#310) "Ace in the Hole" by George Strait - These days, George Strait is considered the "King of Country Music", and that's fair enough. He's been around a long time and has been one of the most reliable hitmakers for a lot of years, so his natural evolution as an artist was bound to include becoming an elder statesman at some point. I believe he still holds the record for the most number one hits in country music, and this does not surprise me. Already well on his way to "elder statesman" status by the mid-1990s, when I was working in country radio, the man simply could not release an unpopular song, never a half-baked single wheezing its way halfway up the charts for George Strait. They all seemed to shoot to #1 and maintain a prolonged presence on "all-request Friday nights".
And to me, there was something refreshing about the George Strait persona. He was neither a rowdy redneck stereotype, nor did he come across as a lamely forced caricature of the broad, gleaming white smile, plate-sized belt buckle and 300 gallon hat-wearing cowpoke dude. Moreover, his song selection was top notch. Choosing the right songs at the right time in one's career would seem to be a unique skill set for artists who generally don't write their own music but rely on the talents of others. George Strait always chose really catchy music - "mid-tempo country in the neo-traditionalist style" at its finest - and it was almost as if he stood out by not standing out, singing the perfect (somewhat idealized, but still truthful) accompaniment to all the little moments that make up small town life, or rural life, or cowboy life.
Released in the summer of 1989, when I was sixteen and had no interest in country music whatsoever (was in fact hostile toward it), "Ace in the Hole" became Strait's 18th #1 single, and what I might have hated about it back then is what I love about it now: the finger snappy, ragtime / big band / rockabilly feel, its positive but not overly preachy message. Among George Strait songs it does stand out, and totally works. Some songs are simply pleasant to listen to, and remain so.
"Life is a gamble, a game we must play..."
#311) "Lawyers in Love" by Jackson Browne - Once again, Jackson Browne reveals himself to be worthy of a place among the rock and roll intelligentsia (although I got to admit, I'm never quite sure what I mean when I say things like that), with a song that says something about the society we live in, with a Bob Dylan-style presence of mind that too often Browne doesn't get enough credit for.
As surely as "The Pretender" predicted the rise of the yuppie in 1976, "Lawyers in Love" is kind of the play-by-play as it was happening in 1983's Reagan era. As with a lot of Browne's music, it's all about the lyrics. He really can turn a good phrase, but does it so skillfully, the lyrics never seem too arcane or forced. They remain easily interpretable, and when you interpret them, you realize (or I do, at least): holy shit, he's right.
"I can't keep up with what's been going on..."
