different approaches on their albums, like making a predominately rock album out of Steers & Stripes or soaking the basics of country in nostalgia and backwoods glory with Red Dirt Road, but they always manage to churn out commendable lyrics and rollicking instrumentals that make for compelling songs and mesh with their song topics.

Hillbilly Deluxe, their second to last album before disbanding, shows that the duo can take risks but also manage to return to form rather seamlessly, offering thirteen tracks that cater to the brand of country Brooks & Dunn know best - the kind that involves partying, drinking, basking in one's faith, and reminding of loves gone past. Their opener, "Play Something Country," shows what happens when Brooks & Dunn begin to tow the line of flashy, commercial territory in their attempts at rekindling a honkytonk vibe. What results is a song that gives shoutouts to George Jones and Alan Jackson but does little to give the kind of rollicking good time that other Brooks & Dunn tunes have (including the brilliantly subtle, dichotomous sound conveyed in "Red Dirt Road").

Thankfully, this desire to etch themselves into the contemporary zeitgeist fades from Brooks & Dunn's mind after "Play Something Country" concludes. They refocus themselves with "My Heart's Not a Hotel," a song with a corny title but a downright true message about how some take advantage of the good-natured personalities of others, metaphorically "checking into" their lives before "checking out" when they no longer need them. It's a selfish way to go through life and Brooks & Dunn boldly focus on it with their charm and charisma. "Whiskey Do My Talkin'" preaches about how a man's confidence and desire for openness shoots up exponentially when whiskey is ingested into his system, in a typical love-letter to the alcohol Brooks & Dunn love to either sip or chug. Then there are catchy ballads like "Her West Was Wilder" and "She Likes to Get Out of Town," female empowerment tunes about women who are self-sufficient and disregard relationships that echo the sentiments of "Lost & Found" off of the duo's debut album Brand New Man.

Inevitably, some pandering takes place on Hillbilly Deluxe and the pandering comes in the song "Believe," which has the duo, predominately Dunn, wailing about their religious beliefs and how they cannot simply sleep at night with the thought that this world brings nothing in the afterlife or the fact that there is nothing more to life than the present. While the song really defines why people look to religion for solace and comfort in their every day journeys, "Believe" is still the ho-hum song that feels obligated to slow down the faster-paced "Hillbilly Deluxe" instead of keeping its pace invigorated with classic country, rock and roll ditties.

The rigor of Hillbilly Deluxe is its strongsuit; after a nostalgia-soaked album and a rock-driven compilation of tunes, Brooks & Dunn bring their closest replication of their albums Borderline and Brand New Man, their best works. Hillbilly Deluxe works predominately because of its acknowledgment of the past but not in the conventional way; it also affirms that Brooks & Dunn, through their contrasting personaltiies and their strengths together, can make nearly every record they make work in its own way.

Recommended tracks (in order): "My Heart's Not a Hotel," "Whiskey Do My Talkin'," "One More Roll of the Dice," and "Her West Was Wilder."