Review: Vassar finds his voice

Phil Vassar

By Mary Jo DiLonardo
Special to CNN Interactive

February 23, 2000
Web posted at: 6:31 p.m. EST (2331 GMT)

Phil Vassar
"Phil Vassar"
(Arista)
Release date: February 22

(CNN) -- There's something familiar about Phil Vassar.

It's not really his voice, which is nice, but fairly unremarkable. Instead, there's something comforting in his lyrics and recognizable in his songs. The songs sound new, yet they also seem as though you've heard them before. Their messages are hauntingly truthful -- simple, everyman kind of stories about the foibles and promises of life and love.

An esteemed Nashville songwriter, Vassar is the creative force behind some of country music's catchier tunes, including "Bye Bye" and "I'm Alright," sassy numbers that catapulted Jo Dee Messina to the top of the charts. He's also written chart toppers hits for Tim McGraw ("For a Little While") and Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money").

Now, with the album "Phil Vassar," the songwriter is ready to make a place on the charts for himself, more than a decade after he moved to Nashville to be a performer.

	ALBUM CLIPS
"Carlene" [235k MPEG-3] or [325k WAV] "Joe & Rosalita" [235k MPEG-3] or [325k WAV] "That's When I Love You" [285k MPEG-3] or [390k WAV] (Courtesy Arista Records)

After an array of songwriting honors -- including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year distinctions, as well as accolades from Billboard and American Songwriter Magazine -- Vassar has signed with Arista, the same label featuring Jackson.

He wrote all 11 songs on the disc, each the sort of melody that makes you turn up the radio and shush people so you can catch all the words. Most offer infectious melodies and real-life stories about true love, broken hearts and the tender terrain between the two.

Vassar's first single, "Carlene," aleady has made it to the top 15 on the country charts. Collin Raye, who went to the top with Vassar's "Little Red Rodeo," adds background vocals to the song's upbeat tale.

There's the mandatory heart-wrenching ballad, plus a raucous tale of love in "Joe & Rosalita." But the best songs are the slice-of-everyday-life numbers such as "That's When I Love You," a tune made even better with with distinctive harmony from Messina.

Vassar's voice is not terribly singular; he sounds a lot like Toby Keith. But his delivery is honest and fresh, conjuring up images of Mike Reid and James House, both incredible songwriters. Vassar obviously has a lot to say, and knows how to say it well.

This time around, he gets to sing it too.

Arista Records

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