Ever since he exploded on to the country scene, Alan Jackson has been a connection between the old-school honky-tonk country and the newer genre known as pop country. Despite the fact that Jackson tends to lean more toward the old-school sounds, he has been one of the most popular and well-received country singers to date.
Part of this may be because his style has not changed. Writing many of his own songs, Jackson remains true to those who influenced him, such as Merle Haggard and George Jones. His last album, "When Somebody Loves You," was a declaration of how, as one song says, "It's Alright To Be A Redneck."On Jackson's latest album, "Drive," he does not implicitly call out the virtues of the redneck life. But, as always, the songs are good down-home country listening.
Jackson begins the album with a song about boats and trucks and the memories they provided for him and his father; he hopes they do the same for his daughters. It's a personal touch. In perfect style, Jackson ends this great collection with a song about an old love, one that seemingly is about a woman, but in classic Alan Jackson style, turns into a love song about his first truck.
"Drive" is a fine mix of ballads and up-tempo fun songs. "Work In Progress" is a sassy take on the book, "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus," where Jackson satirizes man's shortcomings in marriage. On the witty little ditty about falling in love, "I Slipped And Fell In Love," Jackson takes the listener on a ride through the absurdities of love.
He follows this with the feel-good song of all regular folk, "That'd Be Alright," singing about the simple things in life. Of course, this would not be a true country album without a song about a bit of drinking, and in "Designated Drinker," a wonderful duet with another true-blue honky-tonk man, George Strait, Jackson sings about dealing with love lost.
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He's not afraid to slow things down a bit and put his immense talents to use and croon out a simple love ballad as he does several times on this album. Jackson travels from heartfelt heartbreak songs such as "A Little Bluer Than That" to songs of hoping for love like "When Love Comes Around." The culmination is "Once In A Lifetime Love," where he describes the virtues of love and how much we each need it and want it in our lives.
As masterful as all these songs are, the one that is most well known and perhaps most pertinent. Written in the days, actually nights after the events of Sept. 11, "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)" is a thought-provoking, from-the-heart song.
Taking those tragic events and personalizing them, looking at how individuals responded to them, allowing each person to relate in his own way ... Jackson grabs at your heart, making you at once feel both pride for America, love for life and closeness to those around you. The song ends with the words, "And thank God you had somebody to love."
So popular was it, so needed was its message, it went to number one faster than any country song in four years. So important has this song become to the nation, the lyrics were entered into the U.S. Congressional Record soon after its debut at the CMA Awards.
Jackson's music has always been about the simplicity of life, about connections between people and about the real emotions that these people feel. Whether a slow ballad or a quick toe-tapper, all his songs seem to hearken back to a day when life was more honest and people could help each other get over tough times, a life that his song "Where Were You" makes us long for.
The quintessential country album, this has something for every kind of listener and every kind of mood because, as Vince Gill put it at the CMA Awards, "The songs that [Jackson] writes always tell it like it is - simple truths that come from his heart"
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