Alan Jackson stays true to his roots with latest album

Alan Jackson
"When Somebody Loves You"
Arista/RCA
(release date: November 7)

By Mary Jo DiLonardo
Special to CNN Interactive

(CNN) -- He can't do it single-handedly, but Alan Jackson is certainly doing his part to rescue country music from its precarious perch on the brink of pop music.

One of new country's original "hat acts," Jackson's brand is true to its fiddle-filled, dobro-packed roots. His newest release, "When Somebody Loves You," offers no surprises. It's the same pure, country-sounding country music that Nashville has come to eagerly expect from the lanky Georgian.

And you sure can't get much more country than songs like "Meat & Potato Man" or "It's Alright to Be a Redneck," the latter offering lyrics such as, "It's alright to have a girl named Thelma Lou who don't mind a little kiss when you got a little chew."

MORE REVIEWS Read our latest reviews: Randy Travis, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny Rogers   AUDIO "Meat & Potato Man" 368K WAV "When Somebody Loves You" 592K WAV "Three Minute Positive Not Too Country Uptempo Love Song" 288K WAV

The disc offers a strong, varied selection of singles ranging from heartfelt love ballads to anthems celebrating the world of pick-up trucks, hound dogs and Wrangler jeans.

The first single, "www.memory," shows Jackson poking fun at how the wired world affects romance. He tells the girl who ditched him that "If you feel the need, just click on me at www.memory." With his distinctive twang and the wailing steel guitars, Jackson offers quite the alternative take on technology, singing "Dub-yah, Dub-yah, Dub-yah dot memory."

Jackson is also known for his energetic, boot-kicking songs such as the raucous "Chattahoochee" and "Little Bitty." This time around, his rowdy offering is "Three Minute Positive Not Too Country Uptempo Love Song," the disc's rollicking final cut.

While the country paeans are all enjoyable, Jackson can do no wrong with ballads. His simple, honest lyrics demystify romance and plop it back into the real world. "A Love Like That," is a sweet, hopeful longing for a perfect love. The title track, "When Somebody Loves You," is a gentle tribute to the power of a good love.

Jackson knows of what he sings. He wrote five of the album's 11 tracks, including the country-to-the-core, "Where I Come From," in which he sings, "Where I come from it's cornbread and chicken/Where I come from a lot of front-porch sittin'…"

Jackson certainly has become the front-page poster boy for traditional country music. The New York Times recently dubbed him "Nashville's conscience."

During last year's Country Music Association awards show, Jackson performed George Jones' "Choices" when the show's producers wouldn't give Jones enough time to perform it himself.

Jackson's 1995 hit, "Gone Country," poked gentle fun at singers from other musical genres who jumped ship to country when the format got so hot.

Recently, he teamed with country standard-bearer George Strait for "Murder on Music Row," a song lamenting the near demise of traditional country music.

While so much has changed in Nashville, Jackson sounds as authentic today as he did back in '89 when he hit the scene with "Here in the Real World." More than 30 million records and 60 awards later, things haven't changed.

"Flatt & Scruggs, Haggard, fishin', trucks, a dog," Jackson jokes about the lyrics on his latest disc. "I guess there's everything country here except Momma and the train."

Now, that's country.

Review: Alan Jackson honors his influences
October 27, 1999
Alan Jackson finds happiness
September 2, 1998

Alan Jackson

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.